Job-shedding in the thousands cause for alarm – Seifsa
The loss of 25 000 jobs in the metals and engineering sector during the three-year period from July 2014 to June 2017 necessitates that a workable solution be found to halt the “jobs bloodbath”, says the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa).
With a first-quarter decline of 8.3% year-on-year in metals and engineering exports, the federation is raising the alarm over the shedding of jobs in the thousands across various sectors in South Africa.
“The loss of jobs in this sector is a worrying trend and should be of great concern to all of us,” said Seifsa CEO Kaizer Nyatsumba in a statement released Monday.
The metals and engineering sector continues to face several headwinds, including weak economic growth, low business and consumer confidence, increased competition from imports, low productivity and falling export figures.
“The unfavourable market conditions have forced a number of companies, many of which are our members, either to scale down or to close completely. When this happens, the social and economic consequences are dire,” noted Nyatsumba.
"Therefore, it becomes imperative for government, industry, labour and other interested parties to seek common solutions to these problems,” he said, adding that he hoped the challenges would be further delved into at the upcoming Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba 2017.
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