Labor unions must resolve to raise output – Minister

30 Sep '10

2 min read

Ebrahim Patel – Minister for South African Economic Development said that, the workers' unions should take a resolution to raise their productivity since they are asking for better wages. To recall, these unions have called a number of strikes this year.

Patel told the business community that the country should stay away from any more such policy disputes which might upset the labor market in the years to come. He further added that a concrete effort should be taken towards integrating business as well as labor issues in order to come out with comprehensible productivity results.

According to Patel, lack of expertise and efficiency, collusion on prices among the business groups are some of the key concerns which are restricting the growth process. This was disclosed by him while he was speaking to the business community in Durban, on the third day of the ANC's conference.

The workers' unions had formed an alliance with the African National Congress (ANC) and their active involvement had enabled President Jacob Zuma to gain power last year.

This year, the country's exports were severely affected, automobile units were closed down, functioning of schools and hospitals were disturbed, due to the strikes organized by the employees.

The International Monetary Fund revealed in a report that the South African economy is expected to experience a growth of 3.2 percent in 2010 and 3.6 percent in the next year.

Fibre2fashion News Desk-India