Job situation alarming

Fedusa general secretary Dennis George

Fedusa general secretary Dennis George

Published Aug 3, 2015

Share

Recent announcements of retrenchments in the mining, manufacturing and transport sectors have been subjected to intense deliberations at the Federation of Unions of South Africa’s (Fedusa) 71st National Executive Committee meeting held on Tuesday, July 28.

The federation is deeply concerned that the number of unemployed people in the country increased to 5.2 million, essentially swelling the official unemployment rate to 25 percent correlating with last week’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Justification for the federation’s concerns were realised as the survey confirmed recorded job losses in the finance, manufacturing, agriculture, trade and transport industries totalling 31 000, 23 000, 22 000, 60 000 and 25 000 respectively.

What remains distressing to Fedusa is that the announcement of the second QLFS results confirms the weakness of the economy.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development argues that a key impediment to inclusive growth in South Africa is high and persistent unemployment, especially among blacks. The report further indicates that the recent spike in strikes dented business confidence, lowered investment and is likely to increase the rate of labour substitution in production.

Given the scale of inactivity, a multipronged strategy is necessary to raise the pace of growth and promote job creation, as identified by the National Development Plan.

Another disturbing trend is the emigration of wealthy entrepreneurial South Africans overseas due to the high crime rate, poor education system and high corruption. This requires measures to foster entrepreneurship, improve the environment for job creation and enhance the functioning of the labour market, says Fedusa President Koos Bezuidenhout.

The federation maintains that collaborative efforts by social partners are once again necessitated in order to respond to the immediate challenges the country faces. Fedusa therefore appeals to President Zuma to urgently convene a presidential summit to address the challenges of low economic growth and high unemployment levels.

Dennis George

Fedusa General Secretary

Related Topics: