LABOUR COURT AND LABOUR APPEAL COURT RULES

• The Office of the Chief Justice gazetted new rules to regulate the conduct of proceedings in the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court. Published as addenda to minutes of a 20 November 2023 meeting of the Rules Board concerned, the two new sets of rules:
  • will eventually replace all those previously applicable, including a Labour Court practice manual in effect since 1 April 2013, but
  • have yet to be officially commenced by separate notice in the Government Gazette.

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

• The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment gazetted amendments to regulations immediately affecting certain water sports and activities in five marine protected areas:
  • Amathole (original regulations)
  • Dwesa Cwebe (original regulations)
  • Pondoland (original regulations)
  • Stilbaai (original regulations), and
  • Table Mountain National Park (original regulations).

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

• The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure gazetted and called for public comments on a draft Construction Industry Development Board Amendment Bill. Focusing on governance and administrative matters, among other things the draft Bill seeks to:
  • ‘provide a clear delineation between the Board as regulator and its oversight body, the Council’
  • ‘extend the application of the register of contractors to procurement in the private sector’, and
  • ‘stimulate’ industry transformation, which the draft Bill identifies as one of several intended ‘strategic leadership’ outcomes among stakeholders.

BORDER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

• The Department of Home Affairs published and called for public comments on draft regulations under the Border Management Authority Act, 2021. Focusing on personnel matters, among other things the proposed new regulations deal with:
  • the structure and functioning of the border guard
  • officer commissioning
  • officer training
  • qualifications and competency standards
  • the use of firearms
  • a code of conduct
  • disciplinary proceedings
  • complaints and grievances affecting the work of the authority, and
  • appeals processes.
• They also provide for the establishment and staffing of a border risk management and targeting centre. This is noting that the Act commenced incrementally between January 2021 and August 2022 and is now fully in force.

 

Prepared by Pam Saxby