Workers' Day focus should be on the jobless - Steenhuisen
DA leader John Steenhuisen says South Africans' focus on Workers' Day should be on the 46% of citizens who do not have the security and independence of a job.
Workers’ Day, also known as International Labour Day, is celebrated on May the 1st every year.
South Africa’s unemployment rate has climbed to 35.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Under the expanded definition which includes discouraged job seekers, the unemployment rate stands at 46.2%.
Steenhuisen says it is not good enough for President Cyril Ramaphosa to merely express concern over the jobs crisis.
“Talk alone will not create jobs. Talk will not convince investors that South Africa is a viable and attractive investment option. Talk will not make it easier or safer to keep a business operational in South Africa. Fixing this crisis will require decisive action.
"The people who create jobs - from the owners of large multinational corporations to small micro-enterprises - base their decisions on whether to start a new business, expand an existing one, or keep the doors to a struggling one open - on rational factors only, not on the words and sentiment of leaders."
Steenhuisen says government must create an environment that allows job-creating businesses to thrive.
“And if they’re not doing this, then writing newsletters or delivering speeches about the jobs crisis is entirely futile."
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