THE South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) encourages workers to wage a battle against retrenchments.
The union federation said it opposes the anticipated job losses at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats).
Recognising the consequences of job losses, the federation calls upon workers to unite and wage mass action against the looming retrenchments in the private sector.
On Monday, Amplats announced that its annual profits had plunged by a staggering 71%.
It initiated a retrenchment consulting process that may result in about 3 700 job losses.
Saftu spokesman Trevor Shaku said these layoffs threaten the livelihoods of approximately 17% of the workforce at Amplats.
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“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. Looking at it from a broader context of the economic trajectory, these retrenchments are going to worsen unemployment which is high in the world,” Shaku said.
He said the impact of the potential job losses will be devastating, affecting families, and leading to increased poverty.
He added that the need to delink from the capitalist system, based on profitability at the expense of society’s basic needs, has never been more blatant and urgent.
Craig Miller, CEO of Amplats, said the restructuring is expected to impact a total of 3 700 employees across the business.
“We've worked hard to address aspects in our business that are impacted by both global and local challenges currently facing the PGM industry and have already implemented several key cost-saving initiatives,” he said.
Miller said it was important to understand that the decision taken was the last resort for the company.
