In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Monday, 15 July 2019.
Teacher critical and 50 pupils in hospital after mystery gas leak at Umlazi school on Monday TimesLIVE reports that a teacher is in critical condition and more than 50 pupils have been transported to local hospitals after they inhaled an unknown gas at Vukuzakhe High School in Umlazi, south of Durban. Paramedics were called to the school on Monday after a small unknown substance reportedly exploded and was inhaled by a number of pupils. Three pupils were initially transported to a nearby clinic. When paramedics got to the school they found teachers and pupils complaining about itchy throats, burning eyes and shortness of breath. Rescue Care spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said at the scene: "At this stage we have had multiple patients collapsing. Our Lenmed One helicopter is on its way to transport a teacher who sustained some quite critical injuries as a result of the inhalation." Jamieson said that the chemical substance and its source were unknown, but fragments of it were handed over to police. Provincial education spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa said they would be looking into the incident because it was a serious matter. Read the full original of Suthentira Govender’s report on the above story at TimesLIVE Centurion domestic worker seriously mauled by dog on Friday Centurion Rekord reports that a domestic worker was seriously injured after she was attacked by a dog in Centurion on Friday. According to ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring, the attack happened at a house in Eldoraigne at around 5pm. “Medics found the woman seated outside of the residence, where they assessed her and found that she had sustained serious bite wounds to her face, as well as over her body,” he indicated. Meiring said the woman was treated for her injuries and transported to hospital. The details surrounding this incident are not yet known. Read the original of the above report at The Citizen Driver 'hijacked, kidnapped' as thugs target e-hailing industry in Nelson Mandela Bay TimesLIVE reports that two men who allegedly hijacked an Uber vehicle and kidnapped a driver at the weekend were arrested on Sunday. The driver collected the men at the Virgin Active gym in Humerail early on Sunday and they asked to be dropped off in Colchester. Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg reported that when they reached Colchester, the assailants directed the driver onto a gravel road and then asked him to stop. The one suspect was armed with a knife and they threatened the complainant and robbed him of his belongings. He was then shoved in the boot of his vehicle. The men drove back towards Port Elizabeth and allegedly tried to sell the car. When the assailants were arrested following a tip-off, the driver was found in the boot. The Herald reported earlier in July that the e-hailing industry was under attack in Nelson Mandela Bay, with drivers targeted by syndicates for their cellphones, money and cars. Over the past two months, robberies and hijackings of Uber and Bolt drivers in the city have spiked and more than 15 cases have been reported since about April. Drivers have identified high-risk areas as Zwide, New Brighton, parts of Motherwell and the northern areas, with sporadic attacks in other suburbs. Read the full original of Michael Kimberley’s report on the above story at TimesLIVE
Khulubuse Zuma, Zondwa Mandela to argue against broadcast request in Aurora case Fin24 reports that the court case against four former directors of Aurora Empowerment Systems for alleged environmental damages was again postponed on Monday to allow their defence teams to make representations against the proceedings being broadcast to the public. Three of the accused - Khulubuse Zuma, Zondwa Mandela and Thulani Ngubane - appeared briefly in the Springs Regional Court with their legal teams on Monday. The fourth accused, former executive Raja Zainal Alam Shah, did not appear in court and is apparently now based in Malaysia. The four accused are facing five charges, including water pollution, failure to comply with a compliance notice, unlawful use of water, acting detrimentally to affect water supply, and failure to comply with conditions of water usage at Pamodzi’s Grootvlei gold mine near Springs, Gauteng. On Monday news channel eNCA requested to film the proceedings, but lawyers for Zuma, Mandela and Ngubane objected. The magistrate ruled that they should have an opportunity to state their reasons for opposing the broadcast and an order will be handed down on 7 August. The state does not object to the case being filmed. The Pamodzi gold mines, which also included a mine in Orkney, came under Aurora’s control in 2009 after they had been placed under provisional liquidation. In bid letters Aurora claimed to have funding and experience in mining. But the mines soon collapsed. The four accused were blamed by trade unions for the selling off the mine's equipment and failing to pay 5,300 workers their salaries, leaving thousands of dependents destitute. Read the full original of Tehillah Niselow’s report on the above story at Fin24 Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Banana producer claims R318m from police and Fawu for destructive protest action Netwerk24 reports that one of SA’s prime banana producers, Umbhaba Estates, is claiming R318-million from the police and a trade union for damages caused by protestors over a period of four months. The producer, which has three farms in Mpumalanga, has lodged its claim at the High Court in Pretoria against the Minister of Police and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu). According to Umbhaba, the damage was caused during an unprotected strike initiated by Fawu at its Hectorspruit farm in November 2015. Over a period of four months, the farm was apparently basically destroyed. More than 152,000 young banana trees died because workers were prevented by Fawu from caring for them, while bananas went rotten in warehouses. There was an instance of assault, when the police were present but did nothing. In following days, gates were broken down and arson took place, all of which was reported to the police, who failed to respond timeously and properly. But, according to Fawu, the case should not be heard by the High Court because it should have been referred to the Labour Court instead. Judge Ronel Tolmay has ruled that Umbhaba can go ahead with its claim in the High Court provided that the words “strike” and “strikers” not be used. During the hearing it will be determined if the action was a “strike” or “protest action”. Read the full original of Jeanne-Marié Versluis’ report on this story in Afrikaans at Netwerk24 (paywall access only)
Rescue plan for construction industry in the offing from government The Sunday Independent reports that top government ministers are coming to the rescue of the embattled construction industry after it shed 140,000 jobs and lost billions of rands in business. Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille and Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu plan to meet with the construction industry soon to resolve its crisis. The industry has in the past few years been battling and some of the major players are closing shop, with industry giants Basil Read and Group Five having filed for business rescue. Part of the reason for the decline of the sector is that there has been no business from government and the private sector as well as slow payment of contracts by the government. The state has cut its infrastructure budget by 12%, which has impacted on the industry. President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordinating Commission to De Lille’s department and she said they were willing to work with the industry. “A fund for infrastructure of R100bn has been established. Infrastructure is going to play a key role in economic growth. The construction industry is in steep decline. Over 140000 jobs have been lost. As the Department of Public Works we will release 300 projects (worth R5bn) to stimulate the industry to create more jobs,” said De Lille. Sisulu also said she would meet with the construction industry on its challenges. The full original of the above report by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi appeared on page 9 of The Sunday Independent of 14 July 2019
ArcelorMittal SA has its back to the wall after a tough decade for steel Business Times writes that eleven years ago, steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA (AMSA) was one of the 10 largest companies listed on the JSE. But two recessions since then and feeble economic growth in between have put the company's back against the wall. Add to that cheap imports from other steel-producing nations and sharp increases in energy costs, and it becomes clear why more than R100bn of shareholder value has been destroyed and the company has a market capitalisation of only about R3bn today. AMSA now wants to rejig the business in a big way and indicated the following last week: "A large-scale restructuring is contemplated, and it is anticipated that in excess of 2,000 positions may be affected." Though the number of jobs cut will only be determined in consultations with trade unions and employees, the possible job cuts represent nearly a quarter of the workforce. Production costs are not the only problem. Over the past two decades China has expanded its steel production substantially and has been able to export cheaply to other markets, including SA. AMSA spearheaded a campaign to have steel tariffs slapped on imports and, though it made some headway, it has still found the going tough. Trade union Solidarity now warns that the possible retrenchments at AMSA may be the first of many. "All stakeholders should urgently intervene; otherwise, more and more companies will have to face retrenchments," said Solidarity's deputy general secretary, Marius Croucamp. Read the full original of TJ Strydom’s report in the above regard at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
SOE workers in panic over salary payments in July The Sunday Independent reports that thousands of employees of state-owned entities (SOEs) are fearful their salaries will not be paid this month unless government steps in and bails out the ailing entities with billions of rands from taxpayers. While entities such as the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), Denel and SA Airways (SAA) have downplayed the financial crisis, workers’ unions are concerned salaries and jobs will be affected and have vowed to fight for their members. SABC is reportedly seeking a cash injection of R3.2 billion, Eskom needs R17bn, while SAA has requested R4bn, and Denel wants R2.8bn. As a short-term solution, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said government would look into using the national contingency reserve account to bail out the ailing institutions, using the Special Appropriations Bill to be tabled in Parliament in the next two weeks. Speaking during the budget vote last week, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan tabled a plan to turn SEOs around, emphasising that boards would be held accountable for the financial and operational performance and repositioning of the organisations. “After a decade of mismanagement, negligible board and executive fiduciary accountability for poor performance, malfeasance that enabled state capture, and rampant corruption at our biggest SOEs, many are in deep financial difficulties and will be unable to trade their way out of their difficulties,” said Gordhan. Head of International Liaison for the Solidarity Movement, Jaco Kleynhans, said they were concerned about the future of their members at SOEs. “None of the employees are secured or safe in these entities because of their financial challenges. The government can bail out these entities but the major problem is mismanagement and corruption. They haven’t managed according to business principles and because of that there’s no sustainability in these companies,” Kleynhans observed. Read more of Manyane Manyane’s report in The Sunday Independent in the above regard at SA Labour News Now Eskom’s treasurer quits BusinessLive reports that Eskom group treasurer Andre Pillay has resigned and will leave at the end of August, the state-owned power utility announced on Monday. Pillay’s resignation marks yet another exit of a senior executive as the utility struggles with a financial and operational crisis. No reasons were provided for Pillay’s departure. Eskom group CEO Phakamani Hadebe will leave his post at the end of July because of health concerns related to the high-stress job. Eskom CFO Calib Cassim said in a statement: “We are cognisant of how critical the group treasurer role is for Eskom and have requested that Andre remain in the position for the next two months to ensure a seamless transition and business continuity through the handover process. Andre’s replacement will be announced in due course. We believe that treasury operations will continue with ease with the support of the current treasury leadership”. Read the full original of Lisa Steyn’s report on the above story at BusinessLive SABC appeals for calm following reports of job cuts EWN reports that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has appealed to the public to allow for the process of funding of the organisation to be finalised and not to create panic and uncertainty amongst staff. On Sunday, The Sunday Times reported that the cash-strapped public broadcaster planned on cutting its staff by 33% as part of its turnaround strategy. The newspaper also claimed that the SABC intended to close down five regional offices and was hoping to save R279 million a year. The SABC's Vuyo Mthembu said this was not true and commented as follows: "We’ve provided our responses to the eleven preconditions and let us wait for that process to be finalised and at that stage, we’d have a response." The original of the above report by Mia Lindeque appeared at EWN
Employment and Labour Minister promises ‘persuasive’ approach towards minimum wage offenders BusinessLive reports that the Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) will not use a “hammer” to deal with employers who do not adhere to labour legislation, including national minimum wage (NMW) offenders. . Minister Thulas Nxesi says it will opt instead to persuade offenders. Nxesi, a former trade unionist, announced in his budget vote address last week that the implementation of the NMW had not led to wholesale retrenchments, as forecast by some analysts and lobby groups, and that there was in fact high compliance with the legislation, which kicked in on 1 January. He was appointed as minister of the new department in May and faces a daunting task with the addition of employment to what was once only the labour portfolio. Asked last week whether the department would be looking at formal consequences for not adhering to labour laws, Nxesi said that it would deal with matters “case by case”. “It’s not as if we are coming here with a hammer to deal with the employers. It’s to say we want to convince you, to persuade you to comply. But if you don’t comply and there is no reason not to comply, we will have to deal with you,” Nxesi said. He added that the department’s response would depend on the nature of the issues, with some major transgressions becoming criminal cases, and others resulting in licences being suspended. Having announced in parliament that the department would be employing 200 additional labour inspectors, Nxesi also noted that employees who were not unionised depended on the department and its inspectors to enforce their rights. Read the full original of Claudi Mailovich’s report in the above regard at BusinessLive. Read the text of Nxesi’s budget vote speech at DEL News. Read too, Cosatu notes and welcomes the Department of Employment and Labour’s 2019/20 budget vote, at Cosatu News (press statement)
Pensioners may lose millions in scandal involving MD of Lorna Jane SA BusinessLive reports that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) will investigate the role of all key individuals, including the compliance officer, after a Johannesburg financial adviser was arrested last week over fraud charges. The case relates to unregulated investments in which the adviser’s clients may have lost as much as R100m. The adviser, Thomas Stringfellow, CEO of the Stringfellow Group, was due to appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning. About 90 clients, mostly pensioners, have formed a WhatsApp group and met the police and the FSCA’s head of investigations, Gerhard van Deventer, in Northriding on Thursday. Stringfellow was apparently advising clients to invest in loan agreements to fund the SA franchise of the Australian sportswear brand Lorna Jane. He had been the MD of Lorna Jane SA since 2011. In the loan agreement he entered into a year ago, Stringfellow guaranteed the capital amounts invested as well as 14% a year in dividends, but advised that the dividends could be as high as 20%. About R130m invested in two funds of funds is safe as unit trust fund assets are held in trust and the funds are invested into the funds’ assets managers such as Investec, Prudential and Coronation. But, investors were apparently encouraged to move out of the unit trust funds as market returns have been poor and invest in the loan agreements and other unregulated funds that Stringfellow ran. Read the full original of Laura du Preez’s report in the above regard at BusinessLive
R2,000 bribe sees senior SANDF officer sentenced to jail, discharged TimesLIVE reports that acceptance of a R2,000 bribe to place someone in the voluntary service system of the defence force has seen a senior SA National Defence Force (SANDF) officer sentenced to a four-year jail term and dishonourably discharged. SANDF spokesperson Brig-Gen Mafi Mgobozi said Col Alicia Andiswa Mdekazi, 58, the senior staff officer of human resources acquisition (HR Acq), was found guilty on all three charges preferred against her. The sentencing followed an intensive investigation and a subsequent trial after allegations were levelled against Mdekazi. It was found that Mdekazi used her rank and position to influence her subordinates to effect various corrupt transactions that favoured a rejected application of a Military Skills Development System (MSDS) applicant after having received “monetary compensation” from the mother of the MSDS applicant to the total value of R2,000. The mother of the MSDS applicant is a warrant officer in the SANDF and she was charged for her part in the matter. Mdekazi was also found guilty of misrepresentation to the SANDF by gaining entry into the HR Acq system and fraudulently influencing the approval of the appointment of another MSDS applicant. Read the full original of Ernest Mabuza’s report on the above story at TimesLIVE
Uasa endorses Lesetja Kganyago’s reappointment as Reserve Bank governor In a letter to Business Day, the United Association of SA (Uasa) indicated that it was pleased with the reappointment of Lesetja Kganyago as governor of the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb). His new term starts on 9 November 2019. The trade union said that Kganyago had shown great leadership in a declining economy and it hoped for a return to economic growth, an investment-grade SA and a resulting increase in employment opportunities over the next five years of his tenure as governor. The union noted that the President had also appointed two deputies, namely Fundi Tshazibana, who is currently the adviser to the governors of the Bank, and Rashad Cassim, head of economic research and statistics at the Bank. It noted that, holding advanced degrees in economics and relevant experience, they both come with a wealth of information. Read Uasa’s letter at BusinessLive
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