Jobs summit to focus on high impact interventions for job retention and economic growth
Social partners in the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) have agreed that the Jobs Summit be held on 4 and 5 October 2018 and that it focus on collaborative and high-impact interventions to drive job creation, job retention and economic growth. This was agreed to at a meeting held on Wednesday 29 August 2018 in Cape Town of the Presidential Committee on the Jobs Summit, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Jobs Summit Presidential Committee is composed of the leadership of government, labour, business and community organisations and is tasked with guiding preparations towards the Jobs Summit first mooted by President Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation Address earlier this year. The Committee is resolute that this Jobs Summit must be a major step towards jointly addressing the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality with its interventions directed primarily to assist youth, women and low-income families and communities.
The Committee has five working committees covering economic sector-specific interventions; small, medium and micro enterprises support; education and skills; inclusive growth, transformation and inequality; and public and social programmes, labour market and anti-corruption.
The social partners are meeting weekly in each of these five working committees on developing practical and catalytic interventions, including policy-related interventions that will have an impact on job creation.
The social partners have expressed concern with the continuing job losses, including in the manufacturing, construction and mining sectors. They have agreed that, in the context of potential retrenchments, the Training Layoff Scheme must be made more accessible and efficient in mitigating job losses without delay. The Jobs Summit also seeks to explore innovative approaches to support public and private enterprise development and procurement to boost the local economy.
The social partners recognised the current constraints on investment and growth and the impact that this has on employment. This reinforced the need to intensify efforts to shift the structure of the economy in a manner that positions South Africa to participate competitively in the 4th Industrial Revolution. Social partners also agreed to collaborate on mechanisms to address corruption, including an anti-corruption pledge, and to discuss excessive executive pay and wage inequality. This work is continuing over the next month to firm up these and other proposals.
The social partners welcomed the assurance from President Ramaphosa that there are no forced retrenchments planned in the public sector. The President emphasised the interrelationship between the Jobs Summit and Investment Summit. President Ramaphosa also stressed the commitment of government to work with the private sector at the highest level to remove policy and regulatory barriers to investment and job creation.
President Ramaphosa emphasised that this Jobs Summit was distinct from previous ones in that it involved all social partners in both determining and implementing solutions. President Ramaphosa said he was encouraged by the unity of purpose and collaboration among social partners to confront the greatest challenge facing our country.
Source: Government of South Africa