Amendment may destroy many jobs in Vaal

An amendment to Section 198 of the Labour Relations Act will force employers to provide permanent employment to temporary workers who have been employed continuously for more than three months and earn below a specified threshold.

The Vaal Triangle, where tourism and hospitality has become a major focus over the past few years, has an additional challenge: here we also have temporary or seasonal workers to assist such businesses in the boom months from October to mid-January (3 months). In the case of these workers, permanent employment can unfortunately not be financially justified due to the lower level of business for the remaining months of the year.

Mrs Rosemary Cloete-Anderson, chairperson of the Emfuleni Tourism Association and deputy chairperson of Sedibeng Interim RTO and FEDHASA (Inland), advises local businesses to protect themselves in that regard, in case they end up experiencing litigation in which a business is forced to keep on seasonal workers they have employed during the busy season.

General unemployment figures for South Africans between the ages of 16 and 24, a typical age group to get involved as “temps” in the hospitality industry, went up from 50% in 2010 to 53% in 2014. This is according to statistics from The World Bank Group.

The irony of the amended law is the negative effect it has had on employment numbers. Results of a recent South African study confirmed a sharp rise in job losses in the immediate aftermath of the regulatory amendment.

Mrs Anderson says local business owners can only hope the powers-that-be see the damage this amendment has caused to the employment numbers and reverse the amendment. They also need to see that businesses have enough problems and restraints to cope with as it is – they don’t need any more.

For a change, businesses need some-thing motivational that benefits them as opposed to the regular addition of negative “challenges” for which they have to keep on making provision. Most businesses report that it is really tough just trying to stay in business in South Africa – even more so in the Vaal Triangle where our economy for many years relied on a now-ailing steel sector.

“It is a smaller world now, and there are fewer reasons now why we business people should not rather move elsewhere, where it is just easier and more secure to run and operate a successful business. The powers-that-be need to take cognisance of this,” says Mrs Anderson.

Vaalweekblad cannot agree more.