While we respect the rights of people to peacefully protest, the planned national shutdown is not the solution to addressing the economic challenges of the country. Rather all stakeholders and communities should be working together to rebuild our country and metros, so that that basic services can be delivered to all, says Denise van Huyssteen, Chamber chief executive.
Due to Tuesday being a public holiday, some businesses have made alternative arrangements to catch-up on lost production, while others intend operating as normal. As expected, when there is a Monday before a public holiday, many employees have taken the opportunity to go on extended leave. These are typical practices and in no way can be interpreted as support for the planned shut-down.
“We are pleased that the taxi and bus operators are treating Monday as a normal business day as this will enable workers, to continue to go to work and earn wages. Workers are already suffering from the adverse impacts of loadshedding, which has resulted in short time and in some cases job loses,” she says.
“Also pleasing is the collaboration between the Metro, SAPS, private security companies and other stakeholders which will contribute towards ensuring that a co-ordinated and cohesive approach is taken to ensure the safety and security of communities and workers.
“We encourage businesses to not be intimidated by the protest organisers and to treat Monday as a normal working day.”