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

1. teach employers how to apply for govt incentives

2. scrap discriminatory pricing that undermines growth of downstream industries

3. increase local content to 75%

4. increase local production and reduce reliance on FDI

funding for R&D from govt

Trade policy

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

2. export finance to be made available outside of the auto sector

Procurement

Intensify our buy local campaign:

1. pushing provincial and local state to buy goods and services locally

2. all ssc to engage their employers and source supplies locally

3. engage parastatals and SOEs to comply with buy local around procurement

Auto

1. review incentives of APDP

2. 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

3. structural adjustment funds from govt to ensure job security

4. end importation of luxury vehicles

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

6. MIDP/APDP are locally produced

7. renewal of govt fleet of vehicles with cleaner vehicles

8. companies that bring in fully built up vehicles should be penalised

Infrastructure programmes

1. have localised focus

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

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

4. assess programmes of provincial govts

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

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

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

Short-time, layoffs, retrenchments

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

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

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

4. training for retrenched workers especially on ABET, etc

5. accelerate RPL for all workers and train to become artisans

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

7. workers on lay-off to be absorbed in EPWPs

8. negotiate indigent policies for retrenched workers

9. Work Security Fund to be established across all sectors

Training

1. establish and control Union technical training college

revive regional accreditation centres

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

3. incentives for employers to train

Solidarity economy/co-ops

1. implement affordable universal health coverage

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

3. govt to help set up co-op support agency

4. community-based childcare facilities

5. community laundries

6. food programmes