"The avalanche of new labour laws implemented by government over the last four years adds significantly to the cost of running a business. It also places a strain on management," Shoprite's human resources manager Kallie Burger said.

"But the Shoprite group is doing its best to cope with these demands in the interests of ensuring a lucrative future for the company as well as its employees and their families," he added.

He was referring to four major laws introduced by the country's Labour Department over the last four years including Skills Development and Employment Equity legislation, and the Labour Relations and Basic Conditions of Employment acts.

Costly laws create too much bureaucracy

Complying with new Skills Development legislation would be costly and create too much red tape, the giant life assurer OldMutual told Reuters.

This act forces firms to pay a special levy to train their staff.

"There are merits in what it is trying to achieve, but we believe it will create massive bureaucracy and expense. This is an unnecessary expense for those companies that already spend millions of rand on developing their staff," said Old Mutual's Paul West.

But the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, legislation aimed at easing the plight of millions of workers by setting minimum standards for employment conditions, would not have as adverse an effect on major businesses, he said.

Plans for employment equity well on way

Most companies received the Employment Equity Act favourably, saying their plans to implement the legislation which forces business to bring on board more blacks, women and disabled people, were well on track.

"We have been working on our plans and targets...and analysing our employment practices since May last year," West told Reuters.

"Our structures have been changing since the 1970sand our numbers of women and black staff have grown to match the demographics of the economically active population in the financial services sector."

Retailer Woolworths was happy with the act, expected to be implemented by June, adding that it was long overdue and the right medicine to help cure joblessness.

"It's a shame it took a politician to tell us to do what we should have been doing for so long anyway. It is putting a finger on the problem of job creation," Vickey Mkize, the company's employment equity manager told Reuters.

Unemployment in South Africa is a crippling 30 per cent, and higher still among the black population.

No choice, but companies must take responsibility

"We do not have a choice, we are in the process of setting up structures to deal with all this new legislation," ABSA bank human resources manager George Prins told Reuters.

A big financial services company, which spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed with Woolworths and ABSA on the overall impact of the newlabour laws on business and the need for change and adaptation.

"This legislation has vast importance in the way we will be doing business in future," the company said.

"Companies will have to take responsibility for the advancement and development of previously disadvantaged people."

Employees abusing the new legislation should be educated to learn to reap the benefits of the new laws and not try to use them to hide a lack of quality work, Old Mutual said.

"Some employees are happy that they can use the legislation to protect themselves. Some abuse it and make it very difficult for management to get reasonable quality of work from them," the company said.

Shoprite said they were already busy training employees at all levels to understand and practice the legislation to the benefit of all, easing

"Shoprite is committed to making both management and saff aware of the contents and implications of the new labour laws, as well as their rights within those parameters," said Burger.

Diamond giant DeBeers said it was already practising most of the requirements of the new legislation, but added that its greatest worry about costs involved the amount of paperwork bound to accompany compliance.