Johannesburg - Cosatu has called for out of the box thinking and decisive leadership to deal with the rising unemployment rate in the country.
The federation said “tinkering with economic policies has only resulted in the current economic deterioration,” the federation said.
Statistics SA announced on Tuesday that unemployment increased to 25.5 percent in the third quarter of the year from 25 percent.
It has also called for an elevated role of the state in the economy as a measure to deal with the recently increased rate of unemployment.
“Our country needs a strategy that is informed by an understanding that with sufficient state-direction and state-ownership of critical sectors, resources can be allocated in such a way that dynamic comparative advantage arises and a strong and vibrant industrial base emerges,” said Cosatu spokesman, Sizwe Pamla in a statement.
The organisation also said current patterns of ownership in the country needed to be challenged.
“Another disturbing part of the unemployment survey, is the one that shows that despite similar qualifications, whites are on average more likely to be employed than Africans and blacks in particular.
“This shows that the apartheid economic fault lines are yet to be addressed, and the majority of the previously oppressed, are still at the bottom end of the economic pyramid. This 25, 5% unemployment is proof enough that we are not on the right track,” Pamla explained.
Cosatu convened a national march earlier this month to protest against unemployment and other socio-economic issues.
Labour Bureau