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Manuel looks for growth as rates fal... SA banks strong, but the global ground... Sacob worried about 'restrictive' labour... Creating a sheriff for the global Wild W... Tax and duty relief for exporter... Raft of jobs summit agreements in offin... Boom time as blue-collar America cashes ... Interest rates cause surge in inflatio... Employment equity on track despite criti... |
Raft of jobs summit agreements in offing
UNEMPLOYMENT
AS MANY as 40 undertakings to arrest SA's unemployment scourge are likely to be agreed upon at the upcoming presidential jobs summit. Agreements should include a statement about differences of opinion on the government's macro-economic strategy, measures to combat unemployment and funding for projects. Projects are set to include programmes around housing and housing rental stock - a key proposal contained in the Congress of SA Trade Unions submission to the jobs summit and which it estimates could cost between R30-billion and R35-billion. Other projects include tourism and infrastructural development, youth brigades, training and learning. Alec Erwin, Trade and Industry Minister and government co-ordinator for the summit, declined to detail funding for the projects until the summit, scheduled for October 30. Business has already pledged R1-billion for job creation while government has budgeted R800-million for infrastructural development in the current year. A further allocation will be made available in next year's Budget for direct job creation. Organised labour has pledged to contribute a day's pay towards the Umsobomvu Fund (to be launched from demutualisation levies). Erwin says an interministerial structure will be set up to continue with the work of the summit and a review summit held a year later. The summit, which is scheduled for October 30, is intended to provide short- to medium-term measures for job creation while structural changes are implemented in the economy. SA's unemployment is officially 22.9% of the potential workforce for 1997, according to accepted International Labour Organisation (ILO) measures. Previous official measurements put the 1997 jobless rate as high as 37.6% until the method of calculation was changed to the labour organisation's definition - which is used by more than 80% of both developed and less developed countries. The economy is also continuing to shed jobs. According to figures by the South African Reserve Bank, the economy shed in excess of 100 000 jobs last year. Statistics SA (formerly the Central Statistical Services) estimated that the economy lost 500 000 jobs in the past four years.
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