In our Friday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Thursday, 8 June 2017.
|
Strike action looms at Home Affairs from 19 June after talks collapse Fin24 reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) is gearing up for a strike at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) after a dispute to change the work week from 5 to 6 days without any additional compensation. Following unsuccessful conciliation talks at the Public Sector Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on Tuesday, the 230,000 strong PSA, which is affiliated to the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa), served notice on the DPA for a strike from 19 June. Mkuseli Apleni‚ the Home Affairs director-general‚ on Thursday told reporters that the unions want payment for officials who work on Saturdays‚ instead of days off. “The proposal we tabled at conciliation‚ that officials be granted a day off on Wednesdays for every Saturday worked‚ was intended to cure this challenge of limited personnel‚” said Apleni. But unions apparently rejected this. “We are not in a financial position to consider and accede to the demand for overtime pay‚” Apleni said. Read this report in full at Fin24. Read too, Home Affairs strike looming, at TimesLive. And also, PSA, Home Affairs negotiations hit a snag, at SABC News Home Affairs strike would leave families unable to bury loved ones Cape Times reports that bereaved families across the country could face a situation whereby they cannot bury their deceased loved ones should a planned strike by Department of Home Affairs (DHA) employees go ahead on 19 June. Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni sounded the alarm at a media briefing on Thursday on the failed conciliation talks between the DHA and the Public Servants Association (PSA) over Saturday overtime payments. He expressed concern that the imminent strike would impede the issuing of death certificates, among other services. People would also not be able to travel abroad, because official would not be available to assist with the required documentation. Moreover, new child grants would be affected as they were dependent on birth certificates being issued. Talks between the two parties collapsed on Wednesday at the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council. During negotiations, the DHA proposed that officials be granted a day off on Wednesdays for every Saturday worked, but that was rejected by the unions. Read this report by Rapula Moatshe in full at Cape Times. See too, Home Affairs wary of looming strike by staff, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) covering this story
Firefighter dies battling Knysna fire, death toll rises to five EWN reports that a firefighter has died while battling runaway fires in the Southern Cape after sustaining burns to 70% of his body. This brings to five the total number of fatalities as a result of the fire. The Local Government Department's James-Brent Styan confirmed the rise in the death toll and indicated that another firefighter was receiving medical attention. He stated: “Another firefighter has burn wounds of 50%. We are thinking about these firefighters and their families. We also think of all the firefighters in the fire line.” The blaze broke out earlier this week, engulfing much of Knysna and its surrounding areas. A short report by Mia Lindeque & Shamiela Fisher is at EWN. See too, Knysna fire contained, firefighter dies, at News24
Coal stakeholders agree to proceed with centralised wage bargaining in 2017 Mining Weekly reports that coal producers and trade unions have agreed that the 2017 coal sector wage negotiations will take place centrally under the auspices of the Chamber of Mines (CoM). Anglo Coal, Delmas Coal, Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga, Kangra Coal, Koornfontein Mines and Glencore met with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), UASA and Solidarity on 2 June 2017 to discuss the future structure and form of wage negotiations in the coal sector, amid threats of a strike owing to disagreements. In addition to agreeing that the 2017 wage negotiations would take place centrally, the parties agreed to conclude a Framework Agreement that would govern the wage negotiations process. They further agreed to a parallel process to concurrently conclude company-level recognition agreements. The unions are expected to submit wage demands shortly. The producers announced in February that they had decided to decentralise wage negotiations, thus enabling each mine to conclude its own wage increases, but this was rejected by the unions, causing a sector deadlock that threatened to result in a strike. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly. See too, Anglo, Glencore agree to centralised coal wage negotiations, at Miningmx. Read the Chamber’s press statement in this regard at SA Labour News Lily Mine secures funding, will resume search for workers’ remains in September ANA reports that the search for the remains of three Lily Gold Mine workers, who were trapped underground in February last year when a lamp-room container they were working in fell into a massive sinkhole, will resume in September. The Mpumalanga mine’s business rescue practitioner, Rob Devereux, indicated on Thursday that the company had finally secured funding of 20-million Canadian dollars from Galane Gold, a Canadian mining company. But, Lily Mine, which is owned by Vantage Goldfields, has not yet received the funding as there are still processes to be gone through and contracts to be finalised. Devereux went on to indicate that Lily Mine would use the money it would get from Galane to pay its remaining workers their outstanding wages and to resume operations after the conclusion of the rescue operations. A number of the employees have taken voluntary severance packages and left the company. The company will give the current workers preference over other people when it resumes mining operations. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly Minister, DMR officials miss Junior Indaba as miners deride state dysfunction BusinessLive reports that speaker after speaker at a junior mining conference this week told of their frustration with the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). But it was an industry talking to itself as no one from the department was there to listen or respond to allegations of how a dysfunctional and ineffective regulator was crippling investment and existing mining operations. The near unanimous thread running through two days of presentations at the Junior Indaba, attended by 320 delegates, was that the DMR was dysfunctional, that legal recourse was the best option to resolve differences with the department or to force it into action, and that it was incredibly tough to raise capital for junior companies operating in SA. The ministry was invited to attend, but it responded that the minister and his senior officials were away. It did not send anyone else. Conference chairman Bernard Swanepoel said: "The department can choose not to be here, but they can’t refuse to hear," adding that he would send a summary of the conference and comments to the department. Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive. Read too, Junior Indaba: It’s time to drive employment in mining, at Moneyweb Other labour/community posting(s) in this news category
Place MEIBC under administration to save it, Solidarity urges court BusinessLive reports that on Friday Solidarity will ask the Labour Court to place the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) under administration, in a bid to save it from bankruptcy. The trade union said this was due to an ongoing financial crisis affecting the bargaining council over the past few of years, as well as the inability of parties in the council to come to an agreement on a number of issues. About 340,000 employees and 10,000 companies fall under the MEIBC. "Urgent steps have to be taken to improve the bargaining council’s financial position to ensure its future," Marius Croucamp, deputy general secretary at Solidarity, said on Thursday. Solidarity will request that an administrator be appointed to enable to bargaining council to become solvent again, and that its funds and bank accounts be part of the brief. Read this report by Mark Allix in full at BusinessLive. See too, Solidarity to approach Labour Court for assistance to save MEIBC, at Engineering News. Solidarity’s press statement in this regard is at Solidarity online
We no longer believe in Zuma’s leadership, S’dumo Dlamini reiterates to NUM ANA reports that S’dumo Dlamini, president of Cosatu, on Thursday reiterated the ANC-aligned labour federation’s stance that President Jacob Zuma should resign and be replaced by his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa. To loud cheers at the National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM) central committee meeting in Pretoria, Dlamini said “the time has arrived for him to step down and allow the country to be led or taken forward by a new collective at government level, and we no longer believe in his leadership abilities. This is what Cosatu is saying.” He told ANC secretary general, Gwede Mantashe, who was among the delegates, that “we understand your frustration but we have been there before”. Dlamini said he would be part of the mass mobilisation for Ramaphosa to rise to the helm of the ANC ahead of the elective conference set for December. The two-day NUM conference continues on Friday. Read this report in full at The Citizen. Read too, NUM endorses Ramaphosa as next ANC president, at SowetanLive. And also, Prepare for resistance from the 'securocrats', Mantashe tells NUM, at M&G Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Cabinet urges business‚ labour to act with urgency to tackle recession TMG Digital/BusinessLive report that Cabinet has called on business‚ labour and society generally to partner with government "as a matter of urgency" to arrest the decline in economic growth. Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba plans to meet with business leaders to formulate strategies to counter the recession and achieve inclusive growth. Cabinet's call was made in the wake of this week's revelation that gross domestic product contracted by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2017‚ which cabinet said was worse than expected and significantly lower than the 1.3% projected for 2017 in the budget review. At a post-cabinet media briefing on Thursday‚ Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said it was urgent that business confidence was improved and growth programmes intensified "so as to arrest the decline and set the economy on a higher trajectory". Partnerships with the private sector and labour were said to be necessary to address unemployment and the downgrades by credit ratings agencies. Read this report by Linda Ensor at TimesLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
KZN cancer patients must ‘relocate to another province or die’ as last Durban specialist resigns TimesLive writes that as at the close of business on Friday‚ there will not be a single cancer specialist doctor employed at any state hospital in Durban - and only two will be left in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This will leave hundreds - if not thousands - of cancer patients facing clinical uncertainty and staring the possibility of death squarely in the face. It follows the resignation of the only cancer doctor remaining at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. Oncology services‚ including radiotherapy‚ are provided at just three hospitals in KZN, namely two in Durban and one in Pietermaritzburg, where there are only two oncologists left. This situation is a result of a massive exodus from state hospitals to the more lucrative private sector. Democratic Alliance MPL Dr Imran Keeka commented: “Oncologists have provided solid reasons for leaving. Those that I have spoken to give reasons ranging from not being able to continue working in an environment that is overburdened by the sheer number of patients‚ the patronage systems in the department‚ seeing immense suffering because of the failing healthcare structures and broken equipment." Read this report by Bongani Mthethwa in full at TimesLive. Read too, Calls for KZN Health MEC to leave over collapsing health system, at The Witness Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Rosemary Hunter’s case over pension fund cancellations heads to ConCourt BusinessLive reports that Rosemary Hunter will be approaching the Constitutional Court after three earlier court rulings found against her in a matter involving her former employer, the Financial Services Board (FSB), and the cancellation of thousands of pension funds. Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed with costs her leave to appeal against two high court rulings. The former deputy pension funds registrar said she would now approach the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal. The pension funds cancellations project led to the FSB cancelling 6,757 pension funds between 2007 and 2013 on the grounds that they had ceased to exist because they no longer had properly constituted boards. In court papers, Hunter argued that the cancellations project was "unlawful" and may have caused fund members to suffer loss. Hunter will be seeking a court-supervised probe into the cancellations. Read this report by Hanna Ziady in full at BusinessLive
Secretary to Parliament on special leave until corruption claims probed EWN reports that Parliament has announced that the Secretary to Parliament, Gengezi Mgidlana, has been granted special leave effective as of Friday. A statement issued by Parliament indicated that Mgidlana had written to the presiding officers requesting to be placed on special leave while allegations levelled against him made by the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) were investigated. The statement states that the presiding officers recently referred several allegations regarding administrative irregularities on the part of the Secretary to an independent audit committee of Parliament for investigation. Parliamentary workers allege that Mgidlana has abused his position by taking unwarranted overseas trips, awarding himself a bursary and an ex gratia payment and corrupting Parliament's tender system. It has been almost a year since Nehawu asked the Public Protector to probe Mgidlana’s conduct. Read this report in full at EWN. Read Parliament’s statement at Parliament online Netcare 911 paramedic suspended over 'discriminatory' post about Western Cape weather TMG Digital/TimesLive report that a paramedic was suspended on Friday for “discriminatory remarks” on Facebook about weather conditions in the Western Cape. Netcare 911 managing director Craig Grindell said the employee would face a disciplinary hearing next week. He went on to indicate: “We completely distance ourselves from the paramedic’s unacceptable comments. Netcare and Netcare 911 have a firm‚ zero-tolerance stance towards discrimination of any kind. We will not hesitate to take the strongest possible action when made aware of any action and or behaviour of a staff member which transgresses the company’s values‚ ethics and code of conduct.” A short report is at TimesLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Thursday, 8 June 2017 at SA Labour News
|
Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News