The world is in crisis. It is a crisis of financialised capitalism which has impacted seriously on Numsa sectors. In the automotive and allied sectors about 40 000 jobs have been lost.

In engineering although about 3000 jobs have been lost so far, about 36000 notifications of short-time have been registered. 

The dependent nature of our economy and reliance on commodity exports puts us in a grave situation. This is a vindication of the policy positions that labour has been lobbying government to adopt.

In the past 15 years we have argued for the following positions. An industrial strategy that:

is orientated towards job-led growth

fosters development of local productive capacity

meets social needs

diversifies the economy and orientates it away from a concentration on raw material extraction and exports and beneficiates our mineral resources

improves infrastructure especially in previously disadvantaged areas.

Now is the time to act. This conference has identified these short-term, medium- and long-term measures to address the current crisis.

Issue

Stimulus package

Numsa agrees with the stimulus package to save jobs. Such a package should:

1. ensure maximum local content

2. ensure provincial governments receive equitable shares

Bailout

Numsa says that all companies in distress to be bailed out by the state.

1. state to make available credit guarantees, low interest loans, emergency bridging loans to companies

2. not pay for inefficiencies

Bailout conditions

Any company that is a beneficiary to a stimulus package or bailout must comply with these conditions:

1. moratorium on retrenchments

2. business and labour must jointly approach government

3. information disclosure

4. information agency to investigate if companies are deserving

5. maximise local content

6. report quarterly on business progress

7. bailout must not be used for CEO bonuses

Fiscal policy

We are pushing for a progressive counter-cyclical expansionary fiscal policy.

1. assess 2009/ 2010 budgets of provincial governments and what they say on job losses and distressed sectors

Industrial policy

teach employers how to apply for govt incentives

scrap discriminatory pricing that undermines growth of downstream industries

increase local content to 75%

increase local production and reduce reliance on FDI

funding for R&D from govt

Trade policy

review and revise tariffs to protect industry and increase tariffs to maximum possible under WTO

export finance to be made available outside of the auto sector

Procurement

Intensify our buy local campaign:

pushing provincial and local state to buy goods and services locally

all ssc to engage their employers and source supplies locally

engage parastatals and SOEs to comply with buy local around procurement

Auto

review incentives of APDP

The support provided in terms of MIDP /APDP:

– must guarantee decent jobs, cannot use contract, casual workers, nor labour brokers

– must not use suppliers who use labour brokers

– must keep production in SA

– must keep volumes high and reduce imports

– must improve public transport

structural adjustment funds from govt to ensure job security

end importation of luxury vehicles

ensure that 70% of all components and inputs to cars produced under

MIDP/APDP are locally produced

renewal of govt fleet of vehicles with cleaner vehicles

companies that bring in fully built up vehicles should be penalised

Infrastructure programmes

have localised focus

focus on rural areas: proper infrastructure, state-led agricultural sector, supply tractors, seeds, water for food security

road workers must be employed by govt and paid a living wage

assess programmes of provincial govts

beneficiaries must be local communities – no labour brokers in these programmes

ss to discuss with management how private companies can take advantage of the programme

increase allocations from central government to provincial govt for services because of expected decline in revenue because of job losses

Short-time, layoffs, retrenchments

full wages guaranteed by govt – source funds from Setas + govt injection

keep people in their homes by demanding a moratorium on foreclosures (evictions), renegotiate their bonds, increase govt rental housing

govt and Setas to fund training for those on lay-off and short-time and to be used for training on hard core skills

training for retrenched workers especially on ABET, etc

accelerate RPL for all workers and train to become artisans

call for facilitation from NPI once notice given on short-time

workers on lay-off to be absorbed in EPWPs

negotiate indigent policies for retrenched workers

Work Security Fund to be established across all sectors

Training

establish and control Union technical training college

revive regional accreditation centres

reinstate ratio on artisan: apprentices (eg 1:4)

incentives for employers to train

Solidarity economy/co-ops

implement affordable universal health coverage

speed up rollout of ARVs, employ and train more nurses, produce drugs locally,

govt to help set up co-op support agency

community-based childcare facilities

community laundries

food programmes

Nationalisation

companies threatened with closure and still viable to be taken over by govt

nationalise key sectors producing key raw materials eg steel, oil

Green jobs

Numsa to lead on creation of 'green jobs'

diversify on 'green jobs'

research funding for cleaner vehicles

Social campaigns

labour broking to be

Source

Numsa News