Note to Editors: The following remarks were delivered by RISE Mzansi National Leader, Songezo Zibi MP, during the debate on Budget Vote 31 (Employment and Labour).
Presiding Officer
Minister and Deputy Minister
Chairperson and Honourable Members
On 2 April of this year, RISE Mzansi led a picket outside the Department of Employment and Labour to highlight the plight of people over the age of 35 who are unable to access jobs and opportunities, due to the arbitrary cut-off applied to entry-level jobs in both the public and private sectors.
South Africans over the age of 35, are people who are generally in the middle of building lives for themselves, who carry the burden of caring for their own children or the children of their relatives, and their elderly parents. Many of these people are single mothers.
Because of this exclusion, there are 2,9-million people aged between 36 and 44, who are of prime working age who are unable to access jobs and skills opportunities. They are forced into a life of poverty. At best they are able to get temporary jobs that pay little, or create informal work that does not enable them to put food on the table for their families or build a home of their own.
During this picket, we delivered a memorandum of demands on behalf of these 2,9-million people, which was not responded to.
Minister, lift the age cap today!
Again, on 30 April of this year, RISE Mzansi led a picket at the JSE to highlight the known but unspoken practices faced by primarily young women; these being sex-for-jobs and cash-for-jobs.
These cash and sex for jobs syndicates and individuals manipulate recruitment processes in primarily the retail, fast food and mining sectors, with many of these companies listed with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, hence we went there. Moreover, these wicked practices have become common place in the public sector, especially at local government.
The Department of Labour and Employment must intervene. In this regard, we are saying legislation like the Employment Equity Act, Employment Services Act, Labour Relations Act must recognise these practices or new legislation must be introduced to criminalise these heinous practices in the labour market.
RISE Mzansi will work with you on this; and you will have our support in ensuring jobseekers and workers, especially vulnerable groups, like women and people with disabilities, are protected.
Ndiyabulela!