JOHANNESBURG - The Commission for Conciliation Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA) has warned that the coronavirus national lockdown could lead to a jobs bloodbath in the next six months.
The dispute resolution body said it was anticipating small scale or large scale retrenchment referrals owing to the prospect of business closure or simply for financial reasons due to the affordability of labour and lack of production during the lockdown period.
“There is a possibility that we may witness an increase in large-scale retrenchment processes three to six months down the line as businesses resume operations and assess the viability of resuming trading,” said the CCMA in a statement.
The CCMA also said that it was also highly likely that there would be non-payment and or reduction of wages, forced or unpaid leave. It said that it expected the non-payment of salaries, and forced leave to come into effect from April 1. It said it was anticipating referrals due to non-payment of wages, although the funds released through the Unemployment Insurance Fund would cushion the blow for employees.
“However, this has been offset by the government's assistance plan through the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) which allows companies to seek assistance through the Covid19TERs process in respect of their wage bills and also caters for an illness benefit during these turbulent times,” said the CCMA.
President Cyril Ramaphosa last week announced the extension of the 21-day national lockdown which started at midnight on March 26 by a further two weeks to slow down the spread of the pandemic and to save lives. Ramophosa also said that in an effort to curb job losses, the UIF had set aside R40 billion to help employees who were unable to work during the lockdown. Ramaphosa announced that already R356 million had been paid out by the UIF.