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Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma warned on Thursday more jobs will be lost while the economy "turn[s] the corner".
Speaking after a meeting of the economic crisis task team whose framework was adopted in February, Zuma lauded the efforts of organised labour, business and government to limit the effect of the recession, saying the downturn would have been more severe if it were not for these interventions.
For example, he said, government had saved 4 482 jobs from March to September through its training lay-off scheme.
The Industrial Development Corporation preserved a further 7 700 positions by approving loans of R2.1bn for 33 companies in distress.
Government, which promised to create 500 000 job opportunities in 2009, claims to have created 223 568 jobs in the second quarter with its public works programme.
While the economy has shed over a million jobs in 12 months, Zuma warned that government expects more to be lost in the near future. He said the interventions set out in the framework will continue for this reason.
'All about saving jobs'
"The team will continue to work to mitigate the effects of the crisis, and to lay the basis for more effective job creation in the future," said Zuma. He credited government's counter-cyclical fiscal and monetary policy - coupled with the way it had maintained government spending - as key components of the programme.
Aside from the R11bn budgeted for lay-off programmes, training schemes and loans to distressed companies, sector packages have also been developed for industries in trouble. These include the vehicle, clothing and textiles, capital equipment, transport equipment as well as metal fabrication sectors.
"Our interventions include, for example, trade remedies, skills funding for employees, industrial support and improved access to finance for capital support. The task team agreed on strict conditions for businesses that use state funding to prevent abuse."
Conditions include executive pay restraints, retrenchment restrictions, commitment to local procurement and social dialogue between labour and business at the workplace.
Zuma said small businesses have recovered nearly R3.7 million since government committed to a 30-day payment period on September 21 for services delivered.
- Fin24.com