Printing SA celebrated its 110th anniversary with a webinar that took place on 18 March, where the federation also announced its new member benefits. One of these new benefits is signage, print, packaging and visual communications medical cover. Agility and Health Squared have partnered with Printing SA to bring you a one of a kind medical offering for you and your staff that is specifically tailored for the industry.
Other Printing SA benefits that were discussed included:
– Productivity SA: The Competitiveness Improvement Services Programme is aimed at improving the competitiveness in the South African print, packaging, signage and visual communications industry as it has to compete against international competitors in the international and domestic markets. It is an investment cost-sharing grant for local entities.
– SASFIN Finance: Printing SA Associate member SASFIN provides a comprehensive range of specialist financial products and services for Business and Wealth clients including equipment finance, forex and guarantees and funding to these entrepreneur groups and companies.
– Members’ Portal: Members now have exclusive access to a host of great online tools from industry research, tenders, RFP’s/Q’s, marketing material, templates and so much more.
– HP, Dell and Apple product discounts.
– The Virtual Safety Officer: in partnership with KBC, Printing SA unveils the Virtual Safety Officer, which is designed for Printing SA members who do not have the resources to manage their occupational health and safety requirements.
The Printing SA panellists also discussed how Printing SA is helping businesses succeed and the federation’s value to the industry.
Panellists:
Kenneth Leid, National Training and Development Director
How has Printing SA adapted to the changing landscape in how they offer training?
When lockdown started in March last year, we had to suspend all our face-to-face training interventions. At the time, we had just started our Foundational Learning Programme (FLP), with over 80 learners attending classes at our regional training centres.
In August, we relaunched the FLP online using Google Classrooms. We also launched our first e-learning course in June last year. This was the Colour Management e-learning pilot course that we ran in collaboration with FESPA, with over 90 learners (20 from the UK).
We have adapted and have the ability to present all our courses online. Our TT1 modules, as an example, are currently being presented in a dual system. Apprentices attend their generic subjects on Thursdays and their trade theory subjects on Fridays (14 sessions over a 5 month period). We believe that this dual system allows for a better integration of theory, practical training and workplace experience.
Jermaine Naicker, KwaZulu-Natal Regional Chamber Manager
What does an industrial relations consultant do and what are the main aspects of industrial relations?
If you have staff members, you are sure to have labour relations issues. The role of the labour relations consultant becomes then critical to your business. We do have a lot of chancers out there where businesses try to wriggle their way around business-related issues. It is not as simple as you think it is, especially if you do not know the law well enough and if you do not have much experience under your belt.
The role of a labour relations consultant deals with labour related and industrial issues in the workplace specifically. That very specifically pertains to personnel and human resources that we deal with on a daily basis, which most businesses would have. These consultants are specialised, skilled and seasoned professionals that deal in labour related issues on a daily basis.
Some of the areas that these professionals cover typically include the chairing of disciplinary enquiries, counselling, conducting investigations and evidence gathering, representations at the CCMA, bargaining with statutory council, arbitrations, representations at labour courts, section 189 consultations and facilitations, short time drafting of legal documents, wage negotiations, mutual separation agreements, voluntary severance packages, etc. But these are just some of the main areas that are covered under the labour consulting umbrella. Typically, there would be further detailed roles and tasks that stem from these main streams of labour relations.
In terms of labour relations consulting, Printing SA are probably the most renowned in the industry for our sound labour relations and service offering. We have been providing sound service advice and expertise in this field to many businesses over the years. We have invested a great deal of pride, time and our dedication to our labour related services to the extent that we have broadened our skills pool of labour experts and significantly increased our basket of services. This was all done to further enhance our labour relations service offering.
Typically, each chamber of Printing SA that is in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Central and North would all host a labour consultant. In addition to those labour consultants that we host or that we have in-house we also have a strong network of legal experts that we consult for and on behalf of Printing SA.
Over the years we have placed much emphasis on developing and expanding our labour relations consulting, and likewise we have built a wealthy bank of resources that have been refined over a period of time. That has been done to provide high quality services to meet the needs of our members.
Khanyi Ntanzi: Commercial and Technical Manager
Regulations and legislation seem to be changing all the time and we often see Printing SA sending out communication on these matters. How does Printing SA manage to keep abreast of all of these changes?
Printing SA is a recognised official mouthpiece of the printing industry and a representative of a wider membership across all provinces. We get consulted by government when they intend to regulate our sector.
Developed countries’ policies and conditions applied locally may have devastating effects due to our local conditions, and since we are a developing country, this will affect the industry in a negative way. During those discussions we try to make sure we mitigate those effects.
For example, in 2016 and in August 2020, regarding the regulations proposing to declare certain printing activities as controlled emitters, we submitted that – based on market research – such regulations would impose excessive economic impacts on the printing industry.
We also work closely with prominent recognised bodies and collaborate to come up with policy positions that are more beneficial to our members and are informed by sustainability. We regularly check online platforms where government publishes these notices, laws and regulations in order to keep our members informed and compliant.
At the moment, we have the Protection Of Personal Information Act (POPI) that is coming into effect on 1 July. Members must ensure they comply with the act. With the extender responsibility, registrations are on 5 May and we will be starting with these until 5 November.
My message to members is that if there is something you do not understand please engage with us and we will direct you to the correct channels. When you receive our emails or communications please respond, as your comment is important.
Abisha Katerere, Marketing Manager and B-BBEE Specialist
What is Printing SA doing to assist its members to navigate the pandemic given that some businesses have closed or are facing closure?
Printing SA worked tirelessly in the past year to ensure that members were kept abreast of the new regulations that were implemented as a result of the Disaster Management Act. We offered real time updates on the amendments and deciphered the legislation in order to provide members with simplified interpretations that allowed them to get a succinct understanding of what was required in order to comply.
These included:
• FAQ’s on the regulations.
• Six informative webinars, one of which included ‘How to Thrive during Covid-19 – Print Industry wellbeing takes the spotlight’.
• Our chambers have been on hand to offer free advisory to members that have had pressing matters that needed urgent attention.
• We can also arrange suitable payment terms to existing and new members depending on their circumstances.
Our new member benefits will assist some of our members to save on costs for hardware and software, business turnaround and recovery as well as credit facilities for working capital through our partners.
For further information, watch the full webinar below:
