In business for profit: iLIVE
Image by: ROGAN WARD / Reuters
Bob Mthembu in his letter "Business' lazy attitude to job creation" on July 5 does not appear to understand that the job of business is not to create jobs but to make a profit for shareholders.
To do this, a business sells goods or services at a competitive price.
Employing labour that is too expensive in relation to its productivity will make the company uncompetitive and not sustainable.
The government can create a climate that is conducive for employment by making the labour laws more flexible.
A business will employ as few workers as possible if it cannot hire and fire according to market requirements.
The biggest culprits in the employment equation are the trade unions. As long as they keep demanding higher and higher wages for their members, the unemployed will remain just that - unemployed.
I want to know which are the companies that "have billions in cash reserves", or unemployed capital. Even if this were true, does Mthembu think that these funds should be used to pay people for just sitting around?
SHARE YOUR OPINION
If you have an opinion you would like to share on this article, please send us an e-mail to the Times LIVE iLIVE team. In the mean time, click here to view the Times LIVE iLIVE section.