Protests contributing to ongoing retrenchments: Economist
Director and Chief Economist at Econometrix, Dr Azar Jammine warns that ongoing protests have encouraged employees to become more dependant on technology for reliable labour.
This follows the announcement by Sibanye Stillwater that it plans on cutting 5,270 jobs at its Marikana mine in the North West.
Thousands of workers in the motor industry and the security sector have turned to the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as a last resort after wage talks with their respective employers deadlocked.
Last week, the Johannesburg Metrobus service ground to a halt when members of the union, Demawusa, downed tools for a week as part of their demand that employees with more experience be paid higher salaries.
Jammine says the biggest contributor to retrenchments is not only a weakening economy, but technological innovations.
"The state of retrenchments has everything to do with the fact that the economy is not growing particularly well. That is probably even more an important factor than the 4th Industrial revolution," says Jammine
"There is no question that the high level of industrial action in the South African economy is promoting the use of technology as an alternative," adds Jammine.
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On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank's quarterly bulletin confirmed that South Africa's economy is experiencing it's longest downward cycle since 1945.
The month of September became the 70th month of a weakening cycle.