REAL-LIFE SCENARIO 7: Steel Industry: The ANC, AMSA, ITAC and Duties: The Four Horsemen of the downstream apocalypse.

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A REAL-LIFE SCENARIO OF AN EMPLOYER IN THE STEEL DOWNSTREAM

• Company ZYX (Pty) Ltd, a family-owned manufacturer of truck parts, has been in operation since 1993.

• For many years, it provided stable employment to more than 30 workers, some who have been loyal employees for decades.

• However, for the past 8 years the struggle for the company’s survival has been relentless.

• Once a profitable business, it has now accumulated losses of more than R30 million.

• An increase in manufacturing costs, driven by the rising price of raw steel, has placed the company under severe financial strain.

• While the cost of raw steel continues to rise rapidly, finished steel components enter the country duty-free, making it impossible for local manufacturers to compete.

• Local manufacturers face higher costs before production even begins, while foreign competitors can ship in finished parts at much lower prices.

• For Company ZYX (Pty) Ltd, the consequences have been devastating. The company has been forced to retrench 19 employees, reducing their workforce by more than half.

• In a last-ditch effort to save the remaining jobs, the directors of Company ZYX (Pty) Ltd have stopped taking salaries altogether. They continue to inject their own money into the business to pay the remaining employees in a desperate attempt to save a family business that has been in operation for over 30 years.

• Despite these sacrifices, Company ZYX (Pty) Ltd still faces serious financial strain and will soon be forced to shut its doors permanently, causing even more job losses.

Thanks to duties and ITAC’s flawed trade policies,

yet another South African manufacturer is being brought to its knees.

For more information

NEASA Media Department

media@neasa.co.za

NEASA ... the only labour law specialist an employer will ever need.