Unemployment in South Africa will end in catastrophe if the ANC government does not urgently recognise that its discriminatory legislation on race in the labour sector is damaging the economy, and does away with it.
According to Statistics South Africa (SSA), the country’s unemployment rate has reached its highest level in two years with a staggering 12,4 million people without jobs.
The general unemployment rate has risen from 41,9% in the first quarter of this year to 42,6%.
The FF Plus has been warning for decades that legislation on Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action (AA) will not only destroy the economy, but also the labour sector along with it – a fact that can no longer be denied.
The Government of National Unity (GNU) will have to make changes to the current restrictive labour legislation to unlock the private sector’s massive potential and create more jobs.
A true free market system will boost economic growth and everyone in South Africa will benefit, particularly the unemployed who need it most.
The FF Plus rejects exploitation or a starvation wage, but a healthy economic environment will naturally result in higher salaries. The current situation should be weighed up against the detrimental impact of the present pervasive unemployment.
The fact that 18 000 of the job losses were recorded in the private household sector is a clear indication of how the poor economy is affecting ordinary households as well as the impact of the minimum wage on certain sectors.
