Dear Portfolio Committee on Employment and Labour,

I purchased the Washing Well Laundry in Simon's Town in 2020. I operate with a staff of two. This micro-business relies largely on B&B's and a few hotels in the area for support. Water, Electricity, rental, detergents, staff salaries and recurring machinery repairs gobble up a large portion of turnover. Covid-19 and the consequent forced shutdown in May and June 2020 caused a lot of financial and other problems for those in the laundry business, especially. To furnish an example, when we re-opened in July 2020 we were not allowed to purchase electricity until we paid the outstanding service fees of approximately R4 500,00 which accrued during shut down. In addition, the staff demanded their leave which meant hiring an additional worker adding to our financial woes. Paying for public holidays, Provident fund contributions, UIF, annual leave, sick leave, family responsibility leave ( I was unaware of the Ministerial Determination in this respect) and hiring extra replacement staff, is really a heavy burden for a small business to carry. Neither central Government nor the Municipality offered any form of reprieve or support. I am not personally requesting or advocating financial support for micro-businesses which I believe just adds to ones financial woes and encourages corruption.
COSATU's concerns that Ministerial Determinations, such as the one on 16 November 1999, could lead to abuse are valid if applied to all micro-businesses. The problem here can be obviated if restricted to sole-proprietors. I appeal for assistance in the following areas: A reprieve in paying staff for public holidays except religious holidays, New Years day and Workers day. A suspension of VAT on water and electricity. A reduction of annual leave to 12 working days and abolition of the three year cycle of sick leave to single year cycles. This would go a long way in assisting micro-businesses to remain afloat and encourage these businesses to employ on a permanent basis rather than casually.

Thank you.