Johannesburg - AS the economy continues to bleed jobs, the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) plans to call for an economic summit at Monday's National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) executive council meeting.
"We will have to join hands with our social partners ? government and organised business. That is the only way of addressing a challenge of this magnitude," said Fedusa general secretary Dennis George.
"I will also place the item on the agenda of the presidential working- group meeting that will be held on the fourth of next month and discuss the matter with President Kgalema Motlanthe and our colleagues in organised business," he said.
Like a cancer, the economic crisis is gnawing away at jobs. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) numbers show that more than 70 000 jobs have already been lost in the third quarter of this year and unions are fearing even more job losses.
"We believe the trend will continue until the end of the second quarter of next year. It's difficult to put a number on it but we believe tens of thousands of people will probably lose their jobs," said Jaco Kleynhans, head of communication and research at trade union Solidarity.
Fedusa research and development officer Krister van Rensburg said: "Fedusa affiliates are already feeling the pinch, with many unions reporting that red lights are flickering in terms of the job security of their members."
Kleynhans said companies in several industries had started cost-saving projects.
"Part of this cost-saving initiative is to reduce their workforce. They do it by not filling vacancies, not renewing the contracts of contract workers and by offering voluntary packages to workers," he said.
"Our experience is that there are two phases of job losses. The first is the phase that I've just described. The second is the more formal retrenchment process. This is the phase that we see is only starting now. We've received a formal notice of a retrenchment from Uranium One, the platinum group metals miner, which plans to lay off more than 1 000 employees.
Mining sector
"Indications are that we will receive several more within the next few weeks before the end of the year.
"The biggest problems are in the mining industry, especially the platinum sector. This is due to an increase in production costs - the cost of electricity and explosives - as well as the lower commodity prices and a lower demand for metals, again especially platinum, which can be blamed on the international economic slowdown.
"We also see that other export companies, like those in the metal and engineering, chemical and car manufacturing industries, want to reduce their workforce."
Fedusa's biggest affiliate, United Association of South Africa (Uasa), which organises in various sectors, including mining, says several companies have told its minerals division, with mines such as Dominium Reefs in Klerksdorp, that they are in the process of downsizing.
"It seems the intention is to retrench up to 1 000 mineworkers and Uasa will do everything in its power to avoid this. We know how important employment is for our society and we are aware of the massive social repercussions of retrenchments," said Uasa chief executive Koos Bezuidenhout.
The Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) also foresees problems. The retail motor sector is taking serious strain at the moment with many franchised dealers scaling down or closing down. These include McCarthy Motors, Sandown Motors, Associated Motor Holdings and Toit's Motors. The estimated figures are close to 650 employees.
Misa general secretary Dana de Villiers said Misa and National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa had jointly requested an urgent summit with the employer bodies to discuss the crisis.
"The aim of this initiative is to investigate possible alternatives to retrenchments," said De Villiers.
The National Union of Leather and Allied Workers (Nulaw) has reported that its members who work for tanneries that supply leather seats to car manufacturers are also facing job cuts. These manufacturers include BMW and Daimler-Chrysler.
"These tanneries blame the recent downsizing initiatives on the current global economic crisis as both tanneries are manufacturing for exports. The tanneries in question are Bader SA Tannery, where 68 jobs were lost, and Seton SA, where 98 workers were retrenched," said Nulaw general secretary Ashley Benjamin.
- City Press