The International Labour Organization in Geneva commissioned Simon White to prepare a country scan on South Africa’s response to the Global Financial Crisis.

The ILO’s Global Jobs Pact recognises that the response to the global financial crisis should “contribute to a fair globalization, a greener economy and development that more effectively creates jobs and sustainable enterprises, respects workers’ rights, promotes gender equality, protects vulnerable people, assists countries in the provision of quality public services and enables countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals” (ILO 2009, para. 7). Guided by the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, the ILO is committed to allocating the necessary human and financial resources and working with other agencies to assist constituents who request such support to utilize the Global Jobs Pact (ILO 2009, para. 28).

The crisis in world financial markets, which began in September 2007, has led to a significant economic slowdown in advanced economies. For example, real economic growth in advanced economies declined from 2.7 percent in 2007 to an estimated one percent in 2008. Some advanced economies entered a recession in 2008.

This report provides a brief description of the impact of the crisis in South Africa and presents a detailed account of the government’s policy responses to the crisis. This account will help the ILO to formulate support measures to aid South Africa and other selected countries.

South Africa approved its National Framework Agreement (NFA) in early 2009. It represents an agreement by government, business, labour and the community sector on how to respond to the global financial crisis. The NFA is closely aligned with the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact. It supports the decent work agenda, while promoting job retention and job creation. The broad principles governing the agreement encourage all parties to deal with the vulnerable and their jobs, and to strengthen the capacity of the economy to grow and create decent jobs.

In its promotion of the decent work agenda the ILO has engaged the South African Economic Development Department (EDD) and the social partners with a view to identifying areas of priority pertaining to the implementation of the NFA. The intention being to identify short, medium and long-term initiatives aimed primarily at the retention and the creation of decent jobs.

Southern African IDEAS

March 2010