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 Thursday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Wednesday, 18 January 2017.
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TVET students to stage national college shutdown BusinessLive reports that vocational training students have vowed to shut down the country’s 50 technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges. On Wednesday, they cited poor infrastructure, the ban on political groupings on campuses, unqualified lecturers and massive certificate backlogs as the prime reasons for the nationwide standoff with the government. A total shutdown will affect the colleges’ registration process, which began on Monday. SA Further Education and Training Student Association (Safetsa) president Yonke Twani said they have been engaging with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) since 2012 to work together to address the issues, “but the department have (has) been giving us very foolish responses." On Wednesday, DHET Minister Blade Nzimande called for all involved to engage in discussions. He said the department was determined not to let the shutdown go on for long. Read this report by Michelle Gumede in full at BusinessLive Sadtu preparing for ‘confrontation’ over lay-offs at TVET colleges in KZN Daily News reports that unions Sadtu and Nehawu on Tuesday lambasted the retrenchment of contract support staff and lecturers at at technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges in KwaZulu-Natal, as “counter-productive”. Nomarashiya Caluza, SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary, said the services of 136 lecturers and 36 support staff members were terminated this month because of low student enrolment figures for 2017. Employees at Coastal College were the most affected by the move. She indicated that the union would defend the jobs of its members and a meeting would be called with all the affected workers “for preparation of confrontation” with their employers. Ayanda Zulu, National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) spokesperson, said they supported the total shut-down of the colleges until the matter is resolved. Read this report by Chris Ndaliso in full at Daily News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Security guard killed for his gun at Durban construction site ANA reports that a security guard was killed and robbed of his gun near Durban’s Sibaya Casino, police said on Wednesday. He was found dead on Tuesday evening when his colleague came to relieve him at a construction site near the casino. The 40-year-old guard had sustained multiple stab wounds and his personal 9mm Norinco pistol was missing. Crisis Medical Paramedics spokesperson Neil Powell said that the man had sustained over 30 stab wounds and had already succumbed to his wounds by the time paramedics arrived on scene. A short report by Giordano Stolley is at IOL News
With 73 deaths, SA’s mines claimed fewer lives in 2016 BusinessLive reports that the number of people killed on South African mines in 2016 fell 5% year-on-year to 73, with large gold and platinum mines the largest contributors, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Thursday. The number of injuries fell to 2,662 from 3,138 in the previous year. Zwane also reported that the number of reported occupational diseases declined by 1%. In the platinum sector the number of fatalities increased by 29% to 27, while the number of deaths in the gold sector fell by 3% to 30. The biggest cause of deaths on mines came from falls of ground, which contributed to a third of fatalities, while transport and railway equipment contributed 14%. General accidents made up 21%. This short report by Allan Seccombe is at BusinessLive. Read too, Mining safety first, profits second, says Zwane, at Fin24 Mineworker killed during fall of rock at Impala Platinum on Wednesday ANA reports that a mineworker died at one of Impala Platinum’s operations in Rustenburg as a result of a fall of rock on Wednesday morning, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) advised. “This is the fourth incident in the platinum belt since the beginning of this year. We call on the Department of Mineral Resources to fully investigate this unfortunate incident. The NUM will continue to fight so that no mineworkers or workers life is sacrificed for profit,” the union stated. The incident took place on the eve of the highly-anticipated release of statistics on the health and safety performance of the mining industry for 2016 by Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane on Thursday. Read this report in full at eNCA. See too, Impala Platinum confirms death of worker, at EWN As families of dead Lily miners struggle, Cosatu denounces remembrance event The New Age reports that, as the first anniversary of the disaster at Vantage Goldfields’ Lily Mine approaches, families of the dead mine workers are still struggling to make ends meet. On 5 February last year, a shaft at the mine collapsed and three mineworkers – Solomon Nyarende, Pretty Nkambule and Yvonne Mnisi – were trapped underground as a result of the collapse. Their bodies remain underground due to financing difficulties and the danger involved in retrieving them. Pretty’s husband, Christopher Nkambule, said: “It is difficult to get by. We got jobs at Barbrook Mine (a sister mine to Lily Mine) and it has also closed. Now I am not working and the (four) children are starting school. I cannot even give them money for lunch.” Investors are now being sought for Lily Mine and Barbrook which are both in business rescue. Meantime, a company remembrance ceremony for the three miners scheduled for 5 February has irked Cosatu, which has accused the mine of “doing nothing” to retrieve the three bodies. The labour federation called on the company “to stop this charade and focus on extracting the trapped workers and compensating families and workers.” Read this report by Batandwa Malingo in full at The New Age. Read Cosatu’s press statement in this regard at Cosatu Today Other general internet posting(s) on mining
Drought and poor management, not foreign birds, to blame for chicken industry’s plight Columnist Bronwyn Nortje writes that South African chicken producers would like you to believe that imports are threatening their business and costing jobs, but this is a classic red herring. In reality, a combination of bad luck and poor management is the reason the domestic poultry industry is battling to thrive. Nortje asks whether the local consumer should be forced to bail out an industry that has failed to embrace modern production techniques and has been plagued by bad business decisions. The primary reason for the rise in chicken prices over the past 18 months is said to be drought. Matters have been made worse by a weaker rand. Then there is the domestic industry’s inability to respond to the crisis in any way other than by laying off thousands of workers and demanding the introduction of ever higher tariffs, which speaks to poor management. Although the percentage of imported chicken has grown in the past several years, it still accounts for only 14% of local consumption. This very clearly shows that chicken is not an import-dominated industry and that it would be close on impossible for that level of imports to cost so many jobs. Read this column in full at BusinessLive
Two Tshwane officials ‘held hostage’ by striking municipal meter readers The Citizen reports that the revenue management department’s executive director and acting chief financial officer were on Wednesday allegedly briefly held hostage in their Tshwane municipal finance offices by 50 protesting employees. The meter-reading workers’ demands included being appointed on a permanent basis and receiving a danger allowance. Protesters said they were tired of being ignored by management, citing how dangerous their working conditions were. The strike was apparently prompted by the workers’ soon-to-end contracts. The demonstration left scores of residents who wanted to pay their accounts or buy electricity stranded. The protesters said their action would continue until Mayor Solly Msimanga addressed their demands. Read this report by Virginia Keppler in full at The Citizen. Read too, Services at municipal offices halted due to protest action, at HTSyndication
Mashaba acts against illegal immigrants working at Joburg Theatre TimesLive reports that the executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg‚ Herman Mashaba‚ has received a report on employees working at the Joburg Theatre without proper documentation. “Today‚ my office has received a final report detailing alleged fraudulent activity and misconduct perpetrated by eight current employees at Joburg Theatre. The contents of the report flow from an investigation into the authenticity of asylum permits and special work permits held by various foreign nationals employed in the catering and hospitality sections of the theatre‚” Mashaba indicated in a statement. Evidence has revealed that six asylum permits held by implicated employees are fraudulent, while two other permits expired in early June 2016. A case of fraud has been opened with the police and the arrest of those implicated is expected soon. Mashaba has been widely criticised for his stance on illegal foreigners living in the city. Read this report by Penwell Dlamini in full at TimesLive. See too, More fraud, misconduct uncovered in Joburg, at The Star
Solidarity achieves ‘huge’ settlement for SAPS member in affirmative action case Maroela Media reports that Solidarity on Wednesday achieved a “huge” settlement on behalf of one of its members in the SA Police Service (SAPS) following him having been overlooked for promotion repeatedly as a result of affirmative action. According to Anton van der Bijl, head of Solidarity’s Centre for Fair Labour Practices, Louis van Heerden was discriminated against based on his race despite the fact that he was the best and preferred candidate for the advertised position. Solidarity and the SAPS on Wednesday made the settlement an order of the court which, in essence means that Van Heerden has been appointed to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as of that day and all benefits have been backdated. “It is really encouraging that the SAPS has dealt with this matter with an open mind, acknowledging that Van Heerden was entitled to promotion,” Van der Bijl commented. Read this report in full in Afrikaans at Maroela Media
MEC warns: No pay, no perks for failing KZN councillors The Mercury reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube warned councillors during their induction on Tuesday of the punitive measures they would face should they fail to support the government’s “Back to Basics” campaign. The programme is the department’s flagship initiative aimed at turning around KZN’s local government institutions. Dube-Ncube said: “The programme is non-negotiable for all new and returning councillors in the province’s municipalities. Salaries and other perks of councillors who defy the mandate given to them by the electorate could soon be halted if these councillors do not actively promote the programme. It does not make sense that some of our councillors are drawing salaries without tangible results.” Dube-Ncube also said councillors presiding over municipalities which failed to get clean audits could be denied salary increases. A Msunduzi councillor, who did not want to be named, said it was not fair to punish ordinary councillors over audit outcomes. Read this report by Thami Magubane in full at The Mercury
City of Tshwane energy and electricity acting director embroiled in racism storm Huffington Post reports that the acting director of energy and electricity in the City of Tshwane has been accused of calling black people baboons and refusing for them to speak their mother tongue. The ANC caucus in the city has accused Frans du Toit of insulting workers at the Centurion office. "These racially painful and disrespectful comments by Mr. Frans du Toit directed to his fellow black colleagues have gone to the extent of calling black people of this city and indigenous people of this country as 'baboons and as kaffirs'. Such remarks are reminiscent of the apartheid and National Party attitude towards the indigenous people of this country," spokesperson Lesego Makhubela said. He also said Du Toit degraded black people, saying were not deserving of the jobs they were in, and were inadequate and unequal to the task. Mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi said they were aware of the allegations and had taken the matter up with those involved. The matter has been referred to Corporate and Shared Services for further investigations and corrective measures. Read this report by Karabo Ngoepe in full at Huffington Post Other internet posting(s) in this news category
UJ sex pest manager allowed to resign on eve of disciplinary hearing The Star reports that a University of Johannesburg (UJ) manager accused of sexually harassing a colleague nonstop for several years was allowed to resign a day before an internal inquiry into his conduct was set to start. The former manager allegedly sent his female subordinate pornographic materials via his official work e-mail between 2008 and 2010. The harassment then allegedly turned physical. Matters came to a head in July last year after the manager tried to institute disciplinary processes against the victim for being in hospital and not notifying him. As a result of this ‘witch-hunt’, the victim was then left with no choice but to lodge her own grievance proceedings. The disciplinary hearing was set for 11 August, but the manager resigned the day before. Asked why UJ had not instituted legal proceedings against the manager when he resigned, UJ spokesperson Kaamini Reddy said: “If an employee resigns, it ends the contract which grants UJ the power to take action against the person.” A police spokesperson confirmed that a case had been opened by the victim, but said no one had been arrested yet. Read this report by Sihle Manda in full at The Star
Business Unity SA gets a new CEO Business Report writes that Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has a new CEO in the form of Tanya Cohen, who replaces Jerry Vilakazi. Cohen has been appointed for a three-year term and was selected following a “thorough” recruitment process. Busa said in a statement that Cohen brings to the organisation a wealth of expertise in the policy arena and a track record of hard work on behalf of organised business. It added: “She has demonstrated her ability to influence pro-business outcomes through her work in Nedlac on the Labour Relations Stability process aimed at addressing prolonged and violent strikes and the successful extension of the Employment Tax Incentive.” Read this report in full at Business Report
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