Alex job seekers first to benefit from mall jobs, says Raletjena
We cannot have a situation where residents of Alexandra are used only as a source of buying power in a mall in their midst, says SA Job Seekers Movement president Mush Raletjena.
The grand opening of the Pan Africa Mall was marred by disgruntled members of the Imisebenzi Yethu movement who sought to block the opening until their grievances on local job sourcing were addressed.
Members of Imisebenzi Yethu thronged the opening ceremony and sought to drown the proceedings with noisy songs and shouting of demands around the employment practices of the shops in the mall complex.
The leader of Imisebenzi Yethu who is also the president of the Alexandra-based South African Job Seekers Movement, Mush Raletjena accused shops that operate in the mall of sourcing 80% of their staff from outside Alexandra, in places such as Soweto, Thembisa and Midrand.
“We have been engaging Redefine Properties as early as March 2022 when they started the construction work following the looting spree, as we sought to ensure that 80% of the labourers in the construction site must be sourced from Alexandra.
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“Today, they are opening the mall and 36 of the stores we approached demanding 80% employment for Alex residents, only four responded and 32 of them never bothered. They went ahead and hired people from Soweto and Thembisa and some of the stores are manned by family members only,” Raletjena claimed.
Raletjena added there were rumours that some of the shops even employed undocumented foreign nationals. “These are some of the issues that we have been trying to iron out with Redefine Properties so that they can ensure their tenants adhere to the proposals we made.
“It cannot be business as usual when a mall in Alex does not give first preference to local labour. We have an astonishingly high unemployment rate in Alexandra and poverty and hunger are taking a serious toll on our people, hence the high rate of crime in the township.
“The people of Alexandra cannot be used only as shoppers or consumers of the goods being sold in the mall. They should have a high stake in the employment figures as well, hence they will truly accept the beneficiation of the opening of a mall in their vicinity and protect it at the same time.”
Read more: Workers at Power Fashion at Pan African Mall rushed to hospital
Raletjena said rumours abound that the same outsiders employed in the various stores in the mall were now seeking houses to rent in Alex so they can be closer to their workplaces.
Order only returned when mall management agreed to a later date meeting with Imisebenzi Yethu to iron out the differences and seek a mutual understanding and working relationship.
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