11 of 2016

Newsletter No. 11 15 April 2016

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Pace of growth in retail sales slows in January

THE pace of growth in retail trade sales slowed in January as the poor trading conditions and the embattled economy took their toll, data released by Statistics SA showed on Wednesday.

In real terms retail trade sales increased 3.1% year on year in January 2016 compared with a 4.1% year-on-year increase in December 2015, while seasonally adjusted sales decreased by 0.3% month on month.

According to a Trading Economics, growth was expected to come in at 3.8%.

Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said: “The slowdown in economic growth has seen an impact on consumers, as real gross national income per capita has fallen since 2012, while consumer confidence is depressed.”

Ms Bishop, citing a survey from the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci), added that muted trade conditions were likely to continue and that “constraining economic conditions, law and order, the sociopolitical environment and the business climate were cited by respondents as the main inhibiting factors”.

Stats SA reported that the main contributors to the 3.1% increase were other general retailers, which contributed 1.1 percentage points, while general dealers contributed 0.7 percentage points and textile and clothing retailers contributed 0.6 percentage points.

The South African Reserve Bank is due to release their policy decision on Thursday, which may put further pressure on consumers after the 50 basis point hike in January.

SACTWU – Training and Upskilling of Workers

The role of education is critical in the development of an organizationally and politically informed, skilled and competent worker leadership who is capable to defend our members and advance the interests of workers with confidence and determination.

The SACTWU shop stewards training programme has six components, namely union education, HIV/Aids awareness training, workplace skills development, computer training, health and safety training and leadership development. The training is conducted by the SACTWU education department, by union project staff, Ditsela and by contracted outside training institutions.

Over the last three years, SACTWU has conducted more than 300 courses covering all shop stewards with a combined attendance of close to 9 000 shop stewards.

The shop stewards receive core training on issues like basic shop steward duties, labour law, case handling, industry terms and conditions of employment, and unfair dismissals case management skills. Hundreds of shop stewards have also learned computer skills through SACTWU courses.

Shop stewards training takes place almost every week of the available training year, with courses being run in all parts of the country.

SACTWU spends approximately R5m per annum on shop stewards training.

In addition, we run workplace awareness training for members, mainly on health and safety matters such as HIV/Aids awareness. Over the last three years, 282 000 workers have participated in this program, some more than once.

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Did you Know…….

The 1920s was a big era in fashion. The iconic flapper dress was originally designed by Coco Chanel, and it was during this time that Vogue andHarpers Bazaar first appeared on magazine stands.
In the Victorian era women did not wear cosmetics, as it was considered to be for people of ‘questionable’ character!
Umbrellas were initially used to shade people from the sun, not to protect them from the rain as they are today. In ancient Greece they became a fashion accessory used by men and not women. A useful Fashion Fact to remind us be careful with the sun!

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Editorial Submission:

Please remember to send me your news so that we can share it with all our readers in the weekly newsletter.

Although editorial is neither guaranteed nor implied, suitable editorial for consideration may be submitted to:

Carla Finlay

carla@newsbriefs.co.za

0724055930