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The Citizen reports that the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) has called for clear policy from government to prevent imminent job losses in the sugar cane sector, caused mainly by the sugar tax and dumping of sugar from Brazil.
On Wednesday, Fawu’s general secretary Katishi Masemola called for a moratorium on the implementation of the sugar tax because it was killing the sector. The trade union leader indicated that soft drink manufacturer Coca-Cola had threatened to lay off more than 1,000 employees due to the sugar tax. A study commissioned by the department of trade and industry prior to the sugar tax warned that between 5,000 and 8,000 jobs would be affected. Masemola said despite their call for government to stave off the problem, there had been indifference on the part of Pretoria. A parliamentary discussion on the matter called by the Democratic Alliance for Tuesday was allegedly frustrated by ANC members of parliament, assisted by an abstention by the Economic Freedom Fighters. DA chief whip John Steenhuisen said at the very heart of the crisis was the ANC’s unwillingness to listen to sugar industry experts. “When the sugar tax was first mooted, industry experts warned this would lead to job losses. So far, 1,000 jobs have already been lost in the sector and this figure is climbing,” he said.
- Read the full original of Eric Naki’s report on this story at The Citizen
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