IOL News reports that the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) has embarked on a campaign to highlight the plight of workers who face losing their jobs to the ballooning illegal cigarette trade.
Using the hashtag #NotJustAJob, Fawu's tweets recount the personal stories of individuals employed in the South African tobacco industry whose jobs are being threatened by cheap, illegally imported cigarettes. These illegal imports are not subject to government's 'sin tax' and therefore are sold on the streets for as little as R10 a packet, whereas legal, taxed cigarettes are priced from around R25 upwards. Added to that, Parliament is mulling new legislation which seeks to ban advertising of tobacco products completely, as well as to criminalise smoking in public. Local cigarette manufacturers have warned that the illicit cigarette trade, high taxes and the proposed new legislation could result in huge cutbacks in labour. Fawu says the 11,000 jobs which potentially stand to be lost will destroy communities.
- Read this report by Lou-Anne Daniels in full at IOL News
- Read too, New tobacco bill will put thousands out of work, say industry groups, at BusinessLive
- And also, Outrage over proposed tobacco bill, on page 1 of The Sunday Independent of 12 August 2018
- As well as, Tshwane streets to be affected by Fawu march on Tuesday, at Pretoria East Rekord
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page