Unions call for an extra Xmas public holiday
Business Unity says SA can’t afford to close businesses
The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) as well as the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) have made calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare December 27 this year a public holiday.
Christmas Day falls on a Sunday this year.
“The 25th of December 2022 is on Sunday and the Goodwill Day’s public holiday would fall on Monday the 26th. This means workers would lose out on both holiday pay and rest time during this public holiday,” said Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla.
“Workers whose workplaces will mainly be open during the festive season will not enjoy the Christmas holiday to its fullest if the government fails to issue such a presidential proclamation.”
Pamla said the Christmas period is the only time workers can travel home to rural areas to spend time with their children and families.
“Workers will equally struggle to find persons to look after their children if they are prematurely required to return to work a day early.
“The festive season with its public holidays is critical in boosting the retail, tourism, travel and hospitality sectors and employment creation. Cosatu urges the president to follow the precedent set previously by then president [Jacob] Zuma and declare the 27th of December 2022 an additional once-off public holiday in appreciation of the sacrifices workers have made in keeping the economy moving, rebuilding the economy and carrying the nation on their shoulders over a very difficult year.”
However, Business Unity SA managing director Cas Coovadia disagreed with the proposal, saying the closure of businesses would negatively affect the economy.
“We have got to avoid closing businesses and stopping the economy as much as we can. So we would not be of the view that it should be made a public holiday, we have enough public holidays for the year.
“It will have significant impact on an economy that is already not growing. …we need to grow the economy, we need to grow jobs, we need to increase our tax income. …we should be bending over backwards to do business on as many days as we can rather than closing the businesses.”