Adcorp reports uptick in permanent employment for first time in 16 months

The South African economy created 23,861 jobs across the formal and informal sector in the last two months of 2013, according to the latest Adcorp employment index, released on Monday.  Although most of those jobs were created in the informal sector, permanent jobs in the formal sector showed growth for the first time in 16 months.  The informal sector created 12,722 jobs during November and December, while there were 5,271 new formal-sector permanent jobs and almost 6,000 new temporary jobs.  The construction and transport sectors added jobs, while the financial sector and mining shed workers.  Adcorp labour market economist Loane Sharp said Adcorp had also examined the effect of immigration and emigration.  This showed that about 359,000 highly skilled South Africans had returned from foreign work assignments since the global financial crisis in 2008.  Sharp said SA sat with about 829,000 unfilled vacancies because of a "consistent shortage of high-skilled workers", while the supply of such foreign workers had been "negligible" due to "strict" immigration laws.

• Read this report at BDLive
• See too, Jobs 2013: Informal sector shows SA who's boss, at Mail & Guardian
• And also, 350 000 'gesogte' SA emigrante keer terug, at Volksblad

Amcu members at Amplats, Implats, Lonmin to meet this week over possible strikes

Paul Burkhardt reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) plans meetings with its members this week to decide whether tools will be downed over wage increases at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin.  It is the largest union at each of those producers.  The union has called for entry-level pay to rise to R12,500 a month, which is more than a doubling of current rates.  "Those are the demands of the workers," Jimmy Gama, national treasurer, said.  "It is up to our members whether they want to stay with that number."  A coordinated strike by Amcu members at the three companies would paralyze production across the world's three biggest platinum producers.  In the final quarter of last year, the union won the legal right to down tools at each of the three companies.  Two other unions, Uasa and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), last month accepted an offer from Amplats for wage increases of up to 8.5%.  Meanwhile, the NUM is meeting on Monday with Northam Platinum, where it has retained its majority status, in an attempt to settle a striker that began there on 3 November.

• Read this report at Mail & Guardian

Numsa now being shunned by ANC and Cosatu

George Matlala writes that the ANC and its alliance partners have started to isolate the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) from their key activities, following the union's decision to dump the ruling party as its political home.  Numsa leaders were excluded from a top Cosatu delegation that met the ANC and the SA Communist party (SACP) this week.  The tripartite alliance political council – which brings together 15 senior leaders from each management structure of the organisations – met on Monday in Mbombela to iron out differences and develop a common election programme.  Numsa resolved at its special congress in December to persuade Cosatu to ditch the alliance, although the union has yet to formally inform Cosatu about its decision to agitate for the collapse of the alliance.  "We have taken a decision not to campaign for the ANC.  But there is no decision to boycott alliance engagements," general secretary Irvin Jim said.  Numsa spokesman Castro Ngobese accused Cosatu president S'dumo Dlamini of isolating the union, even though it would not in any case have attended the ANC manifesto launch.  But for Dlamini, Numsa did not deserve to be part of the alliance activities due to its public attacks on the ANC and the SACP.

• Read more at Sunday Independent

DA to prioritise job creation in its election campaign

Paul Vecchiatto writes that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has placed job creation at the top of its priority list for the 2014 national elections.  It has also vowed to fight corruption and to support a wider social security net, but with the aim of getting unemployed people participating in the economy.  On Friday, the party released the policies that will underpin its election manifesto, to be made known in March.  They include job creation, the economy, economic inclusion (black economic empowerment or BEE), education, innovation, communications, housing, land reform, natural resources, agriculture, labour and health.  But, independent political analyst Daniel Silke commented that the DA was still struggling to define its economic equity policy.  With that debate still being controlled by the ruling ANC, it appears the DA has moved closer to mainstream thinking on empowerment.  Last year the DA got itself into an embarrassing muddle for first supporting and then withdrawing that support from the Employment Equity Bill as it made its way through Parliament.

• Read this article at BDLive
• Read too, 'DA to punt jobs in its election manifesto', on page 6 of Sunday Times of 12 January 2014

Sasol may cut up to 1,000 workers in cost cutting reorganisation: Solidarity

Sasol may cut as many as 1,000 jobs as a result of a reorganisation, according to trade union Solidarity said.  Marius Croucamp, a spokesman for Solidarity, indicated that talks with the union started in late November after Sasol and Boston-based management consultancy Bain & Co. developed proposals to reduce the company's size.  It employs more than 35,000 people in 37 countries.  Sasol plans to save R3bn from cost cuts within the next two to three years, the company had said in a 9 September presentation.  "Due to the progress made in designing the new operating model, we are contemplating potential people impacts as a result of this program," Sasol spokesman Alex Anderson said in an e-mail response to questions, adding that: "We anticipate that for at least the next six months the impacts will be limited to the senior management structures in the organisation."  Croucamp said the union's concern was that, with job cuts, extended families were affected and there was no alternative for workers to go to in the job market.

• This report is at Business Report

Matric not equal to employability, says business body Sacci

The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) on Tuesday expressed concern over the quality of the matric certificate owing to the relatively low pass requirements.  "The matric certificate should be a fundamental signal to the labour market that a school leaver can perform in at least a low-skilled position," spokesman Pietman Roos said in a statement.  According to him, the business community had reported a growing number of ill-equipped school leavers.  The Chamber called on the education department to raise the pass requirement for matric and to introduce national exams at grade seven and 10.  He also suggested that qualified teachers be supported and that more should be done to ensure the syllabus was of a high standard.  Roos congratulated the matric class of 2013 and wished pupils the best in their future endeavours.

• This report is at Fin24
• Read too, 'Matric success fails to raise prospects for scarce skills', at BDLive

No well-paid jobs for matriculants

Johannesburg - Matriculants hoping to increase their job prospects should look to train further after school, trade union Solidarity said on Monday.

A report by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) showed the local labour market was still difficult for young people, even if they had a matric certificate, Solidarity said in a statement.

Nearly one in three young South Africans were unemployed and not in training.

SRI senior economic researcher Paul Joubert, who compiled the report, said matriculants should not expect to find a well-paying job straight out of school.

"Of course, this is not meant to discourage young people from job-hunting for whatever jobs are available, as any work experience increases a person's chances of finding a better job in future," he said.

"However, the best option remains to further one's education."

The report showed that around 50% of job seekers with a matric certificate as their only qualification were employed.

While this was better than those without any training or qualification, with only 30% employed, 80% of people with some form of tertiary qualification were employed.

"Therefore, a matric certificate does improve a person's chances of having a job, but a tertiary qualification improves a person's chances of having a job significantly," said Joubert.

Tertiary education also increased a person's earning potential, with less than 13% of South Africa's adult population having a tertiary qualification.

In 2011, according to the report, out of employed people with only matric certificate, 30% earned more than R6 400 a month and over 13% earned more than R12 800 a month.

Among the employed who had a matric certificate and a further tertiary qualification, 50% earned more than R6 400 a month.

More than 30% earned more than R12 800 a month, and 9.1% earned more than R25 600 a month.

"The next group, people with university degrees, higher diplomas or equivalent qualifications, shows the biggest jump in income levels," Solidarity said.

"Almost 80% of this group earned more than R6 400 per month in 2011. More than half receive an income of more than R12 800 per month, and nearly a quarter earned more than R25 600 per month."

About 7% earned more than R51 200 per month.

(News24)