#WhatSACanBe: Give unemployed a chance with Job Seekers Exemption Certificate – IRR

#WhatSACanBe: Give unemployed a chance with Job Seekers Exemption Certificate – IRR

South Africa’s labour market is a shambles. The #WhatSACanBe solution: reform labour legislation to make it easier for investors and businesses to operate, and give unemployed South Africans a Job Seekers Exemption Certificate (JSEC).

South Africa’s labour market is a shambles. The #WhatSACanBe solution: reform labour legislation to make it easier for investors and businesses to operate, and give unemployed South Africans a Job Seekers Exemption Certificate (JSEC).

More than 10 million young South Africans are not in employment, education or training (NEET) according to StatSA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey; the rate for 15-34 year olds has increased considerably since the IRR published the Most South African Youth Will Not Find Work report in May 2022.

By heeding the IRR’s latest #WhatSACanBe paper, Labour: Make Work Pay, Support Those in Need, the Government of National Unity (GNU) has the best opportunity to address this generational challenge by introducing a Job Seekers Exemption Certificate. This would exempt job seekers from onerous labour legislation, and reduce the minimum wage threshold to the rate paid to Expanded Public Works Programme workers, for up to two years to improve their chances of getting a job.

Says IRR researcher Chris Patterson: “A job gives more dignity than a social grant. South Africans want to work. The GNU cannot continue to be the biggest barrier to economic freedom and prosperity for future generations.”

The latest IRR polling shows this to be the case: 47% of South Africans believe that unemployment and job creation should be the top two priorities for the GNU to solve.

Patterson adds: “The continued reliance on social grants for millions of South Africans can never be a replacement for a job. The GNU must give the unemployed an opportunity to prove themselves and ensure that job-creation and the job market is as accessible as possible.

“While resistance from unions is expected, their silence on South Africa’s unemployment crisis is most concerning, considering that their aim is to fight for economic inclusion. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens cannot continue to be locked out of the economy.”

The Medium-Term Development Plan 2024-2029 makes job creation “strategic priority number one”. The GNU must see that this becomes a reality. The decisions it makes now will have long-lasting consequences. The future of South Africa’s labour market depends on it.

The latest #WhatSACanBe paper can be read here.

Media contacts: Hermann Pretorius IRR Head of Strategic Communications Tel: 079 875 4290 Email: hermann@irr.org.za

Chris Patterson, Researcher Tel: 063 682 5035 Email: chrisp@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za