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ActionSA today called on the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, to schedule an urgent debate to address the unfolding unemployment crisis in South Africa’s manufacturing sector. The situation has reached a national emergency, with hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk across steel, automotive, mining sectors and the manufacturing sector as a whole.

ArcelorMittal South Africa is winding down its Long Steel operations, directly affecting 3,500 workers in Newcastle and Vereeniging, and potentially threatening over 100,000 downstream jobs. 

In the automotive sector, almost 500 Ford employees across Pretoria and Gqeberha face retrenchment, while Goodyear’s closure of its 78-year-old tyre plant in Kariega will impact around 900 direct jobs and thousands more in the supply chain. 

Over the past two years, South Africa’s automotive industry has seen 12 company closures and more than 4,000 job losses. This is not just about company closures. High electricity costs, loadshedding, inefficient ports, and crumbling road and rail infrastructure are driving up operational costs and undermining the competitiveness of our automotive sector.

The mining and smelting industry is similarly under threat. Glencore and Merafe have initiated retrenchment processes at their Boshoek and Wonderkop smelters, potentially affecting almost 2,500 direct jobs and 17,000 indirect roles, impacting an estimated 155,000 dependents. Additional retrenchments at Assmang’s KwaZulu-Natal smelter have affected 600 workers.

These are not statistics; they are families facing insecurity and deepening inequality. Parliament must act to protect South Africa’s industrial workers. 

ActionSA is urging the National Assembly to hold a focused debate, to which the following stakeholders should be invited to attend and contribute:

• Minister of Employment and Labour
• Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
• Representatives from the IDC, UIF, labour unions, industry leaders, and affected workers. 

The debate should prioritise interventions such as revising electricity tariffs, strengthening energy infrastructure for smelters, industry-specific financial support tied to job preservation, incentivising localisation, and implementing retraining programs and social protection for displaced workers.

South Africa is at a critical inflection point. Without urgent parliamentary action, hundreds of thousands of livelihoods hang in the balance.

Issued by ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley