The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration says its gearing up to respond to an increase in businesses in distress and job insecurity.
The CCMA said in a statement on Tuesday that since the 2009 / 2010 financial year, it had been reporting an increase in the number of small and large scale retrenchments notices and referrals.
It says in the past two years alone the number of referrals have far exceeded levels experienced as a result of the last global economic crisis.
The CCMA says a recent upsurge in the number of mass retrenchment referrals has led the organisation to devise and urgent action plan to address support to businesses in distress and the spike in job insecurity.
The organisations says over 23-thousand 200 jobs are at stake in the first quarter of the current financial year from the large-scale referrals received thus far.
A CCMA job insecurity crisis committee has now also been established.
Here is the full statement:
The CCMA has been reporting an overall increase in the number of small and large scale retrenchment notices / referrals since 2009/10, to the extent that referral rates in the last two years far exceed levels experienced as a result of the last global economic crisis. It is however, the recent upsurge of mass retrenchment referrals that has given rise to the CCMA embarking on an urgent action plan to address support to businesses in distress and the job insecurity spike with 23,231 jobs at stake in the first quarter of this financial year from the large-scale referrals received thus far. This equals 40% of the total number of referrals received last year being referred in a single quarter.
A CCMA job insecurity crisis committee and task team has been established to specifically ensure that there is sufficient capacity to implement the action plan. A comprehensive assessment of the national job insecurity situation will be conducted with a specific focus on identifying high risk sectors for tailored intervention. Social partners will be engaged focusing on establishing the technical aspects of addressing businesses in distress and job insecurity including: joint collaboration regarding early warning and intervention systems, preventing business closure/ job loss, post retrenchment support, facilitate sector sustainability initiatives and assist business in distress to access enterprise support, promotion of sectoral employability and employment security, training and awareness raising. This engagement will culminate in a stakeholder technical focused Job Saving Indaba. Additionally and importantly, a process to facilitate with stakeholders, the revival of the Training Layoff Scheme has been initiated and in particular to urgently rectify the current blockages experienced at the post CCMA stage of the process and to streamline the implementation so that assistance can be fast tracked to enterprises in rescue.
Nerine Kahn, the Director of the CCMA explained that, "This action plan is a part of the CCMA's Job Security strategy which is underpinned by three principles; leave no stone unturned in the quest to find alternatives to retrenchment, where retrenchments are unavoidable, do not allow any worker to "walk into the sunset" without access to support mechanisms and where business enterprises are in distress, in partnership, facilitate lifeboat rescue to prevent business closures."
In the last five year period from 2010 - 2015 the CCMA has saved a total of 103 949 actual jobs.
The CCMA is mandated by the Labour Relations Legislation to provide an effective and efficient dispute resolution service (through conciliation, mediation and arbitration) for disputes within its jurisdiction between employers and employees in the South African economy. The CCMA is also charged with performing a critical function of job saving through facilitating retrenchment consultations linked to the operational requirements of firms. In terms of Section 189A of the LRA firms with more than 50 employees can refer large scale retrenchments to the CCMA for facilitation. This role enables the CCMA to intervene before retrenchments take place, at the point when they are contemplated In the case of small scale retrenchments, Section 189 of the LRA, the employee(s) involved can approach the CCMA for conciliation if they feel the retrenchment was unfair. The CCMA also plays a role in assisting businesses in distress and job saving through facilitating Training Layoff agreements and recommending companies and unions to participate in the Training Layoff Scheme
Issued by the CCMA
