The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has strongly welcomed
President Thabo Mbeki’s programme to enhance massive job creation and skills training
opportunities to benefit metalworkers.
President Mbeki’s intervention through the Accelerated Shared Growth and Initiative
(ASGISA) explains government’s seriousness to speedily respond to the country’s skills
mismatch challenges, unemployment crisis and poverty alleviation.
In his state of the nation address last Friday, Mbeki disclosed further details to ensure
government, organized labour and business worked together to promote and mobilize
investments in order to create decent jobs for all.
“We are particularly impressed by the president”˜s emphasis on certain sectors identified
for accelerated economic growth including the metals and metallurgy among others. This
means the metal sector will benefit the most in job creation programmes and we have to
position ourselves to be ready for any eventuality , “ NUMSA general secretary Silumko
Nondwangu said yesterday.
NUMSA also notes with delight Mbeki’s explanation that the ASGISA is not intended to
cover all elements of comprehensive development plan more than that it consisted of
short- term interventions only aimed to serve as catalysts to enhance accelerated and
shared growth and development.
Mbeki’s state of the nation address also elaborated on the working details of how R372
billion would be provided for a set of expanded public works and poverty alleviation
programmes over the next three years in order to ensure maximum employment and skills
training opportunities.
The labour union is also overwhelmed by President Mbeki’s commitment to engage
organized labour and other social partners on plans to address other elements of a
comprehensive developmental plan to improve on current programmes such as the
industrial policy and the objectives to halve poverty and unemployment by the 2014.
Mbeki also referred to measures and supervision of infrastructure projects to be
introduced to ensure capital budgets were spent without roll-overs, labour intensive
methods were prioritized and the necessary training of workers was carried out to provide
them with skills.
“In that context we welcome President Mbeki’s assurances that labour intensive methods
would be prioritized and employees would be provided with necessary skills,”
Nondwangu said.
NUMSA also shared government’s belief that interventions in the area of education and
training to enhance phenomenal increase of mathematics and science graduates and
ensure re-equipping and financing of the further education and training colleges.
The union is also thrilled that government has shown more commitment in continuing to
address the social wages in its efforts to address poverty challenges, for it showed
consistency in increasing expenditure in favour of the poor households.
We are particularly impressed by government attempts to highlight youth development
projects in all spheres of government as this will improve business support for the young
people and impact on skills training and business empowerment of the of the youth
through youth cooperative programmes, he added.
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Mziwakhe Hlangani
NUMSA national information officer
Cell: 0837293374
e-mail address: mziwakheh@numsa.org.za