By Michael Hamlyn
During the month of October, when 26 companies were retrenching a total of 3,709 workers, only nine of them, and 2,977 workers, expressed any interest in the training layoff scheme.
The layoff scheme, which enables workers to continue being paid while they receive training to help them get other jobs, has R2.4 billion available to pay for it.
Giving a written reply to a parliamentary question from Kgwaridi Manamela of the ANC, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Thursday his department developed a flow chart and guidelines distributed though department of labour offices and the CCMA on how to access this money.
"We opened for business as from 21st September," he said.
He added that the training layoff option was provided for all the firms who submitted their applications for retrenchments.
