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By Palesa Matlala
• More than 47,000 jobs were saved through Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration interventions during the past financial year.
• The government says 116,000 job seekers found work while the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Labour Activation Programme created 93,730 jobs.
More than 47,000 workers escaped losing their jobs over the past financial year as South Africa continues to battle unemployment.
Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth said interventions by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration helped save the jobs.
Meth revealed the figures in a written reply to Parliament after Economic Freedom Fighters MP Tebogo Mokwele questioned what the government was doing about unemployment.
Mokwele also wanted to know how the government was dealing with companies that exploit workers or deny them fair wages and benefits.
Meth said more than 1.1 million job seekers registered with the department during the past financial year.
More than 357,000 people received employment counselling and over 116,000 were placed in work opportunities.
“The Department has implemented a number of measures to help curb the unemployment challenge,” Meth said.
Government programmes also created thousands of other opportunities.
Meth said funding allocated by the National Treasury created 1,215 work opportunities for people with disabilities.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Labour Activation Programme supported more than 174,000 people and created 93,730 jobs.
The department is also checking whether employers are following labour laws.
Meth said its inspectors carried out more than 309,000 workplace inspections during the financial year.
The government is also targeting sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture for more employment opportunities.
Meth said the National Pathway Management Network created more than 96,418 employment opportunities during the past financial year.
The department is working with the network and the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative to increase demand for workers in important sectors.
Meth said the government has also introduced the National Labour Migration Policy and proposed changes to the Employment Services Act.
She said these measures are aimed at creating further job opportunities for South Africans.
The figures show several government programmes are placing people in work and protecting existing jobs, but South Africa’s unemployment challenge remains at the centre of the department’s work.
Pictured above: Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth says more than 47,000 jobs were saved through labour dispute interventions.
Image source: Supplied
