Get creative and retrain workers

Once again, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s best efforts to encourage the country to pull together to get us out of the mess we are in, the trade unions have shown their true colours and are undermining efforts to improve the dire situation at Eskom.

Their single-minded socialist bigotry as it currently stands will only bring further disaster, based as it is on above inflation increase when times are good, and the concomitant refusal to accept retrenchments when times are hard.

Fortunately, there is a way out of this for all parties – if only all are prepared to bite the bullet.

It will, however require some sacrifice on all sides. The answer is retraining.

If, say through Nedlac, all parties were to set up national retraining schools using much of the ill-used Seta funds, all retrenchees could be retained on a portion of a salary and retrained in those areas where business and Seta have identified that needs exist.

Such a solution would cut across industry lines, but would mean no loss of jobs. Retrenched trainees would have to be fasttracked and it would be in their best interests to learn and develop new skills fast.

Desperate situations need desperate solutions. The time has come to put secular interests aside and derive creative solutions. Derek Kirsch