"We are facilitating the process of someone getting work"
DEBBIE Liebethal, managing director at Umkhonto Labour Holdings, says there are reasons why companies use labour brokers.
"The first reason is that a lot of companies have contracts and they need staff for a period of time," says Liebethal.
"The second reason is that they may need a staff member urgently and the process of hiring somebody can take anything up to a month.
"In the cost of hiring a staff member, you have your desk, chair, phone, you then have to hire additional people to do the admin, the HR, and payroll."
She says her company would charge between 7% and 15%. Within that 15% the firm has to cover costs for admin, time sheet, sourcing UIF, having the payroll, workmans compensation.
Liebethal says firms do not actually save by employing people through a labour broker.
"The only thing that they save is that they get the staff member straight away when they need him/her.
"We have a database of people when there is a staff member that is sick or on leave. We are facilitating the process of someone getting work."
Liebethal says there are staff members employed through labour brokers who belong to unions and could go on strike.
"We have about 50-odd drivers we have on site, we have offered all of them provident fund. It is up to them to decide whether they want it or not," she says.
On the issue of employees benefits, Liebethal says there are many companies which do not offer a provident fund, medical aid and other benefits, "so targeting labour brokers is unfair".
"All that we have been saying is that just regulate the industry, and they have not done that. If they close down the labour brokers they will have to do the same to recruitment companies," she says.
- Meanwhile, the Black Business Council says it welcomes the fact that labour brokering will be further discussed within the correct forum, Nedlac.
"We also welcome the news that there is a drive to regulate, rather than ban labour broking in South Africa," says the council's general secretary Sandile Zungu.
Why firms use labour brokers
"We are facilitating the process of someone getting work"
DEBBIE Liebethal, managing director at Umkhonto Labour Holdings, says there are reasons why companies use labour brokers.
"The first reason is that a lot of companies have contracts and they need staff for a period of time," says Liebethal.
"The second reason is that they may need a staff member urgently and the process of hiring somebody can take anything up to a month.
"In the cost of hiring a staff member, you have your desk, chair, phone, you then have to hire additional people to do the admin, the HR, and payroll."
She says her company would charge between 7% and 15%. Within that 15% the firm has to cover costs for admin, time sheet, sourcing UIF, having the payroll, workmans compensation.
Liebethal says firms do not actually save by employing people through a labour broker.
"The only thing that they save is that they get the staff member straight away when they need him/her.
"We have a database of people when there is a staff member that is sick or on leave. We are facilitating the process of someone getting work."
Liebethal says there are staff members employed through labour brokers who belong to unions and could go on strike.
"We have about 50-odd drivers we have on site, we have offered all of them provident fund. It is up to them to decide whether they want it or not," she says.
On the issue of employees benefits, Liebethal says there are many companies which do not offer a provident fund, medical aid and other benefits, "so targeting labour brokers is unfair".
"All that we have been saying is that just regulate the industry, and they have not done that. If they close down the labour brokers they will have to do the same to recruitment companies," she says.
"We also welcome the news that there is a drive to regulate, rather than ban labour broking in South Africa," says the council's general secretary Sandile Zungu.
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