JOB CREATION
Workers help others find work
Bongani Majola
17 October 2002
A call by the three major trade union federations to workers three years ago to contribute a day's wages towards job creation has materialised into a sum of R90-million which is being held in the coffers of the Labour Job Creation Trust.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) and the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) put their heads together two years ago and committed their constituencies to "act in concert to create jobs, stable and fair industrial relations, respect for worker rights and sustainable growth and development".
Thus the Trust was created, with the express intention of helping the unemployed and previously disadvantaged communities, particularly women and the disabled, to help themselves.
A difference of R90-million
"We knew that one day's sacrifice would not solve the unemployment and poverty crises", Cosatu president and
chairperson of the Trust, Willie Madisha, told a press conference in October, "but we also believed it could make a significant difference - and that difference is today R90-million."
Between 1999 and 2002, the Trust received more than 3 000 applications from community organisations and developing businesses across the country. The process of approving grants and loans to applicants has been "time-consuming but thorough", says Madisha.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), which provides financial and monitoring services as well as project management to the Trust, was instructed to pay visits to applicant organisations to "ensure that their projects really exist and are not one-man shows".
Regional bias
Other criteria for the allocation of funds included women and youth participation, HIV/Aids-related work, poverty alleviation, skills development and adult basic education. The Trust also looked at how sustainable a project
was and how many jobs it would create.
With a regional bias towards the Eastern Cape and Limpopo Province, as provinces with the deepest poverty and highest unemployment, about R1-billion worth of projects were rated and found to fit the Trust’s criteria.
"About 57 projects are being implemented and another 19 have been approved. The total money disbursed thus far stands at around R4-million, whereas R37-million has been committed. Around 2 600 permanent jobs have been created", said Madisha.
More projects given the go-ahead
The Trust has just approved additional projects that will create 1 900 more permanent jobs, according to a statement released jointly by the three union federations and the DBSA.
Madisha said the trustees "wished to thank all the workers, most of whom do not get a living wage, for having contributed to the fund".
Audited by Deloitte & Touche and administered by Sanlam, the Trust includes Bishop Mvume
Dandala, South African Chief Rabbi Harris and Albertina Sisulu among its trustees.
Those wishing to make contributions can deposit their donations at the following account: Standard Bank's Braamfontein branch, branch code number 48-05, cheque account number 20-261-413-1.
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