WORKERS MUST WAGE A BATTLE AGAINST RETRENCHMENTS
The South African Federation Trade Unions (SAFTU) opposes the anticipated job losses at Amplats. Anglo American Platinum (Amplat) has proposed a restructuring process that may affect 3,700 jobs across its South African operations.
These layoffs threaten the livelihoods of approximately 17% of the workforce at Amplats. They are planned at a critical time, amid an already staggering unemployment rate (narrow definition) of 32.1%. The number of employed persons decreased by 22,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023, leading to 11,6 million people unemployed inclusive of those who have given up looking for jobs. Looked at from the broader context of the economic trajectory, these retrenchments are going to worsen unemployment which is high in the world.
By the nature of how a capitalist society works, in which workers need jobs to subsist, the impact of these potential job losses will be devastating, affecting families, and leading to increased poverty.
The need to delink from the capitalist system based on profitability at the expense of societyโs basic needs has never been more blatant and urgent. Amplats plans to retrench workers simply because it wants to maximise its profits. In his statement, the CEO of Amplats, Craig Miller, said this plan is a cost โreduction measure targeting a R5 billionโ in operating costs. In other words, reducing the costs of variable capital (cost of wages) will be central to this plan. This validates our argument that capitalism is not concerned about job creation or the livelihood of workers, but about extracting profits.
SAFTU recognizes the devastating consequences of job losses and calls upon workers to unite and wage mass action against looming retrenchments in the private sector. The announcement of possible retrenchments at Amplats follows a spade of retrenchment notices in 2023.
To stop this jobs bloodbath, trade unions and workers have to unite and wage a battle or perish in their divisions.
