As statistics revealed that 2.2 million jobs were cut between April and June this year across the country, Cosatu said it was not shocked at the depressing figures.
Cosatu National spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said that this was because government was keen on implementing a framework of policies that did not prioritise creation of employment.
Pamla stated said that the increase in unemployment rate at the beginning of the year was catastrophic.
“These are depressing numbers but we are not shocked. When the Finance Minister set out the budget, we predicted that this was going to happen, that the economy was not going to be resuscitated but it was going to be suffocated.”
“The job losses are the flag for the choices we’ve made as a country over the last couple of months”, Pamla said.
Pamla advised that the depressing situation required a bold economic recovery plan that would focus mainly on job creation through labor-intensive projects.
“Behind those numbers are people with livelihoods being destroyed.”
“We need a sense of urgency, we need to plug the loopholes but we also need a hands-on government that is going to inject new money into the economy to work with all social partners to find ways of actually making sure that we all of the decisions of Nedlac are implemented.”
