The South African businesses hit hard by retrenchments

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has released its annual report for 2018/2019, revealing some of the sectors hit hardest by retrenchments.
The CCMA said that it received a total of 529 large-scale retrenchment Section 189A referrals in 2018/19, compared to 488 referrals received in the 2017/18 financial year. This represents an increase of approximately 8%.
Of the 38,588 employees who were the subjects of Section 189A, large-scale retrenchment referrals, 15,787 jobs were saved (41%). Actual retrenchments were recorded at 21,391.
The highest number of employees retrenched were recorded in the building and construction sectors (3,584), followed by the mining sector (3,260), and metal sector (1,741).
The below tables show the employees that were likely to be retrenched, compared to those that were actually retrenched thanks to the CCMA’s intervention.
A total of 6,600 small-scale retrenchments (Section 189) referrals were registered for the 2018/19 financial year, representing a 1% increase when compared to the 2017/18 financial year (6,514),
“Regrettably, the CCMA’s potential to save jobs in small-scale retrenchment processes is hamstrung by the fact that the CCMA only gets involved once the retrenchment process has already been initiated,” the CCMA said.
It added that it will continue to explore return to work outcomes in these matters.
“In the 2019/20 financial year, the CCMA will intensify its pre – and post retrenchment monitoring activities, identify new opportunities brought about by the changing nature of work, and explore opportunities in association with relevant institutions for re-skilling,” it said.
“Furthermore, multi-stakeholder engagement and commitment, that include the relevant Ministries and Stakeholders, should be intensified in order to address further threats to job security.”