Govt washing its hands of own culpability in pandemic job losses, says Numsa
"This
government is frankly just washing itself of its responsibility," says
Numsa's Phakamile Hlubi-Majola.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) says the massive job losses and the dire state of the economy one year into the Covid-19 pandemic can be laid squarely at the feet of government.
Their statements come as the country marks one year since the first confirmed Coronavirus case.
Numsa's Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says the pandemic has been devastating on workers.
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"Those who have been hardest hit have been the poor and the working class," she says.
"We've seen massive job-shedding," she adds, noting the expanded unemployment rate, which currently stands at 42.6%.
"If that is not a crisis, I don't know what is."
Hlubi-Majola says while government is increasingly looking to the private sector to create jobs, this is not acceptable.
"This government is frankly just washing itself of its responsibility," says Hlubi-Majola.
They can't throw their hands in the air and cry about job losses when they timeless are actually the ones responsible for so many job losses that we've experienced in the past year."
