The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), has extended employment contracts for 67,000 Community Work Programme (CWP) beneficiaries who were set to lose their jobs next week.

This follows the department's announcement that it intended to terminate the contracts of CWP beneficiaries aged 55 years and older, due to budget cuts from the National Treasury for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.

The decision sparked protests nationwide, with beneficiaries expressing concerns they would be left without income to support their families.

However, after a meeting with finance minister Enoch Godongwana, Cogta minister Velenkosini Hlabisa announced on Friday, that the contracts would be extended while the department is “exploring viable and sustainable solutions.”

The contracts of the CWP beneficiaries aged 55 years and older will now run until the end of March 2025.

“It is imperative that we take decisive action to protect the integrity of the programme and ensure that participants receive the support they deserve”, Hlabisa said.

The CWP, launched in 2008, aims to provide work experience and employment skills to beneficiaries.

The participants' work among others includes fixing community assets such as parks, schools, and roads.

Hlabisa reiterated the government's commitment to safeguarding the programme’s gains.

“We are currently engaged in constructive consultations and will provide regular updates as the Department works closely with all relevant stakeholders,” he said.

“Our aim is to address this issue thoughtfully, ensuring a careful balance between financial responsibility and social accountability.”

The department’s decision to terminate the contracts of beneficiaries aged 55 years and older was met with strong criticism from labour unions.

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) described the decision as a ‘cruel act’ that was in line with the government’s ‘broader neoliberal agenda, which prioritises austerity and the so-called fiscal consolidation targets’ over the well-being of workers and the majority black working class.

Cosatu said the development was particularly worrying because these participants would be plunged into instant poverty and would struggle to secure other employment in an economy with an unemployment rate of 41.9%.

The federation unions were also joined by the opposition party uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), which said the decision exposed the insensitivity of the Government of the National Unity’s (GNU) administration to the plight of South Africa’s unemployed and vulnerable workers.

MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the decision to terminate the contracts ‘disregards the Ministry’s earlier acknowledgement in Circular 07 of 2024, which stressed the importance of proper consultation before implementing such drastic measures’.

“The Ministry had assured the Cogta portfolio committee that no participants over 60 years of age would be exited without adequate engagement,” Ndhlela said.

“Yet, this sudden reversal confirms what South Africans have long suspected, the GNU’s word is worth nothing. The follow-up circular by the Ministry to postpone this evil intention does not offer any comfort whatsoever,” he added.

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Government extends contracts for 67,000 community work beneficiaries until March amid protests