On 22 June, Parliamentary State Secretary Anette Kramme welcomed Lindiwe Zulu, South Africa’s Minister of Social Development, to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. An exchange of views on labour market and social policy issues and the global fight against child labour was at the heart of their talks.
The discussions focussed on combating the labour market impact of the pandemic in Germany and South Africa, the measures taken in Germany such as short-time work allowances, the high unemployment in South Africa and the need to strengthen the South African social protection system.
The elimination of child labour was another main topic of the talks. In May 2022, South Africa hosted the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban where the German Labour Ministry was also represented. The concluding document of the conference includes commitments of all stakeholders on decisive action against child labour. It lists 49 measures, including the creation of decent work and universal access to social protection.
Now it is important to jointly consolidate what has been achieved at the conference and to keep the topic on the international political agenda.
Both sides underlined the importance of close cooperation between Germany and South Africa on global issues and of an intensified exchange of views on national topics. It was agreed to continue the mutual dialogue at expert level in the near future. Minister Zulu expressed particular interest in an exchange of views between experts from the two ministries to discuss labour market policies taken in Germany to combat the consequences of the pandemic and social security systems.