Chairperson, is the Minister aware that none of the companies have applied for the temporary layoff programme, and that more than 300 000 people have been retrenched in quarters one and two, according to Statistics SA?
What is being done about this disastrous state of affairs?
UMPHATHISWA WEZABASEBENZI: Mhlalingaphambili, umntu owayelixhwele phaya ekhaya ngumakhulu, owasweleka kudala. Nguye ke owayenakho ukuphosa amathambo azi ukuba yeyiphi na inkampani efake isicelo, iyeyiphi engasifakanga.
Okwangoku, silindele ukuba inkampani esengxakini ifake isicelo ngokusesikweni. Ukuba ke iyinyani laa nto ibithethwa ngumhlekazi lowa, yokuba iinkampani azifakanga zicelo, makube ke besixelelwa into engekhoyo xa bekusithiwa iinkampani zisengxakini, yiyo loo nto zidenda abasebenzi. Ndingavuya ke ukuba unokusinika loo ngcombolo, yokuba zeziphi na ezi nkampani athetha ngazo ukwenzela ukuba sikhangele ukuba ayizizo na ezi zithi zidende abasebenzi zibe zingenangxaki. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[The MINISTER OF LABOUR: Chairperson, the only person who was a sangoma at home was my grandmother who passed away a long time ago. She was the one who would throw the bones and know which company has made an application and which one has not. As of now, we are waiting for a company in crisis to make an application formally. If it is true what the hon member said about companies not making applications, it means we have been deceived when we were told that the reason these companies are retrenching people is because they are in deep crisis.
I will be very honoured if you can give us information of the companies that you are talking about in order to establish if they are not the ones that are retrenching people whereas they are not in crisis. [Applause.]]