SACP FREE STATE PROVINCE PRESS STATEMENT

5 February 2000

On the 5th February 2000, an extended Provincial Executive Committee of the SACP was convened. Amongst the issues debated werethe following:

• Preparations for the coming local government elections
• Demarcation of Municipal Boundaries COSATU's campaign against job losses and for job creation

On COSATU's campaign against job losses, the meeting completely supported COSATU'scampaign against jobs losses. South Africa is facing a national crisis of job losses and rising unemployment. Despite the agreements of the jobs summit in October 1998, employers are still retrenching workers in large numbers in all major economic sectors.

As the Free State SACP we believe thus spectre of job losses in our country has reached crisis proportions. The job losses are
a direct attack on all poor and working people. They undermine the objectives of reconstruction and development.

There can be no job creation without serious attention to job retention. It is our considered view that the fundamental cause
of the jobs' crisis in our country is capitalism particularly its current phase of globalisation. The basic logic of capitalism is maximisation of profits at the expense of a living wage for workers. More specifically the SACP puts forward the following
demands to the bosses and government:

• Stop job losses
• Implement the resolutions of the 1998 Jobs Summit
• Employers should not be able to retrench workers easily. The SACP demands that the Labour Relations Act be changed to make it compulsory for employers to negotiate retrenchments and explore other options with workers in full.
• The SACP supports the COSATU demand that severance pay must be increased from one week of service per year to one month for every year worked. This will make retrenchments more difficult and workers will get more for their years of service.
• The state can and does create jobs. The SACP calls for public works programmes for housing, water provision,
  maintenance and building of roads and literacy eradication.
• The SACP calls for the development and implementation of a government led industrial strategy to help struggling industries to survive and develop new industries for job creation and meeting people’s needs.
• The SACP supports the COSATU demand for compulsory contributions to a Social Plan Fund by employers to support retrenched workers through retraining and social security.
• The SACP calls for the establishment of workers’ and community co-operatives for job creation. Co-operatives would be worker and community owned public companies.
• The SACP calls for a review of the government’s economic policy in order to create jobs and boost public investments by government.
   

Issued by the Secretariat
Tutu Ralane - SACP Provincial Secretary, Free State Province