In our Tuesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Friday, 28 April 2017.
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Workers shut Zuma up at May Day rally BusinessLive reports that workers prevented President Jacob Zuma from addressing a Cosatu Workers Day rally in Bloemfontein on Monday. In April, the union federation called on Zuma to step down, saying it no longer believed he was the best person to lead the ANC and the country. Then Cosatu affiliates Nehawu and the CWU said last week they did not want Zuma addressing the rally. At the event, members of Nehawu, Sadtu and the NUM chanted "Zuma must go" as officials tried to get the programme under way. They also booed Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini, which led to all speeches being cancelled. Cosatu held several rallies around the country, addressed by ANC leaders and their reception illustrated the faultlines in the governing party. ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe received a warm welcome on a march to the JSE, while hundreds of people gathered to hear Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa speak in Mpumalanga. But, in Polokwane, workers booed ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte and in Durban they chanted "Gupta" while ANC chairwoman Baleka Mbete delivered her speech. Read this report by Genevieve Quintal in full at BusinessLive. Read too, Zuma leaves Workers Day rally without speaking, at IOL News. And also, It was a mistake to allow Zuma to attend Cosatu rally, says analyst, at SABC News ‘Cosatu losing touch with workers led to Zuma being booed’ The Citizen writes that the collapse of a Workers’ Day rally in Bloemfontein on Monday, where ANC President Jacob Zuma was booed and shown the door, should serve as a “wake-up call” and showed signs of a crumbling ANC-led tripartite alliance. SA Communist Party (SACP) leader Blade Nzimande and political analysts cautioned that the display showed signs of a now divided alliance. The rally ended abruptly after Zuma arrived to boos and heckling from members of Cosatu’s affiliate unions. Political economy analyst Zamikhaya Maseti said the chaos clearly showed Cosatu was losing touch with the workers. Although some affiliates made their views known and advised Cosatu that they did not want Zuma to address the rally, Cosatu president Dlamini did not listen, he said. Somadoda Fikeni, another analyst, said both the ANC and Zuma were to blame for the chaos as Cosatu leadership should have advised the ANC to send someone who was seen as neutral. ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said the problem manifested because of premature pronouncements of leadership preferences by some alliance members. Read this report by Eric Naki in full at The Citizen. See too, Workers Day rally collapse the 'ultimate wake-up call', says Nzimande, at IOL News. And also, ANC says Cosatu's disrupted rally not about Zuma, at eNCA Numsa, Saftu join forces in Durban on Workers Day eNCA reports that Irvin Jim, general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), used Monday's May Day rally to pay tribute to the country's miners. Numsa joined forces with the newly formed SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) to mark this year's Workers' Day in Durban. Following Jim's address, Saftu's general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, addressed the crowd and did not waste any time talking about the events in Bloemfontein where rival federation Cosatu had to call off its May Day rally after President Jacob Zuma was incessantly heckled and booed by some members. "I've been told that the so-called workers rally that Cosatu was trying to have in Bloemfontein collapsed without a single person having any speech or making anything… Let me tell you why we must clap hands for the collapse of that alliance that's not in the interest of the working people," Vavi said. Read this report and hear Vavi's full speech at eNCA. See too, Saftu holds first May Day event in Durban, at SABC News. And also, Saftu calls for worker unity, at SABC News. As well as, Saftu is your only hope, Numsa tells workers, at EWN Amcu celebrates Workers Day in Welkom Mining Weekly reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) celebrated Workers Day on Monday with a rally at the Griffons Rugby Stadium, in Welkom, in the Free State. National treasurer Jimmy Gama, outlining the union’s plan of action for the year, said they would be “intensifying our struggle” for the betterment of the working conditions of mineworkers by seeking to ensure that mines paid their workers a “living wage”. “We do not accept the National Minimum Wage of R20 an hour or R3 500 a month that has been proposed by government. This is a slave wage and [an] insult to workers,” he stated. He indicated that Amcu aimed to ensure that, within the next five years, workers across all sectors earned a salary that enabled them to support their families and sustain themselves as “dignified human beings”. On Amcu’s position in respect of the newly launched SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), Gama noted that the union was already affiliated to the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu). However, he revealed that there had been discussions between the leaderships of Saftu and Nactu, respectively, but not between Saftu and Amcu directly. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly. See too, Amcu decries government’s ‘failures’, calls for South Africa First approach, at Mining Weekly. And also, ANC has been the marshal of oppression of black people, says Amcu, at SABC News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Paramedics meet with Gauteng Health MEC to discuss safety issues eNCA reports that not everyone celebrated Workers' Day and some Gauteng paramedics met with Gauteng Health MEC, Gwen Ramokgopa, to discuss their safety while on the job. Last week, a paramedic died after suspects in a vehicle opened fire on an ambulance. In 2016 there were 12 incidents in which paramedics were attacked and already this year there have been six incidents. “Firstly we have got to acknowledge that there is a problem and this year we have lost on one of our paramedics and secondly we need to alert our staff that there are conscious and that management is there to support them. We have agreed that as you respond to the call you also need to access the environment and ask for back up if needed,” said Ramokgopa. She will be talking to her community safety counterpart on how best to help protect paramedics.. Read this report in full at eNCA. See too, Paramedics tell MEC they are 'living in fear', at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
DiamondCorp berates intransigent Amcu as it loses battle for survival BusinessLive reports that single-operation, single-commodity resources company DiamondCorp will be putting its listed holding company into administration despite being months away from steady state production. The company ran into technical, operational and financial problems exacerbated by what it called intransigent labour at its Lace diamond mine in the Free State as it sought desperately for money to bring it over the finishing line and into steady-state production. In a statement on Friday, it was particularly scathing of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu). Blame was levelled at bondholders for the company’s inability to refinance the business, but also apportioned to Amcu, the dominant union at the mine. DiamondCorp said the protracted discussion with Amcu, which was terminated in early April 2017 without agreement, “obstructed the vital care and maintenance and remediation programme of the mine, caused all employees to be retrenched and was the primary cause for the £1m equity fundraiser as first announced in January 2017 to not be successfully settled." Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive Zama zamas have rights and should be legalised, says BLF SABC News reports that Black First Land First (BLF) and small-scale miners gathered on Friday at the Samaria Informal Settlement in Kimberley in the Northern Cape to discuss the treatment of zama-zama's (illegal miners) by government. BLF first deputy president Zanele Lwana said small-scale miners have the right to mine the land owned by the mining giants such as De beers and called for the immediate recognition and legalisation of small-scale mining. "Zama zama's should be legalized. They have the right to mine in this land. They must be subsidized by the government just like all other mining houses get subsidized by government. They must be recognized as an entity that operates within the system. And they must be able to sell within the market and be able to create employment opportunities," Lwana said. He also claimed that the dumps where zama zamas were mining had been abandoned by the De Beers Group more than 100 years ago and illegal miners had discovered the site on their own. A short report is at SABC News. See too a longer report by The New Age at HRSyndication Mpuma Premier Mabuza calls for investment into Lily Gold Mine SABC News reports that Mpumalanga Premier, David Mabuza has said that international and domestic mining companies were all welcome to absorb Lily Gold Mine near Barberton and continue with its mining business. Government has been consulting with the communities living near the Lily mine, where a shaft collapsed early last year, leaving three workers trapped underground. Mabuza indicated that the communities were willing to see the mine resume operations. However, any company that took over would have to renew the efforts to recover the trapped workers' bodies, so they could be given a dignified burial. A short report is at SABC News Other labour posting(s) in this news category
Other general internet posting(s) on mining
Sacca seeks meeting with SAA over labour dispute that led to strike EWN reports that the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) indicated that it was hoping to meet with SA Airways (SAA) on Tuesday to resolve their labour dispute. On Wednesday, the union will be heading to the Johannesburg Labour Court in an attempt to overturn SAA’s interdict barring members from continuing with their strike. Last week, 50 flights were cancelled as a result of the work stoppage by SAA cabin crew. Workers were demanding better working conditions and an increase in their international meal allowance from $131 per day to $170. The union’s Christopher Shabangu said they wanted to resolve the dispute as soon as possible. “We’ll see what happens, otherwise the court appearance hasn’t been cancelled and it’s going ahead. At the end of the day, we have to have that interdict overturned.” This short report by Mia Lindeque is at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Private security industry applies for its own bargaining council City Press reports that the private security industry has asked for its own bargaining council, which would possibly bring one of SA’s largest sources of employment into the statutory central bargaining system. While such a new council might help root out the security industry’s infamous “compliance problems” around wages and benefits, the primary motive was to maintain the extraordinary “normal” hours of work in the sector, said Tony Botes of the Security Association of SA (Sasa). Sasa is an employer grouping representing 75 companies with 140,000 guards. Its application for a bargaining council was published in the Government Gazette last week, and is supported by another employer group, the SA National Security Employers’ Association, as well as 18 unions. The industry has a bargaining forum without statutory powers that produces wage deals that have tended to be wholly accepted by government and imposed on the whole sector in the form of a sectoral determination. Read this report by Dewald Van Rensburg in full at City Press
JMPD recruiting 1‚500 new officers to fight crime in Joburg TMG Digital reports that the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is recruiting 1‚500 new officers to bolster visible policing and fight crime in the city. Mayoral committee member for safety Michael Sun said on Sunday: "This recruitment is the Department of Public Safety’s first step under the new administration to not only enhance visible policing‚ but to also create jobs for men and women who might either be without employment‚ or who are searching for a meaningful way to contribute to society." He added that with an additional 1‚500 officers deployed in the city‚ “we are certain that visible policing will be more tangible and effective in curbing crime." Read this report in full at BusinessLive
Tzaneen labour inspector nabbed for ‘demanding bribe’ The New Age reports that an official at the Department of Labour in Tzaneen has been arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe from a construction company owner. The Hawks provincial spokesperson, Capt. Matimba Maluleke, said the 34-year-old was nabbed in a trap after the owner involved blew the whistle on him on Thursday last week. “The suspect allegedly requested to meet the company owner at a school in Xihoko village outside Tzaneen. The suspect allegedly demanded R19,000 from the company owner, but later reduced the amount to R4,000 in order to issue a compliance certificate,” she indicated. The suspect was arrested immediately after receiving the money he had demanded from the complainant. He will appear in the Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday to face corruption charges. Based on a report by Montsho Matlala on page 23 of The New Age of 2 May 2017 Wave of bogus City Power technicians hits Joburg The Star reports that City Power has warned Johannesburg residents not to allow any person, technician or contractor onto their property without first verifying their credentials with City Power’s risk control unit. City Power technicians must have an identity card with a photo, identity verification number, expiry date and hologram. Technicians most likely to request access are meter readers, cut-off teams, contractors or meter maintenance teams. “We have become aware of impostors and urge residents to be highly vigilant and report any suspicious persons or vehicles. Risk control will dispatch a response vehicle immediately to apprehend suspects,” said Virgil James, spokesperson for City Power. Read this report by Anna Cox at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
With burning tyres on tracks, Metrorail suspends JHB-Vereeniging train service eNCA reports that Metrorail on Tuesday suspended morning peak train services between Johannesburg and Vereeniging – via Midway – after service delivery protesters placed objects on the tracks and set them alight. The service delivery protest, which started at 2am in Kliptown, affected the safe movement of trains to and from Vereeniging. Businesses were closed as protesters clash with police. Rubber bullets and teargas were fired to disperse the crowd and several cars, including a police vehicle, were damaged. Gauteng Metrorail spokesperson, Tony Games, said that all trains had been stopped until further notice to protect commuters. The train service via Meyerton to Johannesburg and back has not been affected, while Oberholzer trains are running via Randfontein. Read this report in full at eNCA. See too, Metrorail apologises for cancelling service between Joburg and Vereeniging, at EWN
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet from Friday, 28 April 2017 to Monday, 1 May 2017 at SA Labour News
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