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The Citizen
2 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Cosatu says debate on B-BBEE is needed for beneciaries' benefit
Cosatu calls for reform of B-BBEE to ensure real empowerment for workers and disadvantaged communities, not just political elites and business insiders. The debate about the broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) is needed on how to ensure it benefits the beneficiaries. This is according to union federation Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks, who was reacting to the ongoing debate on whether the B-BBEE policy is aimed at being biased against whites. Inequality persists 'While we support the B-BBEE Act, we believe a debate is needed on how to make sure it reaches its intended beneficiaries, in particular historically disadvantaged individuals and communities,' he said. 'We support the objectives of B-BBEE. These are necessary given three and a half centuries of systematic discrimination and disempowerment under colonial and apartheid rule. South Africa is 31 years into democracy but remains the world's most unequal society.' Parks said the policy was a necessity to help historically disadvantaged persons and communities to enter the economy, not only as wage earners but also as owners of businesses. He said Cosatu cannot remain satisfied with progress when the colour of one's skin still largely determines one's economic status. ALSO READ: Minister extends date for comments on R100 billion transformation fund 'Ticking time bomb' He added the majority of shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are owned by whites, similarly with regards to ownership patterns of businesses. 'This is a ticking time bomb that we must address. It's not racism against whites and, in fact, white women and white South Africans with disabilities are included. White South Africans and investors are not excluded,' he said. 'All the policy seeks to do is to boost the economic empowerment of those still disadvantaged. It has helped to begin the journey of building a nonracial society. While some progress has been made in building a black middle class and black industrialists, it is not enough given the inequalities still so prevalent.' Parks said more must be done to ensure 'it benefits workers and not just the elite and worker ownership and employee shareholder ownership programmes should be ramped up'. He added more must be done to ensure investors honour their B-BBEE shareholders and equity equivalents. Equity equivalents offer alternative for foreign investors When asked if Cosatu supports the equity equivalents, Parks agreed and said that has been one of two options under the B-BBEE Act for many years. He said they provide a useful option for international investors who are not able to do the B-BBEE shareholders' option. ALSO READ: DA transformation policies stance dents its image and may lose it votes, says expert 'Equity equivalent option allows investors to support local manufacturers, create jobs, skill workers or invest in local communities,' he said. 'These have benefited many local businesses, workers and communities. They have been successful in many sectors, including clothing and motor manufacturing. Many companies have utilised this option before.' Malatsi's draft policy Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi was recently criticised for unveiling a draft policy direction in the Government Gazette 'proposing an alternative to the B-BBEE ownership requirements for the ICT [Information and Communication Technology] sector'. 'The new model would allow companies to meet empowerment obligations through equity equivalent programmes rather than direct ownership transfers,' one critic said. The proposed amendment to the Act could facilitate the entry of investors such as Elon Musk's Starlink into South Africa's telecommunications market and contribute to the empowerment of the previously disadvantaged people without having done a direct transfer of ownership. Malatsi's critics said he was trying to pave a way for Starlink to do business in SA. Musk has previously criticised the B-BBEE policy, saying it was racist. NOW READ: Proposed Starlink deal 'wrong in principle and practice'
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Cabinet approves National Labour Migration Policy to regulate foreign employment
Cosatu has welcomed the Cabinet approving the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) White Paper 2025 for implementation. The paper will mark a significant step in regulating the movement and employment of foreign nationals in South Africa. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that the policy seeks to provide a framework to enforce proper and orderly movement and employment of foreign nationals in the country. 'It aims to achieve a balance across several areas, including addressing South Africans' expectations for job prospects, in light of rising unemployment and the perception that foreign nationals restrict labour market access.' Cabinet said that the NLMP introduces quotas on the total number of documented foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in major economic sectors such as agriculture, hospitality and tourism, as well as construction, among others. 'The policy complements other interventions such as enforcement of a list of sectors where foreign nationals cannot be allocated business visas and amendments to the National Small Enterprise Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996), as amended, to limit foreign nationals establishing small, medium and micro enterprises, and trading in some sectors of the economy.' Cabinet added that the NLMP is the first comprehensive National Labour Migration Policy aimed at managing labour migration both into and out of the country. 'The policy is designed to promote a 'brain gain' by attracting skilled workers to South Africa, while also addressing the 'brain drain' caused by the emigration of skilled professionals. The Employment Services Amendment Bill goes hand-in-hand with the NLMP and has been created to make it legal for the government to regulate the employment of immigrants in South African businesses.' One of the bill's more contentious features is the potential introduction of employment quotas, which would limit the number of immigrants that businesses can hire and require employers to prioritise the hiring of South African citizens, the Cabinet said. Matthew Parks, Parliamentary Coordinator for Cosatu, said that he welcomes Cabinet's approval of the National Labour Migration Policy and the Employment Services Amendment Bill. 'Cosatu extensively engaged on both the Policy and the Bill at Nedlac and looks forward to the Bill's processing and adoption by Parliament and their implementation. The Bill and the Policy provide a long overdue response to the flood of undocumented migrant labour into the economy over the past decade.' Parks said this will enable the Minister for Employment and Labour to set limits on the number of documented migrant workers that can be employed in a workplace and an economic sector. 'These limits are critical for an economy battling dangerously high and rising unemployment levels of 43.1% overall and 72% among youth. We have seen countless unscrupulous employers in certain sectors, in particular agriculture, petrol stations, restaurants, and construction, among others; preferring to employ undocumented migrant labour as their vulnerability opens them to wildly abusive exploitation." Parks said they hope that the Department of Employment and Labour's recruitment drive for an additional 20 000 labour inspectors will provide a decisive boost to efforts to crack down on such violations of workers' hard-won labour rights. It is crucial that the Critical Skills List be continuously assessed by government with business and labour at Nedlac to ensure that it is positioned to attract scarce skills to South Africa, to upskill local workers and to ensure unemployed South Africans with such needed skills are prioritised, he said. 'Whilst migration is ingrained with history and South Africa is no exception, the current levels into South Africa are unsustainable, more so given the high levels of unemployment. The Bill and Policy seek to find the correct balance and to ensure the state is better capacitated to set limits and protect the needs of workers. These are badly needed, and their implementation must be expedited,' Parks said. BUSINESS REPORT Visit:
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa faces increased unemployment as youth joblessness reaches alarming levels
Trade unions and other experts have raised concern about South Africa's unemployment rate rising to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025 from 31.9% in the final quarter of 2024 released on Tuesday. Image: Phill Magakoe AFP Trade unions and other experts have raised concern about South Africa's unemployment rate rising to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2025 from 31.9% in the final quarter of 2024 . According to Statistics South Africa, youth unemployment is currently at 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025. Matthew Parks, parliamentary coordinator for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), said job numbers typically increase during the festive season as sectors like retail and hospitality thrive. Parks said this decrease in employment was extremely worrying. 'We cannot continue to normalise an economy where four out of 10 South Africans cannot find work. Our unemployment levels and the inability of an economy stumbling along 1% growth annually to absorb new labour market entrants must be treated as the existential threat to the nation,' he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) said the increase in discouraged work-seekers reflected widespread disengagement from the world of work. Fedusa said that they believed that the solution lied in an integrated strategy rooted in inclusive industrial policy, active labour market interventions, and strong institutional coordination. 'Labour-absorbing sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing, green energy, and the care economy must be prioritised,' it said. South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, said that youth unemployment remained a national catastrophe. Professor Raymond Parsons, a North-West University Business School economist, said that the 1% rise in the unemployment level again raised another red flag about SA's weak growth performance. 'With GDP growth forecasts for 2025 having been progressively reduced by various institutions and economists to about 1.5% and below, it is not unexpected that this should now be reflected in higher unemployment levels," Parsons said. "The overall total unemployment level is now where it was a year ago and youth unemployment in particular remains at an unacceptable magnitude.' Anchor Capital said it was clear that South Africa continued to grapple with a relentless rise in unemployment, casting a shadow over the country's recovery efforts. 'While recent key reform measures point to a more positive trajectory, this progress has not yet trickled down to many South Africans in the form of job opportunities," said Anchor Capital. "Structural challenges, such as a skills gap, labour market rigidities, and the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated unemployment rates, especially among the youth.' An economics professor at the North-West University, Waldo Krugell, said that the loss of jobs in the first quarter was worrying. 'It's also concerning for South Africa's growth. We don't have a GDP number yet but if you see this contraction in employment it tells you that growth has been stagnating again and this is a major problem. It doesn't bode well for doing business in South Africa,' Krugell said. Visit:
The Citizen
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Employment Equity Bill has ‘shortcomings'
Cosatu slams claim employment equity law will affect growth. Amendments in the Employment Equity Act came into effect on 1 January 2025. Picture: iStock The assertion by the SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) that the Employment Equity (EE) Amendment Bill was likely to trigger disinvestment and emigration has been slated. The criticism comes from the country's political left, with labour federation Cosatu describing the SAIRR stance as 'bizarre'. Women, young men faring worse in labour markets Against the background of the EE – currently under discussion in parliament – seeking to redress decades of race and gender-based inequalities at the workplace, Statistics SA (Stats SA) numbers have pointed to women and young men faring worse in labour markets globally. According to Stats SA, women's labour force participation in the country remains lower than men's, with about half of the female population participating in the workforce compared to almost two-thirds of men. Cosatu national spokesperson Matthew Parks said the EE Act was 'nearly as old as our hard-won democracy and has stood the test of time, including previous court reviews'. 'If SAIRR had retained its once respected research capacity, it would be familiar with the 2023 amendments to the Employment Equity Act,' said Parks. ALSO READ: Five-year Employment Equity targets: What must each sector aim for? The proposed amendments to the law followed extensive engagements between labour and business at the National Economic Development and Labour Council, with similar public hearings held in parliament. 'All this seeks to strike a fair balance between easing administrative burdens on SMMEs [small, medium and micro enterprises], reflecting South Africa's demographic diversity and, equally, nudging employers to do better in ensuring all employees have a fair chance to fulfil their full potential. 'The focus is, in particular, on historically denied equal opportunity,' he said. The changes, said Parks, included 'adapting employment equity targets to take into account regional demographic diversity and to adopt more focused targets for sectors falling woefully behind employment equity'. Cosatu says SAIRR's arguments show 'deficiency of understanding' The regulations provided 'ample time, five years and modest targets – well below population demographics, for employers to work towards'. 'While SAIRR are free to take any law to court for constitutional verification, we are confident their legal adventurism will be dismissed as legally devoid and recognised as the apartheid nostalgia we believe it is,' said Parks. ALSO READ: Top management remains white and male-dominated – report 'SAIRR would be better placed to spend its money on a constitutional law 101 course, to help them become better acquainted with the constitution. 'Their arguments reveal a curious deficiency of understanding. The constitution is eloquently clear in its requirements for the state to seek measures to address the discriminatory legacies of the past and the inequalities of today.' Employment Equity Act 'will deter investment' SAIRR head of policy research, Anthea Jeffery argued: 'This will deter investment, limit growth, reduce employment and add to inequality – making recovery from the Covid lockdown harder to achieve.' Jeffery said employment equity committee 2020 figures pointed to 'an astonishingly fast pace of EE implementation in the public service'. She said rigid racial quotas 'rather than the more flexible numerical goals mandated by the EE Act' were implemented. This, she said, led to 'appointing black people without the necessary skills and experience, leaving important posts vacant, where suitable black candidates cannot be found'. 'Since 2015, all new legislation in South Africa has had to be subjected to a socioeconomic impact assessment before it is adopted. 'This must be done in terms of the guidelines for the socioeconomic impact assessment system, developed by the department of planning, monitoring and evaluation,' said Jeffery. ALSO READ: White dominance in top jobs sparks union outcry Business body Sakeliga chief executive Piet le Roux said the Bill had 'shortcomings'. Sakeliga, said Le Roux, was opposed to 'racial considerations in matters of public policy – as a matter of moral principle, constitutional legality and commercial efficacy'.
