The Star reports that Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has warned about massive retrenchments and scores of companies likely to go under after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Addressing MPs on Wednesday, Nxesi said: “It is a fact that a number of companies after Covid-19 might not be able to recover. They might take up to six months to recover. Some might take a year. Some might not come back and be able to operate. The reality is that there are going to be massive retrenchments. We might add 1 million or 2 million to the high unemployment (rate), which we have in the country.” The minister painted a serious situation that might result in lots of companies applying for the temporary employee relief scheme (Ters). Nxesi noted with concern that some were not complying with regulations, and did not want to submit claims on behalf of their workers, something that caused the government to amend regulations to compel them to do so. Nxesi also anticipated a spike in thousands of disputes to be lodged with the CCMA arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. “Some employers have already informed workers about Section 189 (notices) in terms of retrenchments. There is a lot to deal with,” he lamented.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mayibongwe Maqhina at Independent News
- Read too, This is who is most at risk of losing a job due to Covid-19 lockdown, at BusinessLive
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page