The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) will be holding its 15th national congress from 14 to 17 September.
It is a workers’ parliament where thousands of workers from our farms to our factories will be raising the many dire challenges that they experience at the workplace and in their communities. Most importantly, it is a chance to debate and craft solutions for the Federation to take beyond congress.
Congress will take place against the backdrop of some of the most intractable challenges facing the working class from a dangerously high 43.8% unemployment rate, to entrenched poverty and inequality, to the rising cost of living, to intolerable crime and corruption.
It occurs at a time when despite the substantial progress in tackling state capture and corruption, loadshedding and other challenges facing the state; many frontline public and municipal services are reeling from years of austerity budget cuts, mismanagement and neglect.
South Africa is facing many brutal headwinds, from the collapse of municipal services in many towns and communities to skyrocketing oil and fuel prices due to the war in the Persian Gulf to the weaponisation of international trade tariffs.
These have real consequences for domestic economic growth, for the very survival of many local companies to the jobs of thousands of South African workers, black and white, and their ability to take care of their families.
Over the past year we have seen furniture, jewellery and other manufacturing companies close in different parts of the Western Cape and South Africa because of the impact of the high tariffs set by the United States upon South African exports to the world’s largest economy. This has seen hundreds of workers, black and white, lose their jobs.
More recently the rural community of Tulbagh in the Western Cape is facing a potential economic Armageddon with the possible closure of Premier Group’s canning operations in this small town due to the impact of global economic shifts and US tariffs. This would see hundreds of factory and thousands of farm workers’ jobs lost. It would be a devastating blow to countless farms in the area.
In late 2019 and early 2020, the Edcon Group with its landlords, workers led by Cosatu and its affiliates, the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (SACTWU) and the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (SACCAWU) with the African National Congress led government and in particular the Unemployment Insurance Fund put together a turnaround package underpinned by a joint R3 billion injection. This helped save thousands of direct and indirect clothing and retail jobs.
A few years ago in Ashton, a similar package of interventions was but in place by the National and Western Cape Provincial Governments, Cosatu and its affiliates, Tiger Brands, local businesses and farmers to save thousands of direct and indirect, canning and agricultural jobs.
A similar intervention is now being pushed for the crisis in Tulbagh with the possible closure of Premier Group’s canning operations. It requires time, space and compromise, in particular by the CEO of Premier Group hellbent on retrenching workers, to enable an alternative to be found and put in place to save these local jobs, farms and businesses.
These are not the only instances of a rapid response intervention package needed to be put in place to save struggling local businesses and jobs. Nor will they be the last.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most successful interventions put in place was the UIF’s COVID-19 Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (TERS) which released over R65 billion to help more than 5.7 million workers care for their families whilst the economy was under lockdown. This helped save thousands of business and value chains and most importantly millions of jobs.
In 2018 the Unemployment Insurance Act was boldly amended to mandate the UIF not only to provide workers with financial relief when on maternity, parental or adoption leave or when they lose their jobs but also to invest its substantial funds (over R150 billion) in ways to help create and save thousands of jobs.
The UIF’s TERS was established to do exactly this. When companies are in distress, they are encouraged to apply for UIF TERS relief. This support comes in the form of support to cover workers’ salaries for a few months whilst the companies put in place a turnaround programme on condition that these jobs be saved.
Recently the Department of Employment substantially increased the funding for this progressive programme to R2.5 billion. If implemented efficiently this can help save thousands of jobs. If successful, it can set a path for it to be drastically ramped up to do even more for struggling economic sectors and jobs.
The challenge has been that few companies know about this progressive support. The few that do and apply for it are met with endless paperwork, red tape and delays. Companies that need relief in a matter of weeks may wait for up to 14 months to receive it, if at all.
As a consequence, in the past financial year less than 60 companies have received such relief with the amount dispersed sitting at 10% of the total funds allocated. This is a tragedy when thousands of workers are losing their jobs each month.
It is this deeply worrying state of affairs in the UIF TERS that compelled Cosatu to call upon the intervention of the President, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, and the Minister for Employment and Labour, Ms. Nomakhosazana Meth, to overhaul the UIF TERS to ensure that it is truly able to fulfill its critical mandate.
Companies need to be able to apply for relief with ease and receive it within weeks not months. It needs to be accompanied by support from turnaround specialists. Companies need to be held accountable for honouring their turnaround plans, in particular saving jobs.
President Ramaphosa has correctly placed great emphasis upon the value of social compacts between government, business and labour. Fixing the UIF TERS must be our urgent collective priority.
Solly Phetoe is the general secretary of Cosatu.
**The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.