This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
In our Tuesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Monday, 10 October 2016.
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Work-related stress costing SA economy over R40bn a year Business Report writes that work-related stress and major depression, burnout and anxiety disorders are costing SA’s economy an estimated R40.6 billion a year, equivalent to 2.2% of GDP. This is according to Dr Renata Schoeman, board member of the Psychiatry Management Group, who was commenting ahead of World Mental Health Day on Monday. Schoeman urged companies to realise the significance their company structure, expectations of employees and management style have, not only on the company’s annual turnover and overall productivity, but in the risk of employees developing health problems that could prevent them temporarily or permanently reentering the workforce. Read this report in full at Business Report. See too, Stress is eating civil servants up, at TimesLive Employee at Free State nature reserve mauled to death by tiger The New Age reports that a nature reserve employee with years of experience in handling tigers was mauled to death by a tiger at the Laohu Valley Reserve near Phillippolis in the Free State. The employee, identified as Vivienne McKenzie, was eaten alive by the animal on Monday morning as she was going about her daily duties as the tiger’s keeper. The reserve’s general manager, Heinrich Funck, said it was not yet clear why the tiger pounced on her. Local authorities and the project team are conducting a thorough investigation. This short report by Lesley Tshamano is on page 1 of The New Age of 11 October 2016 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Amcu welcomes Sibanye’s probe into miner’s death, while NUM blames company The New Age reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has welcomed Sibanye Gold’s probe into the death of a mineworker at the gold producer’s Cooke 4 operation in Westonaria. The deceased was a National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) member. Amcu’s Manzini Zungu said due legal process had to be followed to bring those responsible to book. He added: “It doesn’t matter who did the crime, the law should take its course.” Manzini’s comments follow the NUM’s allegation that “alleged” Amcu members might have attacked and killed the employee. The NUM accused Sibanye of being negligent in providing adequate security for workers. It will be holding a mass meeting at the Cooke 3 hostel on Wednesday. Read this report by Bonolo Selebano in full at The New Age. Read the NUM’s press statement relating to Wednesday’s mass meeting at Cosatu Today Other labour posting(s) in this news category
Water Minister puts an end to Amatola Water strike DispatchLive reports that striking Amatola Water workers returned to work on Sunday morning following urgent intervention by the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane. Thousands of residents from Buffalo City Metro, Amathole District Municipality and parts of Chris Hani District Municipality, among other areas, were affected by the week-long strike. Water was expected to be restored to all areas by late on Monday. Mokonyane ordered an investigation against Amatola Water Board chairwoman Nokulunga Mnqeta and set up a task team to investigate all the matters raised by the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu). Read this report by Mamela Gowa in full at DispatchLive. Read too, Amatola Water and Samwu apologise for water supply disruptions, at RNews DA warns about Eastern Cape traffic officer overtime strike RNews reports that the strike by Eastern Cape traffic police has spread to three of the six district municipalities in the province, the Democratic Alliance (DA) warned on Monday. This means that there is no or limited law enforcement on the roads in those areas at night, traffic cops are only working from 08:00 to 16:00 as they are not being paid overtime and they are also refusing to undertake other work such as attending to any road accidents that occur after hours. Marshall von Buchenroder, the DA's Shadow MEC for Transport, said he had written to MEC for Transport, Weziwe Tikana, to urge her to address the ongoing strike as a matter of urgency. Read this report in full at RNews Other internet posting(s) in this news category
VWSA installs 320 robots to rev up production Business Report writes that Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) has installed 320 new robots in the body shop at its vehicle manufacturing plant in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape. This is part of a R3 billion investment in its production facilities for the production of at least two new vehicle models. Thomas Schaefer, chairman and MD of VWSA, said on Monday that the robots would perform monotonous, high-precision work and would allow body shop employees to focus on tasks that required human involvement. He added that introduction of robots would improve the ergonomics in the body shop as it reduced strain on people. Read this report by Roy Cokayne in full at Business Report Facebook announces launch of Workplace MyBroadband reports that Facebook has announced that Workplace (formerly Facebook at Work) is now available to any company or organisation that wants to use it. Facebook Workplace lets users create a work account that is separate from their personal Facebook account. “With a Workplace account, you can use Facebook tools to interact with co-workers. Things you share using your work account will only be visible to other people at your company,” explained Facebook. Facebook also announced Multi-Company Groups – shared spaces that allow employees from different organisations to work together in a secure way. Read this report in full at MyBroadband. See too, Domestic labour’s digital transition, at Fin24
‘Dire’ joblessness set to multiply as growth lags BDLive reports that statistician-general Pali Lehohla says that SA’s low growth will leave many people outside the labour market, with about 400,000 people failing to find employment every year. The economy has since the recession in 2009 managed to create some 200,000 jobs per year. Growth slowed to 1.3% in 2015 and is expected to slow even further to almost 0.5% in 2016. Lehohla indicated: "Without economic growth there can’t be jobs. The entry [of new people] into the labour market comes at about 600,000 every year so there are 400,000 people who will go without jobs. So the situation is a bit dire." Read this report by Ntsakisi Maswanganyi in full at BDLive. Read too, SA could be clawing its way to better growth, at Fin24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
M&R pays CEO R14.7m even as profit falls again BDLive reports that Murray & Roberts (M&R) paid CEO Henry Laas R14.7m in the financial year to June, made up of R5.9m in guaranteed pay, R6.4m in short-term incentives and R24m in long-term incentives. This was even as the construction group’s net profit declined for the third year in a row, and executives failed fully to meet a number of targets to unlock short-term bonuses. Nine current and former executives were paid a cumulative R14.3m in bonuses. Shareholder activist Theo Botha said the performance targets appeared low and were easily achievable. In his opinion, the executive bonuses were excessive in the light of the poor share price performance. Read this report by Moyagabo Maake in full at BDLive
Numsa threatens to strike at General Motors over severance packages Netwerk24 reports that more than 1,000 employees at General Motors SA (GMSA) are ready to strike if the vehicle manufacturer lays off workers without adequate compensation. According to Mphumzi Maqungo, national treasurer of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the union has been negotiating with GMSA management since last week over the cutting of posts. Apparently, the union proposed that the severance package on offer be improved, which the company was not prepared to consider. Maqungo said: “If they don’t reconsider our demand, our members will be prepared to strike.” Numsa is demanding a once-off payment of R100,000 for each workers laid off. The next step will be a meeting between Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim and GMSA president Ian Nicholls on Tuesday. (Loosely translated from Afrikaans) Read this report by Odette Parfitt in full in Afrikaans at Netwerk24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
PSSA worried about pharmacy students not being able to compete studies ANA reports that the Pharmaceutical Society of SA (PSSA) said on Monday that the possibility of pharmaceutical students not be being able to graduate due to ongoing protests across universities was a concern. Pharmacy was identified as one of the scarce skills in the health sector, and at least 848 final year pharmacy students have not been able to complete their studies, said PSSA president Sarel Malan. He added: “If pharmacy students are unable to complete their fourth year before January, it is not only going to put both their internships and their community service years at risk, it will result in health risks for patients.” Pharmacy graduates are required by law to complete a year’s internship, followed by another year of community service. Read this report in full at The Citizen. Read too, SA’s economy would suffer if starved of graduates, at Business Report
Blade places Wholesale and Retail Sector Seta under administration Fin24 reports that Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, has placed the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) under administration. This is because it failed to address various concerns Nzimande had raised at an earlier time. Amongst these, the W&RSETA’s board allegedly “compromised” an agreement earlier signed with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the Department of Small Business Development to help boost small and medium enterprises and enterprises in townships and rural areas through a revitalisation programme. The entity will be under administration for a 12-month period. Read this report in full at Fin24. See too, ’n Top-seta steier, at Netwerk24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
DA to ask High Court to declare Motsoeneng’s new appointment invalid BDLive reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) will once again approach the High Court in a bid to have the appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as SABC group executive of corporate affairs declared invalid. The party will ask the court to order that Motsoeneng is not a "fit and proper person" to hold any position at the public broadcaster. Last week, the High Court in Cape Town dismissed an application by the SABC for a stay of a DA court case to review and set aside the disciplinary proceedings instituted against Motsoeneng. The disciplinary inquiry was one of the remedial actions directed by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in her report ‘When Governance and Ethics Fail’. Read this report by Genevieve Quintal in full at BDLive. See too, DA to approach courts over Motsoeneng’s new SABC job, at The Citizen. Read the DA’s press statement in this regard at DA Newsroom Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Monday, 10 October 2016 at SA Labour News
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Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News