FEDUSA

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) welcomes the notion of a wage subsidy to alleviate youth unemployment problems, but insists that the system should be focused on training and the development of skills.  While it shares the concerns of sister federations that the proposed subsidy might be open for abuse by employers, FEDUSA is convinced that tight legislation and guidelines to be implemented could indeed deliver good outcomes.

In his Budget Speech of 2011 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan announced the broad outline of this wage subsidy plan that is aimed at dealing with the youth unemployment problem.  Under the proposed scheme employers will be reimbursed for the wages they pay a young employee who has no previous work experience.  The youth wage subsidy scheme will be run by SARS and will allow companies who are tax compliant to benefit from the scheme, as long as they still adhere to minimum labour standards.

“While we agree with the notion, FEDUSA is of the opinion that South Africa already has a wage subsidy in place, in that a R50 000 tax rebate is available to all employers who implement apprenticeship and learnership programmes.  There are also other similar subsidies such as stipends paid to so-called 18.2 (unemployed) learners and employees participating in the training lay-off scheme”, said FEDUSA General Secretary Dennis George.

“Still, we are concerned that an unconditional wage subsidy would create a two-tier labour market open to misuse by employers who seek to maximise profit and improve their bottom line.  FEDUSA will insist on strict conditions such as compliance with all labour legislation and bargaining council collective agreements must be part of pre-conditions before such a scheme could be implemented”, he added.  “Rather we urge a condition of training to be added to the subsidy, so that young people can gain both training and experience through the proposed system”, said George.

Continue reading FEDUSA CALLS FOR TRAINING-BASED WAGE SUBSIDY

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) yesterday considered the newly released discussion document entitled “Strengthening Retirement Savings” at its 61^st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting yesterday.  Although the document was only released for comment by National Treasury the day before, the NEC resolved to thoroughly study and critique the document while calling on members to remain calm until the process is finalised.

The issue of social security reform and specifically retirement fund reform have been topical focus areas with the Federation for the past years.  Most recently, a FEDUSA delegation met with National Treasury to discuss progress on the matter when rumours of the release of a further document came to the fore.

“Our Retirement Reform Task Team met with National Treasury on 16 April [2012] after an urgent call to Minister [of Finance] Gordhan.  The Minister gladly availed one of his directors to meet with us in Pretoria, and we discussed various issues relating to the process.  Of course, the main thrust of our discussions was to remind Treasury of the need to table these planned changes at NEDLAC [the National Economic Development and Labour Council] so that we can make the necessary inputs,” explained FEDUSA General Secretary Dennis George.

Continue reading FEDUSA CALLS FOR CALM IN PENSION PROCESS

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is alarmed at growing levels of unemployment as reflected in yesterday’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). Statistics indicated that once again unemployment breached the 25% mark standing at a whopping 25,2%.  Areas of concern include the drop in manufacturing jobs and growing unemployment in the Eastern Cape and the Free State.

“While the survey reports that the number of persons in the labour force increased by 207 000 since the fourth quarter of 2011, overall employment decreased by 75 000 for people between the ages of 15 and 65,” stated FEDUSA General Secretary Dennis George.

“Although we are well-aware that these figures normally rise after the seasonal gains of the December festive season, it is of great concern that both the formal and informal sectors showed serious declines of 107 000 and 28 000, respectively.  Most hard-hit were the manufacturing, construction and social services sectors, while we are glad to see the growth in the agricultural sector (26 000) and private households (33 000)”, added George.

Continue reading FEDUSA ALARMED AT JOB LOSSES

Left to Right: James Lefika (Provincial Secretary), KE Bila (Provincial Chairperson), Godfrey Selematsela (Deputy President), Dennis George (General Secretary)

Statement by General Secretary Dennis George to the May Day Rally held in Polokwane, Limpopo on 1 May 2012.

As we celebrate Workers’ Day, we reflect on our achievements and the many challenges that workers in our country face.

Workers are the lifeblood of our economy; we contribute every day by keeping the economy going forward. We contribute by paying VAT, PAYE and municipal taxes. We expect government to spend our taxes wisely on projects that will create a better life for the less fortunate in our society and for the poor. We expect government to spend the taxpayers’ contribution on quality education, on health, and to provide a safe environment, free from crime and corruption.

We are concerned that our education system does not produce high quality and knowledgeable workers, who are able to solve complex problems. Our universities and FET colleges are overcrowded, and our pass rate is very low if compared with other African countries.

Our SETAs do not produce enough artisans to reach the annual target of 30 000 highly skilled artisans. Why was it possible for the apartheid government to produce a sufficient number of artisans, but the democratic government does not have the ability to take young people and give them the adequate training to turn them into highly skilled productive workers that can add value to the economy?

Continue reading MAY DAY 2012 STATEMENT