In our Wednesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Tuesday, 11 October 2016.
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Panicked academics 'queuing to quit SA' TimesLive writes that a brain drain that would hollow out SA’s top tertiary educational institutions could be looming as panicked academics look for jobs overseas. The impending "mass exodus" looms as the stalemate between university managements and the student protesters continues. According to one group of academics, most of their colleagues are afraid to speak out against the current student anarchy and violence and are secretly looking for employment at more stable institutions elsewhere. But for the Wits Black Academics Caucus, the current situation is a battle to be fought, not fled from. Also, the president of the Academic Staff Association at Wits, David Hornsby, does not foresee a brain drain. Yet, Achille Mbembe, a professor at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, said the haemorrhaging of academics will become structural and not just episodic. Read this report by Tanya Farber and Farren Collins in full at TimesLive Cops fire rubber bullets at female Wits workers protesting in their underwear News24 reports that police fired rubber bullets and used a water cannon on female University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) workers who had stripped to their underwear in a protest on Tuesday. The workers were protesting outside the Great Hal and were demanding that police stop shooting at the students. There have been several clashes between protesters and police that have ended with police using rubber bullets, teargas and water cannon. Students earlier gathered at the foot of the steps to the building and lobbed projectiles. On Monday, some protesters ran rampage in the streets of Braamfontein. They started fires, burnt a bus, and looted shops. Read this report by Lizeka Tandwa and Iavan Pijoos in full at News24. See too, Students hold UWC staffer hostage, at News24. And also, Two guards locked in burning building at CPUT, at News24 Wits lecturers set up protest observation group SABC News reports that Head of Anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Dr Kelly Gillespie, says she and others have set up an observation group to monitor the violence happening on their campus. Students have been protesting violently for over three weeks demanding free higher education, while police and private security have been deployed. Gillespie said having security on campus doesn't help ease the tension and added: “The narratives that are coming out from our senior management are absolutely not capturing what's going on at university. In fact, sometimes, we get emails from the Vice-Chancellor's office telling us to carry on teaching while we hear stun grenades going off outside our offices and students fleeing and screaming. There's a disconnect between what's going on on the ground and what's going on in management who refuse to come down and engage students.” Read this report by Horisani Sithole and Zinhle Nkosi in full at SABC News. Read too, Black academics at Wits speak out, at IOL News. And also, Cops must leave Wits battlefield, lecturers plead, at The Citizen Top staff at Unisa take R10m bonus cut to fund student bursaries Mail & Guardian reports that, while several universities experience growing campus unrest over demands for free higher education, senior administrators at Unisa are donating half of their bonuses to assist students in need. Unisa’s vice-chancellor, Professor Mandla Makhanya, as well as his registrar, seven vice-principals and five executive and deputy executive deans will contribute a total of R10-million towards the institution’s bursary fund. The money will be used to top up the university’s existing contribution of R74.1-million that funded 4 555 undergraduate and postgraduate students this year. Read this report by Prega Govender in full at M&G (subscribers only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Six employees injured after Sharks Board boat capsizes off eManzimtoti Daily News reports that six Sharks Board employees were rescued after the boat they were using to check on shark nets capsized off eManzimtoti Beach on Monday. The boat crew sustained minor to moderate injuries and were transported to Kingsway Hospital. Apparently the boat capsized after it was hit by a large wave. Lifeguards in the area noticed the men struggling in the water and immediately launched a rescue effort. Read this report by Zainul Dawood in full at Daily News Four held for petrol bombing of Tshwane bus alleged to be ex-employees Netwerk24 reports that one of the women who was injured last week in a petrol bomb attack on a Pretoria municipal bus was apparently herself one of the attackers. She died in hospital on Tuesday as a result of her injuries. The police have apprehended four other persons, one female and three males, in connection with the incident. They will appear in court soon on charges of attempted murder, intentional damage to property and public violence. The Tshwane ‘A Re Yeng’ bus, containing the driver and passengers, was attacked last Wednesday at the parking lot of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital by some 10 persons. Four people and the driver were injured. According to the police, the attackers were former employees of the bus company who were recently dismissed, but this has not been confirmed. Metro police are now providing bus protection services. (Loosely translated from Afrikaans) Read this report by Hanti Otto in full in Afrikaans at Netwerk24 (limited access) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Amcu says it won’t succumb to Sasol Mining’s ‘tricks’ to end wage strike Ridge Times reports that striking members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) say they aren’t intimidated by Sasol Mining’s SMSs that they should return to work by 12 October unless they want to lose their jobs. Patrick Ndlovu, regional organiser, said they wouldn’t succumb to Sasol’s intimidation and tricks and that they had a mandate from members not to return to work until their demands were met. Amcu embarked on a protected strike in August demanding R12,500 a month. On 5 August, the company entered into a wage agreement with Ceppwawu, Solidarity, NUM and Sacwu providing for a 7% rise from July 2016, and 0.5% from January 2017. Sasol’s Alex Anderson indicated that Amcu had been informed that the company would be invoking its legal rights to bring an end to the protracted strike. “The company has notified striking employees to report for duty on Wednesday, 12 October. From this point, the strike will no longer be regarded as a protected strike, as per the provisions of the Labour Relations Act,” he stated. Read this report in full at Ridge Times Following member’s death, NUM to hold mass meeting at Sibanye’s Cooke operations Business Report writes that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was due to hold a mass meeting at Sibanye Gold Cooke Operations on Wednesday afternoon. The holding of the meeting follows an attack that led to the death of NUM member Ranthimo Nkosi and left others injured. The attack was alleged to have triggered by the rivalry between the NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) during a verification process of union members at the Cooke operations. Amcu refuted the allegation that two NUM branch leaders were attacked and critically injured by its members. The NUM said in a statement that it wanted to put it on record that its members would never fight other workers and it added: “There is nothing that the NUM will benefit by fighting fellow black mineworkers. Our fight is directed at Sibanye Gold that is dividing black mineworkers. Our fight is directed against Capitalist barbarism.” Read this report in full at Business Report. Read the NUM’s statement at Cosatu Today Other labour posting(s) in this news category
Numsa welcomes fuel sector bargaining model Business Report writes that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) is amenable to the introduction of a fuel sector bargaining model, according to general secretary Irvin Jim. Bargaining at sector level could result in a quick turnaround in wage negotiations. Numsa and the Fuel Retailers Association (FRA), the largest employer body within the fuel sector, apparently met Department of Labour officials on Monday seeking to get the Minister of Labour to sign an agreement between the two parties and extend it to the rest of the fuel sector. FRA chief executive Reggie Sibiya said the current bargaining model did not suit the fuel sector and that the “one size fits all approach is not working for us.” He added: “The motor industry bargaining model undermines completely the diversity within sectors falling under it. This is not a sustainable model long-term.” Read this report by Siseko Njobeni in full at Business Report Withdrawal of DA metros from Salga is to collapse collective bargaining, says Samwu BDLive reports that a union believes the DA’s plan to withdraw its membership from the SA Local Government Association (Salga) is a deliberate attempt to collapse collective bargaining in the municipal sector. This was said by the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) on Monday. The party, which controls two metros and two municipalities in Gauteng is thinking about quitting the association in the province. Samwu spokesman Papikie Mohale said the move would create instability as the DA-led municipalities would not be able to be part of the bargaining council, meaning that their employees would not have anyone to negotiate for them. Read this report by Penelope Mashego in full at BDLive. Read too, DA-led metros drop a bombshell on Salga, at SABC News
Public service rules for doing business with state to extend to politicians TMG Digital reports that the Public Service Commission (PSC) says regulations that will result in government officials being arrested for doing business with the state from February next year are to be extended to politicians. The new public service regulations‚ which come into effect in February 2017‚ are aimed at rooting out corruption in the public service. They place a further burden on senior government managers to report financial wrongdoing or risk being found to be complicit in any potential crime. Gauteng PSC Commissioner Mike Seloane advised: As from February 2017‚ any senior manager will be arrested if they are found to own a company that does business with the state. The intention is to extend [this provision] to politicians and all constitutional bodies in the country." Read this report by Olebogeng Molatlhwa in full at BDLive
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Tuesday, 11 October 2016 at SA Labour News
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