The traditional employer-employee relationship came under an increased threat the past two decades with employers finding the option of utilising the services of Labour Brokers more attractive. Various reasons existed for this tendency amongst employers to opt for the use of Labour Brokers, some of these reasons being valid but mostly some reasons being born out of fear for the unknown labour law duties and obligations that were proposed to be placed on employers post 1994. In the absence of an action plan between the role players in the labour fraternity pathing the way traditional employer-employee relationships could be salvage, employers resorted to the appointment of Labour Brokers and Government on their part retaliated by considering either the total ban of Labour Brokers or the regulation of the profession to such an extent that same became largely unattractive and problematic. The non-addressing of problems and fears faced with by employers post 1994 resulted in an opportunity waisted to narrow the gap between employers and employees with the fight over work force power being the more important factor taken into consideration. This treatise will explore the options that faced the roll players post 1994 in the labour market, the reason for choices made and the effect same has had since on the labour market. The problematic amendments made to Section 198 of the Labour Relations Act in an attempt to iron out the wrinkles poor choices made by the stake holders over the regulations of Labour Brokers, will be discussed. The ripple effect the amendments to Section 198 of the Labour Relations Act had on other pieces of South African legislation will be considered and the uncertainty and confusion it has created discussed. Specific attention needs to be drawn to the intention of the legislature as to which party, the Labour Broker or employer, will be responsible for the ramifications of the wrong doings of an employee. Also, which party will be responsible to the employee to fulfil its labour rights as granted in the Constitution of South Africa. Unleashing reaction to the regulations of Temporary Employment Services does not seem to be a problem, the problem arises where the regulations proposed did not unleashed the desired reaction and roll players finding themselves frustrated and with having no alternative as to turn the Courts to solve the largely self-inflicted conundrum. The courts are left with the task of clarifying the legislature’s true intension in amending section 198 of the Labour Relations Act, which impact the writer with all due respect do not think the legislature even appreciated when the amendments were drafted. Currently, there is dividing views on the future of Labour Brokers per se in South Africa and the interpretation concerning Section 198 of the Labour Relations Act, as amended. The focus of this treatise is to highlight the different interpretations given to these amendments this far and highlight that if it is in fact the wish of stake holders in the Labour fraternity that Labour Brokers should continue to exist, clarification is needed by our Constitution Court on certain vital issues and as discussed in this treatise.

"But you've got to make sure you communicate in the right way [laughs] so that no one else knows what you're talking about. [Laughing]" (Interview I) The study examines the rhetoric of 'racial' exclusion used by South African private recruitment consultants to justify racist practice, criticise employment equity and deny racism. The dilemmatic nature of clients racially based requests is understood in a context that socially and legally forbids "unfair discrimination" and racist practice. The reader is provided with an overview of the legislation as it pertains to recruitment and the psychological study of 'race' in order to locate this study within its historical context. An historical context of segregation and resistance to changes in employment practices. We examine how South African psychology has investigated 'race' and racism - past and present. Psychology has traditionally explained 'white' resistance to transformation in terms of 'racial' prejudice. These attitudinal approaches fail to explicate the role of language in the reproduction and conservation of these historical patterns. By providing the reader with an historical overview "interpretative connections" (Wetherell and Potter, 1992) will be established that assist in the analysis of the text. Transcribed interviews with nine private recruitment consultants in two urban centres in South Africa serve as textual evidence. The analysis demonstrates the rhetorical strategies employed by consultants in their conversations, discussions, negotiations, criticism and justification of the conservation of historical employment patterns. Private recruitment consultants engage in a number of rhetorical manoeuvres that appeal to 'white' norms and construct' black' as a requirement and deficient. The construction of' white' and' black' serves as a platform for justifying the historically established 'racial' hierarchy and conserving 'racial' privilege. Consultants construct their practice as a 'reasonable' response to clients' blatant 'racially' based requests for candidates. This is done by splitting racism into 'reasonable' and 'unreasonable' racism. 'Unreasonable' racism is defined as explicit I blatant acts that are located externally and in the past. This splitting functions to distance recruitment consultants from the racist practices of their clients and to counter potential accusations of racism. Their arguments function ideologically to defend the historical status quo in employment and criticise social transformation in South Africa. The study concludes with recommendations for the private recruitment industry in South Africa and suggests future areas of study using a discursive approach. The analysis highlights the need for external auditing of the private recruitment agencies to ensure the enactment and successful implementation of the Employment Equity Act of 1998 and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000. Furthermore, more detailed analysis of the object of racism, namely the construction of 'whiteness', could be useful in understanding resistance to transformation in the private sector and the (re)production of racism. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Recruitment and selection has become a specialised industry and is competing in a global market. To remain competitive, recruitment agents have to stay ahead of their competitors, by providing an excellent service to customers and applicants, and by keeping up with technological developments in their field. The current investigation focuses on an assessment of the attitudes of recruitment agents in a selected area of the Western Cape Province to the use of computer-based management information systems as a recruitment tool. A questionnaire was distributed amongst recruitment agents in the identified area. It focused on recruiter biographical information, the services they offer, the methods and processes they use in recruitment, the knowledge and skills they need in their field, and their knowledge and attitude towards electronic-recruitment. The literature indicated a move towards using technology in the field of recruitment, and this was consistent with the findings of the study. Although the respondents were familiar with developments in technology used for recruitment, only a small number were familiar with the major business information systems, namely, SAP R/3, Oracle and PeopleSoft. Information specifically related to recruitment agents in South Africa was limited, but the study provided some insight into this field. It was found that recruitment agents disagree on what a good advertisement, as well as a good résumé, should contain, and this is problematic as these are two of the most important things that recruitment agents work with every day. The literature provided no indication of the qualifications needed by a recruitment agent, and resulting from this, a second finding of the study indicated that, according to the respondents, the qualifications needed by a recruitment agent are varied. It was found that qualifications of the sample group varied from only a school-leaving certificate to post-graduate degrees. A significant trend identified that only 24.2 per cent of recruitment agents are involved in research related to recruitment, and write articles related to their field. This contributes to the fact that so little information is available about South African recruitment agents. The study indicated that recruitment agents hold a positive attitude towards computer-based information systems, although they are accepted with caution because of various logistical problems in the South African market. The study also provided useful information to start a process of drawing up a profile of the South African recruitment agency business.