Workers face severe post-corona headache
Uncertainty continues to hover over the working class because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has severely affected the health care, economy, job security and lives of people globally.
Adding salt to the wound is the fact that the SA Reserve Bank expects 370,000 job losses and 1,600 business insolvencies to result.
Though President Ramaphosa announced antiCovid-19 measures to assist employers and workers during the lockdown, it remains to be seen whether jobs will still be there in the aftermath of this virus.
Retail giant Edcon announced in distress that more than 1,000 stores will be closed during the lockdown and that it will cost the retailer R800m in sales. It also said March revenue would be R400m below forecast.
Wait! There’s more: what about SMMEs, food retailers and mining, which will be expected to pay rentals and salaries during this period?
The period of the lockdown does not do away with the virus but is there to minimise and contain it.
So if the status quo of already-infected continues to rise exponentially, what is to be done to curb the number of imminent job losses? Must we expect extended lockdowns or do away with lockdowns?
The responsibility of trade unions is to protect the interests of workers and to ensure the sustainability of the establishment to avoid unnecessary retrenchments for their members.
With mass job losses looming, I think the critical question we need to ask ourselves as unionists and government is what is to be done?
We need to admit that the pandemic is here to stay for a long time.
In the meantime, we need to be resilient to flatten the Covid-19 curve and also to sustain employment.
How? That remains the million-dollar question.
Mpumelelo Peter, Satawu provincial maritime sector chair (writing in my personal capacity)