No details from Zuma on unemployment

15 Feb 2013

President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address was thin on detail about how SA would tackle youth unemployment . Zuma said there "is an agreement on key principles for youth employment incentives" that were agreed at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).

He said parties would soon sign an accord - which does not include the contentious youth wage subsidy.

The African National Congress last month announced that the party's and state's top brass had agreed on youth employment incentives‚ which may include the contentious youth wage subsidy‚ first raised in Zuma's 2010 state of the nation address.

Talks within Nedlac on business‚ labour and the state began almost two years ago‚ after Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan set aside R5bn in his 2011 budget for the subsidy.

Business and the Democratic Alliance pushed for the implementation of the subsidy but Cosatu members and the DA clashed last year over its implementation. The federation's opposition to it stems from its belief that subsidising companies to hire young people would lead to the older workers being fired.

"The incentives will add to what government is already doing to empower the youth‚" Zuma said in his address on Thursday (14 February).

Zuma appealed to the private sector to absorb 11‚000 further education and training college graduates who were looking for jobs.

Public enterprises were providing apprenticeships to young workers and the department of rural development ran the National Rural Youth Service Corps. It has enrolled 11‚740 young people in a number of training programmes.

The state also intended to use the expanded public works programme to absorb unemployed young people.

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za