WITHIN THE SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION
4.6 South African Council for Social Service Professions
Council for Social Work and the social workers were identified by Drower (1996: 13) as being: firstly, Council was a statutory body and was regarded by the social workers as being closely associated with the State. Secondly, one of Council's central functions had been the formulation and enforcement of a code of conduct for social workers to subscribe to, which was referred to since 1990 on the Council's recommendations as a code of ethics. In addition, it needs to be acknowledged that the old Council was not fully representative of social workers in South Africa (Drower,1996:13).
After the process of consultation, the Social Work Amendment Act was promulgated. According to Drower (1996: 13), this aspect of legislation paved the way for the election of an interim Council. One of the key functions was to make recommendations to the Minister of Welfare concerning the constitution of the new South African Council for Social Work. Subsequently, elections for the interim Council occurred in February 1996. In 1997, the South African Interim Council for Social Work was established for the aim of making recommendations to the Minister of Welfare and Population Development on the constitution of a transformed Council and how best to amend the Social Work (cited by Department of Welfare Annual Report, 1995/96 27 in Drower,1996: 13).
Thereafter, on 1 April 1999, the Social Work Amendment Act, 1998 (Act 102 of 1998) came into operation. This Act made provisions for the establishment of the South African Council for Social Service ProfeSSions, which replaced the South African Interim Council for Social Work. After the election and appointment of the Council members, the first SA Council for Social Service Professions was launched in June 1999. The Minister of Welfare and Population Development heralded this occasion as a milestone in the transformation of welfare, and a significant step in paving the way for the registration of all social service professionals (Lombard, 2001:viii).
The new and representative Council immediately set to work to realise the Council's vision of being a professional Council striving for social justice through the promotion and enhancement of developmental social welfare (Lombard, 2001: viii). One of the objectives that the new Council began to deal with was the establishment of the professional boards for the various social service professions in terms of section 14A of the Social Service Professions Act, 1978 (Act 110 of 1978). These boards are meant to promote the interests of the professionals they represent and to engage in activities which promote their professions so as to give them recognition and standing in the wider community (Gray, 2000:104). Therefore two sets of draft regulations respectively providing for the procedure in which members of a professional board should be elected and for the functioning of professional boards were prepared and furnished to the Department of Social Development for submission to the Minister of Social Development (Lombard, 2001). These draft regulations are still under consideration.
According to Gray (2000), the Council for Social Service Professions will eventually serve as an umbrella body for a group of social service professions, each with their own professional boards.
Apart from its activities relating to the establishment of professional boards for social service professions, Lombard (2001: x-xi) and the SA Council for Social Service Professions Newsletter (2001) highlight the following actions of the new Council:
The Council will facilitate the establishment of the Standard Generating Body (SGB) for Social Work in terms of the National Qualification Framework and the South African Qualifications Authority Act, 1995. The main purpose of the SGB was to formulate new unit standards and qualifications for social work and social auxiliary work.
• In order to meet the requirements of the Employment Equity Act, 1998, the Council has implemented the new organisational structure for the personnel of the Council. Three new affirmative appointments were made to change the demographic profile of the Council.
• New regulations were formulated for the registration of social workers in terms of the new modular system that has been introduced at most educational institutions.
• While the Council does not determine salaries and service conditions for social service professions, the Council's advocacy intervention at ministerial level resulted in a revision for the social service sector in the Civil Service. An assessment is currently being made of what Council's recommendation would be in respect of a norm for the employment of professionals in the social work sector (SA Council for Social Service Professions Newsletter (2001).
• The Council became aware that serious problems were being experienced with the content of Code of Remuneration for the Occupational Category: Social Services and Support Personnel developed by the Department of Public Service and Administration.
Consequently, the Council became involved in collaboration with government departments, and the document was revised.
• Various task teams are attending to the investigation of a number of applications to establish certain specialities and specific modes of intervention in social work in terms of the Social Service Professions Act, 1978.
• The Council is formulating a new disciplinary policy and procedure by revising the current Rules relating to unprofessional or improper
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conduct, the Ethical Code, and the procedures followed when a complaint is lodged with the Council.
In the interest of effective communication with its stakeholders and role players, as well as transparency and empowerment, the Council redesigned the format and content of its Newsletter. It has been found that the "new face" of the Council has already had the positive effect of members of the constituency paying more attention to its contents, especially to the latest developments of the Council, and responding in contacting the Council about matters pertaining to their professional needs.
• The Council has recently conducted research in order to obtain a clear profile of the members of its constituency, obtain data on matters such as their work-related needs and the conditions under which they practise, and ensure the Council is in a position to take a well- informed policy resolution on matters which could affect the persons registered with the Council. The Council is presently constructively utilising the information received from the latter research.
It is quite clear that the new South African Council for Social Service Professions has already, in the relatively short period of its existence, made significant progress in executing its brief in terms of the Social Service Professions Act, 1978 (Act 110 of 1978), as amended. Whether social workers have responded favourably or unfavourably to the actions of the new Council or are aware of the progress made by the new Council, is still open to question. Social workers' partiCipation and input is limited in South Africa, and it is antiCipated that the present research study will provide insight into social workers' perceptions of the new Council and its achievements. The study will identify whether the exodus of social workers relates in any way to the effective functioning of the Council. The research
study will be able to elicit information from social workers on perceived benefits of being affiliated to the Council.
4.7 Remuneration and Service Conditions for Social