*Declare Unemployment in South Africa a National Disaster*

To: The President of the Republic of South Africa, Parliament, Provincial Governments, Business Leaders, Labour Federations, and All South Africans

From: South African National Unemployed Union (SANUU)

South Africa is facing a crisis that can no longer be ignored, politicised, normalised, or postponed. The unemployment catastrophe devastating millions of lives across our nation has reached levels that demand urgent national intervention. SANUU therefore calls on the Government of South Africa to officially declare unemployment a National Disaster.

According to the latest labour statistics highlighted by eNCA, South Africa’s unemployment rate has climbed to 32.7%, with approximately 8.1 million people officially unemployed. In the first quarter alone, the country lost around 345,000 jobs. These numbers are not merely statistics on paper — they represent shattered dreams, empty stomachs, depressed households, rising crime, hopeless youth, struggling graduates, and communities trapped in poverty.

The burden of unemployment is hitting young South Africans the hardest. Every year thousands of graduates leave universities, TVET colleges, and schools with hope for a better future, only to be met by closed doors, endless rejection emails, unpaid internships, exploitation, and poverty. Many young people have never worked a single day in their lives despite obtaining qualifications. Others are forced into dangerous environments, substance abuse, depression, crime, or dependency because opportunities simply do not exist.
Unemployment in South Africa is no longer only an economic issue — it is a humanitarian crisis.

Families are collapsing under financial pressure. Parents are unable to provide for their children. Graduates are returning home hopeless after years of studying. Mental health challenges continue to rise due to stress, anxiety, and social exclusion caused by unemployment. Communities are becoming more unstable as inequality deepens.

South Africa cannot continue operating as though this crisis is normal.

When floods, pandemics, or infrastructure collapses occur, the nation mobilises resources urgently. Yet unemployment has silently destroyed lives for decades without the same level of urgency and coordinated intervention. SANUU believes the time has come for government to treat unemployment with the seriousness it deserves.

We therefore demand the following:

1. The immediate declaration of unemployment as a National Disaster.
2. An emergency national unemployment summit involving government, business, labour unions, youth organisations, universities, and civil society.

3. The introduction of a National Job Creation Emergency Plan focused specifically on youth and unemployed graduates.
4. Large-scale investment in public works programmes, community development projects, infrastructure expansion, healthcare, education support, agriculture, and township economies.

5. Stronger support for entrepreneurship, small businesses, cooperatives, and youth-owned enterprises through funding and reduced barriers to entry.

6. Paid internships and workplace opportunities for graduates instead of exploitative unpaid labour.

7. Increased accountability from both public and private sectors regarding job creation commitments.

8. Mental health and social support services for unemployed individuals facing depression, hopelessness, and social exclusion.
9. A review of economic policies that continue to exclude the poor and working-class majority.
10. Immediate action plans from provincial governments to address local unemployment crises, especially in rural areas and townships.

As SANUU, we refuse to remain silent while millions suffer. We refuse to accept a future where graduates hold degrees but cannot afford food, transport, or dignity. We refuse to watch another generation become victims of economic exclusion while leaders debate statistics instead of implementing urgent solutions.

This petition is not about politics. It is about survival.

We call upon every unemployed South African, every parent, every student, every worker, every graduate, every organisation, and every concerned citizen to stand together and demand urgent action. Unemployment affects all of us directly or indirectly. If we do not act now, the social and economic consequences will become even more severe.

South Africa cannot build a stable democracy while millions remain unemployed and hopeless.
Enough is enough.
Declare unemployment a National Disaster NOW.

Signed,

South African National Unemployed Union (SANUU)

“An injury to one unemployed person is an injury to all.”