LETTER: Release labour regulatory stranglehold

At last the World Bank is stepping in and making bold suggestions to improve the SA economic situation. The unemployment figures before Covid-19 were disastrous, and the various lockdowns have added to SA’s destruction. The result of the destruction has been the widespread riots in the country.

The World Bank has now clearly said business as usual, with our current labour structures, would not in any way reduce unemployment. The only way forward is to review the harsh labour regulatory structures and release the stranglehold. Without job creation we are never going to alleviate poverty and the reactive riots.

We must expand employment tax incentives, and small business must be deregulated and decoupled from the bargaining councils. Atypical employment must be given free rein to expand as much as possible. The DA has put together a comprehensive policy loosening up the situation to enable employers to take the risk when employing people.

Already these “green shoots” of employment are starting to pay off in the Western Cape. These measures are not political, but should be followed by all the provinces to ensure that the youth at least get a foot in the door of employment.

Michael Bagraim, MP
DA shadow deputy employment & labour minister

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