PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma says there will be no wage subsidies for young workers until everyone agrees on the plan.
Zuma was in Parliament yesterday afternoon to answer questions from MPs.
In his budget speech in February, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the government would pay companies to hire young workers, creating a "wage subsidy".
These wage subsidies would be in place by 2011, and aimed to "raise employment of young school-leavers by a further 500 000 by 2013", Gordhan promised at the time.
The DA supported the plan, but Cosatu gave it the thumbs down, saying wage subsidies would encourage bosses to employ a large group of very young workers and pay them next to nothing.
This "super exploitation" idea had been thrown out by the ANC's national general council in 2005 and was definitely not ANC policy, Cosatu said.
Zuma confirmed yesterday that the plan had been put on hold.
"Unions have raised issues on that matter. We need an opportunity to discuss . otherwise you will be complaining that this is dictatorship. Once it is agreed, we will say let us work on the plan."
But the DA asked why Gordhan had announced something if it had not even been discussed in the ANC.
DA MP James Selfe also grilled Zuma on ANCYL president Julius Malema, saying Zuma must make a promise that the ANC would never nationalise the mines.
"We want that answer from you and not by way of a debate with the ANCYL," Selfe told Zuma.
On Wednesday Malema told Parliament that nationalisation would be ANC policy by 2012.
But Zuma would not promise that the ANC would never nationalise the mines.
He only said historically, not all ANCYL views had been accepted by the ANC.
Meanwhile, Zuma said 142 hospitals had been connected to Home Affairs so that newborn babies could be registered before leaving the hospital.
NO SUBSIDIES FOR YOUTH YET
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma says there will be no wage subsidies for young workers until everyone agrees on the plan.
Zuma was in Parliament yesterday afternoon to answer questions from MPs.
In his budget speech in February, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the government would pay companies to hire young workers, creating a "wage subsidy".
These wage subsidies would be in place by 2011, and aimed to "raise employment of young school-leavers by a further 500 000 by 2013", Gordhan promised at the time.
The DA supported the plan, but Cosatu gave it the thumbs down, saying wage subsidies would encourage bosses to employ a large group of very young workers and pay them next to nothing.
This "super exploitation" idea had been thrown out by the ANC's national general council in 2005 and was definitely not ANC policy, Cosatu said.
Zuma confirmed yesterday that the plan had been put on hold.
"Unions have raised issues on that matter. We need an opportunity to discuss . otherwise you will be complaining that this is dictatorship. Once it is agreed, we will say let us work on the plan."
But the DA asked why Gordhan had announced something if it had not even been discussed in the ANC.
DA MP James Selfe also grilled Zuma on ANCYL president Julius Malema, saying Zuma must make a promise that the ANC would never nationalise the mines.
"We want that answer from you and not by way of a debate with the ANCYL," Selfe told Zuma.
On Wednesday Malema told Parliament that nationalisation would be ANC policy by 2012.
But Zuma would not promise that the ANC would never nationalise the mines.
He only said historically, not all ANCYL views had been accepted by the ANC.
Meanwhile, Zuma said 142 hospitals had been connected to Home Affairs so that newborn babies could be registered before leaving the hospital.
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