THE plan to create jobs for young people has stalled while government, business and labour battle to find agreement on how to subsidise companies to create jobs for the youth.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan yesterday said very little about the youth employment incentive he had planned to roll out in April.
He said the incentive plan had come under scrutiny in the past year.
His department had submitted the youth employment incentive plan for discussions at the National Economic Development and Labour Council. He said the unions had raised serious reservations.
"We released a discussion paper proposing a youth employment incentive last year. It is under discussion at Nedlac, where the labour constituency has expressed reservations," Gordhan said.
"In our view these concerns can be addressed in the design and implementation of the incentive."
Gordhan also announced that R4.8-billion would be provided for the Extended Public Works Programme and R300-million added to the arts and culture sector for job creation.
The community work programme received an additional R3.5-billion.
He also allocated the non-state sector an additional R345-million to enable the sector to create more jobs.
He added that funding was allocated to a jobs fund aimed at supporting innovative public or private sector projects with potential to create sustainable job opportunities.
He said the fund began operating in June and received more than 2500 applications in its first call for proposals.
"Project allocations of more than R1-billion have been committed and a second round of project applications will be announced shortly," he said.
The Congress of South African Trade Union has been the loudest in opposing the youth employment and it might be using its veto powers at Nedlac, where the policy currently sits, to oppose it.
The youth wage subsidy policy was first announced in October 2009 in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement and formally announced by President Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address last year.
The subsidy was meant to work as a "pay as you earn" tax system administered by the SA Revenue Service.
Sars would capture information of qualifying employers who hire young people aged between 18 and 29, with wages falling below the personal income tax threshold.
Earlier this month Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi accused the government of peddling an illusion that jobs for young workers would be created by taxpayers subsidising firms to hire them at a lower cost.
"The danger is that employers will simply retrench an equal number of older workers and create no more jobs overall," Vavi said.
Jobs incentive hits snag
THE plan to create jobs for young people has stalled while government, business and labour battle to find agreement on how to subsidise companies to create jobs for the youth.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan yesterday said very little about the youth employment incentive he had planned to roll out in April.
He said the incentive plan had come under scrutiny in the past year.
His department had submitted the youth employment incentive plan for discussions at the National Economic Development and Labour Council. He said the unions had raised serious reservations.
"We released a discussion paper proposing a youth employment incentive last year. It is under discussion at Nedlac, where the labour constituency has expressed reservations," Gordhan said.
"In our view these concerns can be addressed in the design and implementation of the incentive."
Gordhan also announced that R4.8-billion would be provided for the Extended Public Works Programme and R300-million added to the arts and culture sector for job creation.
The community work programme received an additional R3.5-billion.
He also allocated the non-state sector an additional R345-million to enable the sector to create more jobs.
He added that funding was allocated to a jobs fund aimed at supporting innovative public or private sector projects with potential to create sustainable job opportunities.
He said the fund began operating in June and received more than 2500 applications in its first call for proposals.
"Project allocations of more than R1-billion have been committed and a second round of project applications will be announced shortly," he said.
The Congress of South African Trade Union has been the loudest in opposing the youth employment and it might be using its veto powers at Nedlac, where the policy currently sits, to oppose it.
The youth wage subsidy policy was first announced in October 2009 in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement and formally announced by President Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address last year.
The subsidy was meant to work as a "pay as you earn" tax system administered by the SA Revenue Service.
Sars would capture information of qualifying employers who hire young people aged between 18 and 29, with wages falling below the personal income tax threshold.
Earlier this month Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi accused the government of peddling an illusion that jobs for young workers would be created by taxpayers subsidising firms to hire them at a lower cost.
"The danger is that employers will simply retrench an equal number of older workers and create no more jobs overall," Vavi said.
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