In our Wednesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Tuesday, 18 October 2016.
|
Sibanye clears last regulatory hurdle for acquisition of Amplats’ Rustenburg mines Reuters reports that Sibanye Gold has cleared the final regulatory hurdle for its $330 million acquisition of Anglo American Platinum's (Amplats’) Rustenburg mines. The company indicated on Wednesday that the deal, first announced over a year ago, was on track for completion at end of the month after approval from the Mineral Resources Department was secured. The deal, along with the takeover of Aquarius Platinum last year, will put Sibanye, which is SA’s second-largest gold producer, into the global top five producers of platinum group metals. For Amplats, the transaction allows it to focus its strategy on newer, mechanised and less labour intensive mines. Read this report in full at Business Report. Read too, Sibanye joins platinum big league as RPM deal live from 1 Nov, at Miningmx Merafong can’t cut water supply of Blyvooruitzicht mining community The Citizen reports that the Merafong municipality has been interdicted from discontinuing the piped water supply to the Blyvooruitzicht mining community and was ordered to come up with a plan to repair the water and sewerage infrastructure. Judge Jody Kollapen on Tuesday granted the order in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria following an application by residents of the villages surrounding the Blyvooruitzicht gold mine, which was placed under liquidation in 2013. The community turned to the court after the municipality disconnected their water supply on two separate occasions. They argued that the municipality had acted unreasonably, refused to engage with them about the problem and continued to threaten them with the disconnection of their only water supply. Read this report by Ilse de Lange in full at The Citizen Other labour posting(s) in this news category
Striking workers burn tyres outside Boksburg premises of Philip Morris TMG Digital reports that on Wednesday strikers at tobacco company Philip Morris International blocked the main road leading to the company’s factory in Boksburg with burning tyres. Workers have been on strike since last month after management offered them an 8% increase against their 10% demand. Other grievances relate to arrangements for purchasing of used company cars, the presentation of cellphone bills upon resignation and the selective awarding of 13th cheques. The strikers’ anger is further fuelled by management’s refusal to recognise their union‚ the Amalungelo Workers Union (AWU). The company seemingly employs over 600 people across five locations. Read this report by Kingdom Mabuza in full at TimesLive Amcu strike in Trichardt not linked to mine strikes Ridge Times reported on Tuesday that members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) were protesting in Trichardt. Police were not on the scene at the corner of Schabort and Jansen streets, but motorists were advised to avoid the area if possible. The Amcu strike relates only to salary increases and it not linked or related to any mine strikes. This short report is at Ridge Times Eastern Cape traffic officers’ outstanding overtime ‘being processed’ DispatchLive reports that “hundreds” of Eastern Cape provincial traffic officers across six districts are owed more than R9.2-million for overtime worked. As a result they have stopped working overtime until they receive the money owed to them. The amount owed could be much higher as the R9.2m covers only overtime between May and July. The payment delays are due to a change in the approval system for overtime pay, which has been centralised at provincial treasury. Previously 100% of remuneration in overtime pay was permitted, but the treasury is now insisting on a 30% limit as per regulations. Nonetheless, the treasury has now authorised payments at 100% of remuneration for the period until the end of August and so the first batch of payments has apparently been effected. Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana indicated that department was engaging with labour on a possible approach to maintaining overtime remuneration within the 30% limit. Popcru provincial secretary Zamikhaya Skade said the union was happy about progress made in payment of the overtime. Read this report by Asanda Nini in full at DispatchLive
Wits staff protest against police on campus GroundUp reports that on Tuesday about 50 to 60 academic and administrative staff protested outside Wits University’s Great Hall to raise concerns about the heavy police presence on campus. The staff members were joined in solidarity by a group of about 100 students who echoed the sentiments of their lecturers. Some wore red tape over their mouths to symbolise that they have been silenced by Wits management. A large police presence has been on Wits since protests began several weeks ago. Last week as tensions escalated, the police brought in the Tactical Response Team (TRT) Unit in addition to the usual Public Order Policing (POP) unit. The staff members called on Wits management to remove the police and private security from campus and accused the police of adding to the tension on campus and for the escalation of violence. Read this report by Ihsaan Haffejee and GroundUp staff in full at GroundUp. See too, Black staff, students at Wits complain about safety, at SABC News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
At 6.1% in September, consumer inflation back above Reserve Bank target BusinesLive reports that consumer inflation accelerated in September, rising back above the 6% upper limit that the Reserve Bank targets when setting interest rates. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 6.1% in September compared with a year earlier, Statistics SA said on Wednesday, after a 5.9% increase in August and a 6% rise in July. CPI rose 0.2% in September compared with August. Although inflation has breached the 3%-6% target range for much of this year, the Reserve Bank considers it to be stable and expects it to fall back within the target next year. Read this report in full at BusinessLive
Pick n Pay on track with its job creation plan Business Report writes that Pick n Pay Stores created more than 2,000 new jobs in the first half of its financial year and opened 74 new stores as part of plans to grow its market share. “The group is on track with its 2015 plan to create 5,000 new jobs per year by 2020. A further 2,100 new jobs were created in the first half of this year, bringing the benefits of work to more employees and their families,” Richard Brasher, the retailer’s CE, said on Tuesday. Pick n Pay has a three-year wage agreement with the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccawu), thereby securing certainty. Ron Klipin of Cratos Wealth noted that the turnaround strategy had resulted in major cost-cutting in areas such as consultants and management, as well as a more flexible staff scheduling. Read this report by Dineo Faku in full at Business Report Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Over 3‚000 doctors and nurses recruited by Gauteng health in year to August TMG Digital reports that the Gauteng Department of Health recruited a total of 3‚256 doctors and nurses between January and August this year. An open-ended block advertisement, which has been running throughout the 2016/17 financial year, for all vacant funded posts (doctors and nurses) was released by the Department in May 2016. There was a net gain of 2‚227 nurses by the end of August and 1‚029 medical practitioners. The department claimed that the walk-in applications and improvement of working conditions through provision of medical equipment was contributing to recruitment and retention of staff. Read this report in full at TimesLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Working on Fire defends salaries of 300 firefighters in Canada Cape Times reports that Working on Fire’s (WoF’s) Trevor Abrahams has refuted claims of exploitation of workers, telling MPs that the 300 firefighters the organisation sent to Canada in June were essentially there as volunteers. They were brought back home and threatened with disciplinary action after they went on strike, charging that WoF, which is contracted to the Department of Environmental Affairs, short-changed them on pay. They had been demanding to be paid the Canadian minimum wage of R3,000 a day. Abrahams told the parliamentary portfolio committee on environmental affairs that disaster relief for which the South Africans were deployed should not be seen as an employment opportunity. “In the last deployment to Canada the Working on Fire allowance was about CAN$50 (R533), over and above their (South African) salaries,” said Abrahams. Also, all the board and lodging had been paid for by WoF. “If you compare their allowance in terms of purchasing power they earned more than their Canadian counterparts,” Abrahams added. Read this report by Quinton Mtyala in full at Cape Times. See too, Call for detailed report on firefighters’ experience, on page 2 of The New Age of 19 October 2016
Shoprite shareholders urged to vote against remuneration policy BusinessLive reports that black-owned and managed stockbroking firm Legae Securities wants Shoprite shareholders to vote against 10 of the 21 resolutions at the AGM on 31 October. The contested resolutions deal with issues at the heart of the King IV corporate governance code that will be launched on 1 November, the day after Shoprite’s AGM. A resolution relating to remuneration policy is among those that have earned Legae’s disapproval. Legae has advised shareholders to vote against the company’s remuneration policy, not only because of CEO Whitey Basson’s 99.8% increase, but because the remuneration report lacked required details around the metrics and targets for the short-and long-term incentive awards. Read this report by Ann Crotty in full at BusinessLive
School ANAs re-engineered and to be written only every three years The Mercury reports that teacher unions are claiming a major victory after the Department of Basic Education agreed to demands to write the “objectionable” Annual National Assessment (ANA) exams only every three years. A “re-engineered” assessment system would replace the ANAs at schools in 2018. A SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) official commented: “It was our demand that the test be written every three years, so this is a victory for the unions.” Sadtu said it was happy with the compromise, the National Professional Teachers Organisations of SA (Naptosa) said although it was a victory, it foresaw new problems with the assessments, and the National Teachers Union (Natu) said no agreement had been reached with the department. Allen Thompson of Natu said they would be requesting a further meeting with the department. Read this report by Bernadette Wolhuter and Thami Magubane in full at The Mercury. See too, ANA now kicked out of schools, at IOL News. And also, ‘Sadtu's reasons for opposing systemic tests don't stand scrutiny’, at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
SABC ordered to submit new affidavits in SABC 8 culpability matter EWN reports that the Labour Court has given the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) until Tuesday next week to rewrite and submit new affidavits that indicate who was responsible for the decision to dismiss eight SABC journalists. The court is trying to establish exactly who should be held personally liable for the legal bills incurred by the journalists. In July, the court found that the dismissals were unlawful and ordered the broadcaster to reinstate the journalists with immediate effect. In the latest directive, the Labour Court states that the affidavits received from the SABC’s Sebolelo Ditlhakanyane and Simon Tebele were vague, and did not specifically mention who was responsible for the decision to dismiss the so-called SABC 8. Read this report by Masego Rahlaga in full at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Tuesday, 18 October 2016 at SA Labour News
|
Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News