Urgent call for crisis summit on job losses in South Africa

A CRISIS summit on job losses is something that South Africa urgently needs in light of the recent spate of retrenchments across the country, says the chairperson of Parliament's Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade, Sonja Boshoff.

- JASON WOOSEY [e-mail]

She has urged the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, to convene such a summit amid mass retrenchments and downsizing by big companies, which has become “far too routine” in South Africa.

“We do not need another national dialogue talk shop. Our economy is stagnant and paralysed by contradictory policies. Workers and communities are counting on decisive leadership,” Boshoff said.

“These job losses are too many, too frequent, and under too much avoidable pressure. We must act now, not just to protect livelihoods, but to safeguard South Africa’s industrial future,” she added.