In our Friday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Thursday, 30 March 2017.
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Transport union Untu approaches court to force Prasa to beef up security EWN reports that the United National Transport Union (Untu) plans to approach the Western Cape High Court next week in a bid to force the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) to beef up security around the country's rail network. A Metrorail employee was robbed at gunpoint at the Koeberg train depot this week. The union has also raised general safety and security concerns. Untu’s Sonja Carstens said: “Our members are robbed constantly and assaulted by commuters as well.” There have been numerous attacks on Prasa staff across Cape Town over the past year, including the murder of train driver Piet Botha at Netreg station in July last year. The union and Prasa are also currently embroiled in a wage dispute. Read this report by Shamiela Fisher in full at EWN. Read too, Metrorail staff 'fear for their lives in dangerous environment', at Cape Times. And also, Dis ’n ‘oorlogsone’ vir Prasa-werkers, at Netwerk24 (limit on access) Uber drivers living in fear of metered taxi drivers IOL News reports that metered taxi operators in Pretoria have given the transport minister seven days to expel Uber operations, saying blood will be shed if this did not happen. And in Johannesburg, tension rose between drivers of the two operations outside the Sandton Gautrain station on Thursday. An Uber car was set alight, allegedly by meter taxi drivers, near the station on Thursday afternoon. As threats of violence continued between the two groups, police formed a barricade to prevent further damage to property. Some drivers were physically assaulting each other and other vehicles were stoned, allegedly by angry meter taxi drivers. Meanwhile, more than 200 taxi operators on Thursday caused severe traffic disruptions in the Pretoria CBD as they marched to deliver a memorandum and to warn the department to remove the “cheap” taxi service from city streets. They vowed to resort to extreme measures should this not be done. A Department of Transport spokesperson said the department was aware of the memorandum and it was investigating. Read this report by Sakhile Ndlazi and Sihle Manda in full at Cape Times. See too, Meter taxi operators march in Pretoria on Thursday against Uber, at Pretoria News. And also, ‘Get rid of Uber or face bloodshed’, at IOL News Security guard killed in Pinetown on Friday morning News24 reports that a security guard was killed and another was fighting for his life in hospital following a shooting in Pinetown on Friday morning, paramedics said. The two guards were accosted on Moodie Street just after 07:00, Rescue Care Paramedics spokesperson Garrith Jamieson said. One guard was shot several times and died before paramedics arrived. His colleague was critically injured. Paramedics treated him on the scene and took him to a local hospital. This short report by Mxolisi Mngadi is at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Illegal mining could have caused massive sinkhole at Lily Mine SABC News reports that the Lily Mine Commission of Inquiry has heard that illegal mining could have caused a massive sinkhole which trapped three workers underground in 2016. Health and Safety Manager at the mine, Eben Swanepoel, said illegal miners had been extracting gold from rip-pillars and crown pillars, weakening the structure. He added that acts of criminality had contributed to the possible failure of the crown pillars that led to the mine collapse from below level four of the mine shaft. However, Richard Spoor, legal representative for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), said the statement by Swanepoel was misleading the commission, because security was always patrolling the premises at all times. He added that it was impossible that illegal mining had had a major role in the collapse. The inquiry continues. This report is at SABC News Other labour posting(s) in this news category
Other general internet posting(s) on mining
Norwegian state liquor agency inspecting conditions on Boland wine farms Netwerk24 reports that the Norwegian state-owned enterprise Vinmonopolet will until 7 April be holding special inspections at wine farms to make sure that international standards and legislation are being adhered to. Vinmonopolet is the only company in Norway that is permitted to sell liquor with an alcohol content greater than 4.75%. It indicated that the inspections at up to 40 farms were being held following the “important concerns” revealed in the Danish documentary ‘Bitter Grapes: Slavery in the Vineyards’. The focus of the inspections in Stellenbosch, Paarl and Robertson is to ensure that all products that Vinmonopolet sells comply with the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI). Issues to be looked into relate to whether workers are aware of rights and responsibilities in terms of the BSCI code, freedom of association and worker rights, access to safe drinking water, training about occupational safety (particularly in respect of poisonous substances), procedures for the handling of grievances, minimum wages and deductions from workers’ wages. All producers sign the BSCI code when they deliver their products to Vinmonopolet, which consults with Norwegian importers and trade union as well South African exporters and unions. (Loosely translated from Afrikaans) Read this report by Malherbe Nienaber in full in Afrikaans at Netwerk24 (limit on access)
Vavi, Save SA to march to Treasury on Friday against 'Gupta coup' News24 reports that lobby group Save SA said after the announcement of President Jacob Zuma’s Cabinet reshuffle that it intended to mount a march in Pretoria on Friday. Zwelinzima Vavi, under his new labour federation, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU), will also be marching to Treasury on Friday. Vavi said SAFTU was outraged at Zuma's Cabinet reshuffle and appealed to all South Africans to flood the streets of Pretoria and symbolically occupy the Treasury in the strongest possible protest. “The thieves and looters have been given a green light to continue and increase their manipulation of government and SOE contracts to line their pockets for as long as we allow them to get away with it,” the federation said in a statement on Friday. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it would take time to reflect on the announcement and study the implications of the reshuffle. Read this report by Thulani Gqirana in full at News24. Read Saftu’s press statement at Polity
Vavi takes Saftu roadshow to Mpumalanga on Thursday ANA reports that former general secretary of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), Zwelinzima Vavi, on Thursday took his new South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) on a roadshow to Mpumalanga. He addressed hundreds of people during Saftu’s shop steward council held at the Civic Centre in Witbank, Mpumalanga. The occasion was also the launch of Saftu in the province. The federation was first launched nationally in Gauteng two weeks ago. Vavi is the convenor of Saftu’s national steering committee. He slammed the government’s R350 a day national minimum wage, saying it was not enough for workers to live on. Saftu is made up of 21 unions, which include the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) and the SA Policing Union (Sapu). Numsa’s Mpumalanga provincial chairperson, Xolisa Posiso, is also Saftu’s interim chairperson in the province. Read this report in full at The Citizen
Solidarity stresses importance of saving SA’s steel industry Engineering News reports that trade union Solidarity on Thursday emphasised the importance of SA’s steel industry, stating that it was a “key enabler of every part of the South African economy”. This included the automotive, mining, construction, energy and infrastructure sectors. Speaking at the launch of its Save our Steel (SOS) campaign, Solidarity’s Marius Croucamp noted that the top five steel consuming industries together contributed R600-billion to SA’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employed more than eight-million people. The steel industry provided about 300,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributed 1.5% to SA’s GDP. Croucamp noted that, if steel manufacturing plants had to close, 66% of the labour force in Vanderbijlpark and Newcastle, and 25% of the labour force in Saldanha, would be unemployed. He explained that the primary objectives of the SOS campaign were to save the steel industry by creating public awareness of the challenges the industry was facing, to lobby public support, to promote alignment between the primary and downstream industry and to achieve synergy between them. Read this report in full at Engineering News. Read Solidarity’s press statement at Solidarity online. See too, Hoop vir SA se ‘sukkelende’ staalbedryf, at Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Fall in real take-home pay in February hits workers’ pockets Business Report writes that the take-home pay of South Africans for last month declined 0.8% due to salary growth in nominal terms for the period being lower than the month’s inflation rate of 6.3%. This was according to bank payments clearing house BankservAfrica’s Disposable Salaries Index (BDSI) and Private Pensions Index (BPPI) report released on Wednesday. The month was the ninth consecutive month of declines of salaries in real-terms, but the smallest decline yet. The company indicated that average real disposable salaries reached R13,980 in February, which was the highest since September last year when real seasonally adjusted salaries reached R14,102. Well-known economist Mike Schüssler commented: “The possibility of higher real salary increases in the formal sector might result in some recovery in disposable salaries from April, the time period when civil servants’ inflation adjusted pay increases are realised.” He added that the constant decline in disposable salaries had taken its toll on retail sales, particularly car and home sales. Read this report by Kabelo Khumalo in full at Business Report Other internet posting(s) in this news category
HR departments lagging when it comes to digitisation Finweek reports that, despite the fact that most employees are becoming highly tech savvy and comfortable with mobile and cloud-based tools in their private capacities, local companies are slow to bring digital tools and platforms into the working environment. This reluctance is being acutely felt in the realm of human resources (HR) and people management, as companies stubbornly cling on to old methods in a new and rapidly evolving digital world. According to Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report, Rewriting the Rules for the Digital Age, HR is failing to keep up with technology innovation and development. The study revealed that only 35% of global HR professionals rated their digital capabilities as “good” or “excellent” – and in South Africa, this figure sits at 31%. “The South African problem is much the same as the rest of the world – in that legacy systems have been implemented at significant cost and SA companies are very reluctant, or unable to spend money on new technologies,” explained Trevor Page, director of human capital at Deloitte Consulting Read this report by Jessica Hubbard in full at Fin24
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Thursday, 30 March 2017 at SA Labour News
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