Two days ago thousands of Democratic Alliance (DA) supporters marched to COSATU House in solidarity with unemployed South Africans and to protest against COSATU’s blocking of the Youth Wage Subsidy.

COSATU is blocking the Youth Wage Subsidy, and they violently and illegally tried to block our march.

What happened in the Jo’burg CBD on Tuesday will come to be seen as a turning point in South Africa.

Every South African now knows that the DA stands up for the unemployed, and that COSATU opposes their interests, even violently.

Since then, COSATU has tried every line imaginable to muddy this simple truth, but it has failed. COSATU can no longer continue to masquerade as a champion of the unemployed.

The DA is more resolute than ever to mobilise all South Africans for the immediate implementation of the Youth Wage Subsidy, structured on the model proposed by the national Treasury, which is a model we support. The treasury has budgeted R5 billion for this, which is stagnating in the budget despite record levels of youth unemployment.

The Youth Wage Subsidy will benefit more than 423 000 people in the first three years of the programme. Beneficiaries will be young, first-time job seekers, many of whom have completed matric or have tertiary qualifications but who cannot find that crucial first job.

The exponential knock-on effect of these 423 000 opportunities would literally benefit millions more people.

The DA has been calling for a youth wage subsidy programme for ten years. It is now supported by business, government and FEDUSA, the second largest trade federation.

The programme has had resounding success elsewhere in the world. Unemployment was literally halved in Singapore between 2003 and 2007, in part due to the implementation of a youth wage subsidy. Several middle-income countries have also adopted wage subsidy programmes including Korea, Mexico, the Slovak Republic, Chile and Turkey. The latter two have deliberately targeted young workers in their programmes.

The subsidy will be paid over to complying businesses in the form of a tax credit, and will therefore be administered by the SARS. Employers who grow their labour force by employing people between the ages of 18 and 29 will be eligible to receive the wage subsidy.

All in all, the Youth Wage Subsidy would deal a destructive first blow to the wall that still divides South Africa’s economy between the employed and the unemployed. It will let hundreds of thousands of people into the economy for the first time, and will unlock a virtuous cycle that will kick-start growth and development.

The question is not if government should be doing this, the only question is why it hasn’t already begun. The answer is COSATU.

Over the coming weeks we will be intensifying our Youth Wage Subsidy Now! campaign. We will make sure that everyone understands the significant job creation and economic growth potential that it holds, and why its implementation is being blocked.

We will use every platform available to us to make these points, and our entire party will be involved. Here are some of the details:

The Youth Wage Subsidy Now! Campaign

1.    Address NEDLAC

Firstly, I will today write to NEDLAC to request an opportunity to address the Council at their next meeting.

The Youth Wage Subsidy has been stuck in NEDLAC for two years, where COSATU wants to keep it bogged down until government abandons the project. We are reliably informed that COSATU is refusing even to discuss the policy at NEDLAC. This is despite the fact that South Africa’s second largest trade union federation Fedusa supports the principle of a Youth Wage Subsidy.

I believe it is necessary to highlight to the Council the need for urgent progress on the Youth Wage Subsidy, and to set out some of the successes of the DA’s own version of a wage subsidy scheme which we’ve recently implemented in the Western Cape.

2.    Meeting with President Zuma

Should NEDLAC not be prepared to allow me an opportunity to address them, I will seek a meeting with President Zuma in which I will ask him to proceed with the Youth Wage Subsidy without the support of NEDLAC.

NEDLAC is a consultation chamber, and government is not obliged to wait for NEDLAC to reach a consensus on a particular issue before proceeding. We believe that while every effort should be made to reach consensus at NEDLAC, this issue is too important to allow for any further delay.

3.    Wage Subsidy Success Stories

I will also visit factories and businesses in the Western Cape where the DA government’s Wage and Skills Programme is already succeeding, with hundreds of young people being hired in new jobs, backed by a provincial government subsidy. We call upon national government to release the R5 billion budgeted for this purpose to the Western Cape so that we can demonstrate how well it is working.

This will highlight how much more successful the programme could be if it was implemented nationally, and how hollow COSATU’s arguments are in opposition to the proposal.

4.    The Parliamentary Platform

The DA’s team in Parliament will use every parliamentary mechanism available to pressurise the government and hold it to account for the commitment made in President Zuma’s 2009 State of the Nation Address that the Youth Wage Subsidy would be implemented in 2010.

Firstly, we will call for a debate on the Youth Wage Subsidy for a sitting immediately after the budget process has been concluded.

Secondly, we will submit an urgent oral question on this matter to President Zuma at the earliest possible opportunity to do so.

Thirdly, we will request the Chairpersons of the Finance Portfolio Committee and the Labour Portfolio Committee to call Zwelinzima Vavi before the two committees to engage him on his concerns about the effects of the Wage Subsidy on the age of the workforce.

Fourthly, we will table an amendment to the tax laws in the Standing Committee of Finance to include money to fund the youth wage subsidy. The Money Bills Amendment Act allows Parliament’s Finance and Appropriations committees to amend the national budget or any other money bill. We will propose in committee that the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) tax loss to fund the first year’s subsidy (which should not exceed R1,6bn) should come from the R5,7bn contingency reserve budgeted for this year.

5.    Public Education Campaign

A representative poll conducted in recent weeks by the DA, revealed that 88% of respondents do not know what the Youth Wage Subsidy is.

When the Youth Wage Subsidy concept was explained to them -

• 67.4% of respondents think the Youth Wage Subsidy will lead to more employment’
• 6.3% think it will increase unemployment,
• 14% think it will make no difference and,
• 12.3% don’t have an opinion.

This highlights the need for an extensive public education campaign to inform the public of the benefits of the wage subsidy programme.

To this end, the DA will in the coming weeks be contacting millions of South Africans by:

• distributing more than three million pamphlets around South Africa,
• sending out SMSes to more than 250 000 people,
• sending informative emails to more than 300 000 people,
• holding public information events around the country,
• meeting with civil society groups, academics, economists and other labour federations to build momentum for the wage subsidy programme,
• running an online campaign using social media and the DA’s Youth Wage Subsidy website, www.youthwagesubsidynow.org.

6.    Provincial Campaigns

Our structures in all the provinces will drive provincial campaigns to implement programmes similar to the Western Cape’s version of a wage subsidy, the Wage and Skills Programme.

The DA’s public representatives in the Provincial Legislatures will table motions and private members’ legislation to this effect, and will organize public events to build momentum behind these efforts.

Conclusion

This week the DA is more resolute than ever. We will stand side by side with the unemployed and will defend their right to access the economy and get a fair chance to build a better future for themselves and their families.

We repeat our call for COSATU to drop its indefensible opposition to this job creation initiative that is sensible, proven and affordable.

We are doubling our efforts, and we will mobilise all South Africans behind our call for a Youth Wage Subsidy Now!

Media enquiries:

Pierre-Charl du Preez
Spokesperson in the DA Leader’s Office
084 251 0633

A detailed plan on how the DA will take the fight for the implementation of the Youth Wage Subsidy, which is to create 400 000 new jobs for young unemployed South Africans, will be presented.

Date: Thursday, 17 May 2012
Time: 13h00
Venue: M314, Marks Building, Parliament.

Media enquiries:

Cameron Arendse
Media Officer
079 477 2744

Pierre-Charl du Preez
Spokesperson in the Leader’s Office
084 251 0633

- Treasury estimates that the youth wage subsidy will help create 423 000 jobs for young South Africans.

- The DA has been calling for the implementation of the Youth Wage Subsidy for ten years.

- Both President Zuma and Finance Minister Gordhan have stated support for the youth wage subsidy in the State of the Nation Address and Budget Speech in 2010.

- Since then, it has been stalled in NEDLAC by COSATU. Business, government and FEDUSA (SA’s second largest union federation) are for the youth wage subsidy, COSATU is the only roadblock to its implementation.

- It will only cost government R5 billion over three years to implement the youth wage subsidy. The auditor general has found that government loses R30 billion to wasteful expenditure and corruption every year. If we cut down on this waste we can easily afford a R5 billion investment to create jobs for the youth.

- The subsidy will be paid over to complying businesses in the form of a tax credit, and will therefore be administered by the SARS.

- Employers who grow their labour force by employing people between the ages of 18 and 29 will be eligible to the wage subsidy.

- The youth wage subsidy will only be relevant to those employees who earn less than R60 000 per annum. (therefore less than R5000 per mont An employer will only be eligible for the subsidy for two years.

- The subsidy will cover 50% of a beneficiary’s wage up to R2000 per month, after that it will cover a smaller proportion up to R5000 per month.

-  Projections indicate that it would cost the state R37 000 per new job created. This is much lower than other job-creation alternatives, like the expanded public works programme, which requires a R60 000 investment by government per job created.

-  Singapore had huge success with the Youth Wage Subsidy, halving their unemployment between 2003 and 2007 partly due to the implementation of a youth wage subsidy.

COSATU’s arguments:

1. COSATU’s argument is that the youth wage subsidy will create a two-tiered labour system, where the old get fired and the young simply get hired to replace them.
2. That this is essentially a hand-out to businesses and therefore cannot be justified.
3. That it will create distortions in the labour market.

Our counter-arguments:

1. The wage subsidy proposal can be written in such a way to safeguard those who are already employed; it will only be provided to those businesses who expand their workforce. Therefore, the two-tiered labour force concern is unfounded.
2. Current labour legislation would also not allow for people to be fired simply to be replaced by younger people. That is illegal and cannot happen.
3. Businesses treasure their experienced employees, so they would not simply fire them to replace them with inexperienced workers. That makes no economic sense. This plan will safeguard those already employed and make it easier for businesses to expand their workforce to include young people who struggle to find work otherwise.
4. This is not a hand-out to businesses. It is a plan that will help business to employ more people. It will reward businesses for employing more people and will help the unemployed by getting more people into jobs.
5. It will not cause problematic distortions. Treasury has conducted an in-depth study of the proposal and its possible outcomes and has found that it will have an overwhelmingly positive impact, helping to create 423 000 new jobs in three years.

Other important points:

1. This is not the be-all and end-all of our solution to youth unemployment, since there are millions of unemployed youth and this will only create several hundred thousand jobs, but it will get the ball rolling. We would implement labour market deregulation, incentivise private investments through special economic zones and get government to work better in order to grow the economy and create jobs for all in the long run.
2. COSATU are opposed to this, because they know it will be difficult to unionise these workers. COSATU’s primary objective is to increase union membership, not to increase the number of employed people. We are fighting to have more people employed, they are fighting to have more unionized members. That is why they are fighting against an excellent proposal that is clearly in the national interest.

The President also said that government is still seeking trade union buy-in for the Youth Wage Subsidy that would create more than 420,000 new jobs.

This is a President who is afraid to make the tough choices that would benefit so many unemployed young people. The DA has calculated that if the Youth Wage Subsidy had been implemented by the original deadline of 1 April 2010, around 300,000 young people would have been provided with job opportunities by now.

And, contrary to the claims of Cosatu, this would not have been at the cost of existing jobs.

So what is the hold-up? Why does the President need to seek further buy-in from Cosatu?

President Zuma must be reminded that Cabinet is not bound to wait for the NEDLAC process to be concluded before implementing the subsidy.

His government introduced this policy. His Finance Minister budgeted R5 billion for it to be implemented. He cannot sit on the fence any longer. He is the President, Zwelinzima Vavi is not.

President Zuma must explain to the unemployed youth of South Africa why he is choosing Cosatu’s interests over theirs.

I intend to give the President this opportunity in Parliament. I will today submit an urgent oral question for the President asking him to explain to the nation his reasons for not implementing the subsidy and what he intends to do to ensure that it is implemented.

So far, President Zuma has chosen to put the politics of the tripartite alliance ahead of the interests of millions of unemployed South Africans. Instead of showing leadership, he has chosen votes at Mangaung.

South Africa cannot wait any longer. The time for President Zuma to act in the interest of the unemployed is now.

Media enquiries:

Lindiwe Mazibuko MP
DA Parliamentary Leader
072 805 2220

Siviwe Gwarube
Spokesperson in the Parliamentary Leader’s office
076 055 6280

On Tuesday 15 May, DA Leader Helen Zille, DA Youth Leader Makashule Gana, DA Parliamentary Leader Lindiwe Mazibuko and DA National Spokesperson Mmusi Maimane will be leading a march in Johannesburg to the COSATU House office in Braamfontein, where they will be addressing the marchers.

The march is to protest against the trade federation’s continued opposition to theYouth Wage Subsidy, a policy that could create an estimated 423,000 jobs for young, unemployed South Africans. In blocking this jobs initiative, COSATU has become the key stumbling blocking to job creation.

Date: Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Time: 10h45 
Starting point: Beyers Naude Square, Corner of Simmonds & Market Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg

March route: Turn east on President Street; north on Rissik Street; West on Jeppe Street; west into Sauer Street; west onto Queen Elizabeth bridge (past the Youth Wage Subsidy billboard); north into MelleStreet; east into Stiemens Street, right into Simmonds Street. 

End point rally: COSATU House, 110 Jorissen Street, Braamfontein



Media enquiries:

Kelly Miller
DA Gauteng Media Officer
072 226 9759

Pierre-Charl du Preez
Spokesperson in the Leader’s Office
084 251 0633

It is Cosatu that stands in the way of a treasury approved proposal for the introduction of a youth wage subsidy that could create 400 000 jobs for unemployed young South Africans. If Cosatu had not blocked this subsidy in Nedlac, despite it being agreed by both the treasury and independent researchers that the subsidy is one of our best options to address spiraling youth unemployment, the picture painted by Statistics SA in their unemployment figures released yesterday may not have been as grim.

A youth wage subsidy will lower the effective cost of employment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs without an adjustment of wages or conditions of employment, all whilst acting as an incentive for on-the-job training. A lack of experience is one of the main barriers to market entry for young people, and by minimizing the risk to businesses of employing them, a wage subsidy makes them far more likely to open the door of opportunity to young people, 50% of whom under the age of 30 are unemployed.

Cosatu claim to be the voice of the poor in South Africa, when in fact, they are one of the drivers of poverty.

As the political games continue, young people are losing hope. Every day more and more of them shift from being jobseekers to being discouraged from seeking out employment at all.

When we march on Cosatu on 15 May, as a last resort and in the interests of all unemployed young people, we will make it clear that we will not tolerate them being a barrier to job creation in South Africa any longer.

Media enquiries:

Makashule Gana, Federal Youth Leader

082 773 4755

Aimee Franklin,  National Youth Coordinator

072 232 0127

Both in the past, and still today, the majority of South Africans are denied opportunity, a ladder out of poverty, a stepping stone towards realising their full potential. This cannot be allowed to continue. Many unemployed young people tell me that they appreciate their political freedoms but they don’t feel totally free. For these young people, they will be free when they are able to put bread on the table.

It is against this backdrop that the DA Youth has been at the forefront of urging the government to introduce a Youth Wage Subsidy. We have raised our objections against the delay of the implementation of the Youth Wage Subsidy, lobbied parliament and erected a “Youth Wage Subsidy Now” billboard opposite the offices of Cosatu. Yet, little progress has been made on the part of government, mainly due to the ideological differences between the ANC and its alliance partner, Cosatu, which has vowed not to compromise. It has always surprised me why Cosatu would be against the introduction of the scheme whilst on the other hand claims to represent the interests of the poor. Since last year, Vavi has been calling the millions of unemployed youth ‘a ticking time bomb’ that needs to be addressed urgently. When given an opportunity to defuse the ‘time bomb’ by supporting the introduction of a Youth Wage Subsidy, he became philosophical and threw around theories in opposition to it that are devoid of any fact or reason.

One of Vavi’s favourite reasons for not supporting the proposal is that it will benefit employers and thus lead to the exploitation of young people, retrenchments of the current workforce and the lowering of wages. This is a claim that is not supported by any facts or evidence. It is merely a sinister ploy that is denying over 500 000 young people the opportunity to gain employment.

The Youth Wage Subsidy will not result in a lowering of wages, which is important as we have a high cost of living. An analysis in the Financial Mail correctly attributes these high costs to the “legacy of the apartheid economy, in particular poor transport infrastructure, long distances to work and high, monopolistic pricing.” A wage subsidy allows the State to take on some of these costs.

Having gained support from parliament, government and business, the time has arrived for the millions of unemployed young South Africans to take the fight to Cosatu. We have talked but they refuse to listen to the plight of unemployed young people. As a last resort, we are being forced to use the language that Cosatu seem to understand the most. We will take to the streets against Cosatu’s continuous blocking of the proposal at Nedlac on the 15th of May and we ask every South African to support our action. Let us be reminded that the task of building one nation – one future cannot stop, not even for a day.

Regards,

Makashule Gana
DA Youth Federal Leader

There are three elements that being the official opposition in South Africa entail. They are, succinctly, to oppose, propose and  expose. It is vital for all three of them to be present, not just for the success of the DA, but most importantly for the success of constitutional democracy in South Africa on the whole.

Often we have been criticised when carrying out one or more of these duties, but in looking at them more deeply, we understand that none of them can, or should, be forsaken.

The role we are often criticised most for is opposing. Opposition should never be done for opposition sake, but where the policies or decisions of Government conflict with the best interests of South African citizens and their advancement, strong opposition is vital, lest we end up a failed state. Perfect examples of where robust opposition is necessary are in the case of the Protection of State Information Bill, through which the state seeks to criminalise the exposure of Government wrong doing; or the review of the independence of the judiciary, which seeks to undermine one of the main tenets on which the Constitution is based.

The DA has and will continue to be at the forefront of protecting citizens rights from those who seek to concentrate power in the hands of a few.

The second role we occupy, and by far the DA Youth’s favourite, is that of being proposers. The visualisation and articulation of an open, opportunity future for all has been at the centre of the DA Youth’s campaigns. Some of the proposals we have made over the last year include the proposal for completely new operating structure for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), the proposal of a number of unique  interventions government can implement to facilitate increased levels of entrepreneurship among young people, the Youth Wage Subsidy to alleviate youth unemployment and a voucher scheme for successful matriculants  that will see them given cash to either put into further studies or starting a business, to name but a few. One thing the DA Youth is not short of is innovators, all of whom are masters at envisaging a new future for South Africa and planning how to get us there.

The final role of an opposition party in South Africa is to expose. In a well-functioning democracy, citizens hold government accountable for their actions. When we lack information, we cannot effectively monitor or hold them accountable. Hence, part of our role is to question the Government of the day and hold them accountable to the public, specifically the youth. The DA Youth in particular has played a leading role in exposing wrong doings by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), who have spent millions of youth development funding on ANC Youth League events, inflated salaries, parties for totalitarian youth wings from other countries and tenders for family.

On any given day, the DA Youth may be playing the role of opposers, proposers or exposers, or even all three simultaneously. What is certain is that each role is necessary for the maintenance of a healthy democracy and at all times, the DA Youth will execute them with the interests of young South Africans as our primary driver.

Regards, 

Makashule Gana
DA Youth Federal Leader

The poster features prominent LGBTI rights activist Ndumie Funda and her partner, with the tagline ‘In our future they will be free to love without fear’. The poster is designed to highlight both her and many thousands of openly lesbian women’s struggle to simply live their daily lives without fear of victimisation.

No more starkly were the challenges that these women face illustrated than in the recent court case of Zoliswa Nkonyana, who was brutally murdered in Khayelitsha because of her choice of partner.

According to research by non-profit organisation Luleki Sizwe, founded by Ndumie Funda who joins us today, more than 10 lesbians are subject to ‘corrective rape’ both by individuals and gangs every week in Cape Town alone, with over 510 cases of corrective rape reported every year. Over the last ten years 31 lesbians have allegedly been murdered because of their sexuality.

 As well as highlighting this serious issue, the poster also makes a statement about the kind of future that the DA Youth envisages for South Africa, namely one in which there is tolerance and acceptance of every individual, even if their life choices are different from our own.

Ndumie founded non-profit organisation, Luleki Sizwe, in 2007 after her fiancée was a victim of ‘corrective rape’ in an attempt to highlight this practice and lobby government to action, as well as to rescue, support and nurse to health survivors of ‘corrective rape’.

At present, however, the South African legal system does not recognise such attacks, or any violence committed on the basis of sexual orientation. Rather, these crimes are dealt with in terms of the existing legislation and common law in the criminal courts.

The DA Youth supports campaigns to ensure that individuals perpetrating crimes of this nature are handed down aggravated sentences that take cognizance not only of the violent act itself, but also of the motive, which is based on unacceptable discrimination on the basis of the social group the victim belongs to, whether that group be defined by sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity or any other constitutional determiner.

An attitude of intolerance in South African society is still rife. That women can be subject to ‘corrective rape’ for their sexual orientation in South Africa in 2012 is simply unacceptable and a complete perversion of the constitutional values we fought so hard for.

In OUR future every South African will be able to live a life they value with complete freedom from intolerance or victimisation. In OUR future people will be free to love without fear.

Note to Editors:

The poster series, entitled ‘In our future’, follows on from the initial ‘you wouldn’t look twice’ DASO poster that went up on campuses in January and February, and serves to further expand our vision for the future of South Africa.

The posters (six in total) were released in a phased approach on campuses, social media and on the campaign website www.inourfuture.co.za. Each poster was launched alongside an event that illustrated the issues and vision we portray in that specific poster. The overarching vision we are seeking to illustrate is one in which there is:

•          Tolerance for everyone, even if their life choices are different from our own;

•          the opportunity for anyone and everyone with talent and dedication to realise their dreams no matter their background; and

•          respect for the Constitution as the ultimate law in South Africa.

Media enquiries:

Mbali Ntuli
DA Youth Federal Chairperson
072 118 8556

Aimee Franklin

National Youth Coordinator

072 232 0127

Date: Thursday, 29 March 2012
Time: 12.30pm
Venue: Women and Gender Studies Department Boardroom, University of the Western Cape (click here for map)

Media Enquiries:

Aimee Franklin
National Youth Coordinator
072 232 0127