OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 8.00pm
SOUTH Africa’s influential trade union federation Cosatu on Tuesday warned that the free trade deal with the European Union could worsen high unemployment levels.
The 17-union Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) told three parliamentary committees that it was “concerned about tariff liberalisation exacerbating the job crisis engulfing South Africa.”
It proposed measures to cope with such negative impacts of the deal, which was signed on October 11 after three-and-a-half years of tough negotiations but still has to be ratified by parliament.
These included programmes to assist workers who may lose their jobs and studies to identify vulnerable sectors and monitor the deal’s impact on the job market.
Unemployment in South Africa is estimated at about 30%.
The federation added in a written submission that many sections of the labour market could “experience difficulties in adjusting to the increased penetration of the (South African) market by EU products.”
The deal meant “increased competition from imports and increased opportunities to export,” but it was not clear if industry was ready to meet this challenge, Cosatu said.
The South African Chamber of Business (Sacob), which represents major business, welcomed the agreement.
Sacob’s legal affairs director Ken Warren said it “will benefit the South African economy and promote growth and development, not only within the borders of the country, but within southern Africa as well.”
South Africa’s clothing industry was likely to benefit in the long term from the deal, president of the Clothing Federation of South Africa, Bernard Richards, told the hearing.
“Export growth will occur and after eight years could result in a doubling of the size of the South African industry”, he said.
South Africa provides only 0.1 percent of EU clothing imports.
Following the hearing, the committees of the National Assembly recommended that parliament ratify the deal. — AFP