Today's Labour News

BusinessLive reports that two-thirds of businesses operating in townships across SA have had to reduce employee headcounts as they grapple with the impact of power cuts on their operations.

A recent survey by Nedbank, conducted in partnership with the Township Entrepreneurs Alliance, found that of the 200 small township businesses surveyed, 66% had shed jobs because of the financial effects of loadshedding and 5% of businesses had had to close their doors. “Given that spaza shops contribute about 6% to SA’s GDP, employ 2.6-million people and represent an economy of about R600m, the results are troubling and require a response from both the private and public sectors,” said Nedbank’s Dayalan Govender. In the worst affected manufacturing and food and beverage sectors, up to 83% of business owners indicated they had to reduce staff to mitigate the effects of loadshedding on their businesses. While most businesses in SA are hit hard by loadshedding, the impact is often worse for smaller businesses that cannot afford alternatives. Nedbank reported that due the high cost of securing alternative sources of energy such as solar power or diesel-powered generators, some small businesses were forced to close shop for a large part of the day, limiting their ability to generate revenue and profit. “The challenges are more pronounced for small businesses located in townships and rural communities where there is often a lack of information, limited access to alternative energy solutions, and affordability constraints,” the report noted. The survey showed that more than 60% had to halt their operations completely during loadshedding.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive
• Read too, Loadshedding has led to job shedding for township businesses, report finds, at Engineering News

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page