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 Tuesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Monday, 12 June 2017.
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Court orders MEIBC to be placed under administration Engineering News reports that trade union Solidarity has succeeded in its application to have the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) placed under administration. The first of its kind in the country, Solidarity deputy general secretary Marius Croucamp welcomed the judgment by Judge Sean Snyman, noting that it was a necessary step to ensure the MEIBC was “rescued from going under”. The union believes the court order would “dramatically” change the landscape in the steel and engineering industry, with the appointment of an administrator ensuring that the MEIBC would not regress further. Snyman noted that the MEIBC had fallen into financial disarray owing to maladministration, including the failure to submit yearly financial statements, failure to finalise its statements, no permanent financial manager being employed, non-disclosure of essential information by the MEIBC GM and the misappropriation of funds. He also raised concerns over MEIBC’s ongoing funding of the Dispute Resolution Centre (DRC), as its dispute resolution functions “have all but collapsed”. The Department of Labour, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and employers’ organisations have agreed to the court order. Read this report in full at Engineering News. Read Solidarity’s press statement in this regard at Solidarity online
SABC gives Hlaudi Motsoeneng the boot BusinessLive reports that Hlaudi Motsoeneng, former COO at the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), has been fired after being found guilty of misconduct. The dismissal follows the submission of final arguments at Motsoeneng’s disciplinary hearing on Friday and relates to comments he made at a media briefing at which he criticised SABC board members and a parliamentary committee that was looking into alleged irregularities at the public broadcaster. The chairperson of the disciplinary hearing, Nazeer Cassim, informed the SABC’s interim board of his decision on Monday. The outcome was announced after the board met with Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo. Contacted for comment‚ Motsoeneng said he has not yet been informed about the outcome of the disciplinary hearing and he would only be in a position to comment once he had documents in front of him. Read this report by Neo Goba in full at BusinessLive Hlaudi hanged by his own tongue with his bizarre press conference TimesLive writes that former SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng dodged damning findings by the public protector and a R10-million bonus scandal, but it was a bizarre press conference that eventually brought him down. He was officially fired from the public broadcaster on Monday, following an external disciplinary hearing in which he was found guilty of misconduct for comments he made at a 19 April media briefing, when he lashed out at the SABC interim board and especially at board member Krish Naidoo, whom he called a "sell-out". At the time of the April media conference, Motsoeneng was already suspended because of findings made by the public protector relating to his qualifications. Interim chairman of the board, Khanyisile Kweyama, on Monday laid out the reasons for Motsoeneng's dismissal, saying: "They [the reasons] were misconduct. They were bringing the SABC into disrepute and also the relationship breakdown between employer and the employee based on the statements he made about the SABC board, the ad hoc committee in parliament, as well as the judge who presided over some matters.” Read this report by Neo Goba and Ernest Mabuza in full at TimesLive. See too, SABC’s Motsoeneng fired after disciplinary hearing, at BusinessLive. And also, Fired Hlaudi to seek legal advice, at The Citizen I was 'left in the dark' over my axing, Motsoeneng claims News24 reports that, while the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is adamant that its former COO was duly informed of his axing, Hlaudi Motsoeneng claims he has been "left in the dark". "I have still not received anything from the SABC. My lawyer Zola Majavu is also in the dark," Motsoeneng said on Tuesday morning. His tenure at the state broadcaster came to an end following a ruling on Monday by Advocate Nazeer Cassim, who chaired Motsoeneng’s internal disciplinary hearing. "I have not received the ruling. I cannot comment on something that I have not seen. I need to peruse the ruling before I can make any further comments," Motsoeneng said on Monday evening. But, SABC spokesperson Kaiser Kganyago denied Motsoeneng's claim, saying that all correspondence was sent to him prior to the announcement being made on Monday afternoon. Motsoeneng was charged with and found guilty of bringing the SABC into disrepute and causing irreparable damage to his employer. Read this report by Lizeka Tandwa in full at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Following chairman Ngubane’s resignation, NUM calls on entire Eskom board to resign Fin24 reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for the entire board of Eskom to follow suit after chairperson Ben Ngubane's decision to resign. The union said in a statement on Tuesday that all other remaining board members were “a disgrace to both Eskom and the Government” and that what was needed were men and women with integrity who would also care about the well-being of the employees. NUM's national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu claimed that the board has done nothing good for the company. “It has been chaos after chaos and the employees at Eskom can’t take it… It is for the good of Eskom that they resign,” he said. Eskom spokesperson Khulani Qoma said on Tuesday that the board was shocked to hear about Ngubane’s resignation, and an annual general meeting would be held next Friday to appoint a new chairperson. Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown has appointed board member Zethembe Khoza as interim chairperson. Read this report by Lameez Omarjee and Matthew le Cordeur in full at Fin24. Read too, Eskom chairman Ngubane resigns amid probes, management turmoil, at Moneyweb. The NUM’s press statement is at Cosatu Today As Ben Ngubane resigns as chair, no word yet on interim Eskom CEO Mining Weekly reports that Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown announced on Monday that Dr Ben Ngubane has resigned as nonexecutive director and chairperson of the Eskom board with immediate effect. To ensure continuity at Eskom, she said that she had decided to appoint Mr Zethembe Khoza as interim chairperson until she was able to take new board appointments to Cabinet for approval. Brown made no announcement, however, about who would be appointed interim CEO, after the controversial decision to reappoint Brian Molefe was rescinded at the end of May. Matshela Koko, who was appointed interim CEO when Molefe stepped down in January in the wake of a damning Public Protector report, is currently on leave, while a forensic and legal investigation into a potential conflict of interest relating to Koko’s stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, is being finalised. The probe was meant to be completed in May, but the timeframe was extended by the board at the request of the firm of attorneys investigating the matter. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Uber confirms driver attacked and burnt at Loftus on Saturday The Citizen reports that a photo and video circulated among Uber drivers over the weekend of a taxi driver who was attacked and burnt near Loftus on Saturday night at the Springbok rugby march in Pretoria has been confirmed as authentic by the firm. Samantha Allenberg for Uber Africa said: “Uber is devastated to confirm the brutal attack of a driver-partner this past weekend and they want to make it clear – this sort of violence is completely unacceptable, unlawful and needs to stop.” She said the driver was “attacked by a small group of unknown individuals”. There have been numerous reports of Uber drivers being attacked by metered taxi drivers, but it is unknown if this was the reason behind this latest attack. Uber said that they were continuing with the implementation of safety features such as GPS tracking of every trip. Uber has also hired additional security response teams in areas where driver-partners and riders have reported intimidation. Read this report by Charles Cilliers in full at The Citizen. Read too, Uber drivers say they don’t feel safe, at TimesLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Sibanye’s Cooke operation closed for rest of week as security situation assessed Reuters reports that Sibanye Gold said on Monday that 202 illegal miners had now been arrested at its Cooke operations southwest of Johannesburg since the start of a violent wildcat strike last Tuesday. The strike, which has seen more than a dozen miners assaulted by strikers, was triggered by workers angered by a company drive to root out illegal miners. Some employees have also been arrested for collusion and for taking food down to the illegal miners working underground. A company spokesman said the Cooke operation would be closed for the rest of the week as the gold producer assessed the security situation. "We will review the situation again closer to the weekend," the spokesman indicated. The mine appeared quiet on Monday with the road to the Cooke 1 and 2 shafts blocked off. Sibanye has vowed it will clear all illegal miners from its shafts by next year. Read this report in full at TimesLive Plunge in platinum price ignites social unrest as villagers turn on mines Bloomberg writes that as platinum prices have fallen and industry costs have risen over the past decade, dividends paid to local community trusts have dried up and many pledges to improve living conditions have gone unfulfilled. Frustration is now bubbling over in SA mining communities, which typically include a mix of mineworkers, job-seeking migrants and rural populations who have been living there since before mining started. Demonstrations by residents around mines have disrupted operations run by producers including Impala Platinum, Lonmin and African Rainbow Minerals. The protesters have demanded jobs and money, saying that investments outside of the mines have not been enough. “The mines don’t appreciate how upset people are,” said Vladimir Mogale, a spokesman for the Bapo Ba Mogale community, which lives close to Lonmin’s Marikana mine. “People feel like they have to burn a bus to get a response,” he said, while condemning any violence. The Chamber of Mines of SA accepts that companies need to do more to involve black people in the economy. But, more than half of the sector’s production is losing money, according to Anglo American Platinum. “Without growth how do you bring people further into the economic stream?” asked the Chamber’s newly-elected president Mxolisi Mgojo. Read this report by Kevin Crowley in full at Moneyweb
Cosatu delays bilateral meeting with ANC at eleventh hour BusinessLive writes that the ANC-led tripartite alliance is no closer to reaching a solution to its many problems after labour federation Cosatu on Monday postponed a bilateral meeting with the party at the eleventh hour. ANC leaders met on Sunday in preparation for the meeting with its labour partner, only to be told the meeting scheduled for Monday could not go ahead due to the unavailability of Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali. Cosatu said it had requested another date for the meeting with the ANC after realising it could not go ahead without the full complement of its leadership. “Media reports that the federation boycotted or walked out of the meeting are untrue," said Cosatu spokesman Sizwe Pamla. But, the ANC said that it did not know why the federation failed to inform it of the decision timeously. Spokesman Zizi Kodwa indicated the intention of the meeting had been to discuss issues expressed by Cosatu against the ANC, such as its recent decision to ban President Jacob Zuma from addressing its meetings. The federation has called on Zuma to step down amid scandals over his role in the capture of the state, saying it has no faith in his leadership. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive
Solidarity’s Labour Market Index improves in Q1, but remains below 50 Engineering News reports that the Solidarity-ETM Labour Market Index (LMI) improved strongly to 47.8 index points in the first quarter of this year, compared with the fourth quarter of 2016’s revised 42.2 index points. “This is the best level we have seen since the third quarter in 2013 and is indicative of relatively friendlier labour conditions after a lengthy period of declining security,” Solidarity economics researcher Gerhard van Onselen said on Monday. But, the index remained below 50, indicating that job and wage security were broadly declining, though at a slower pace. Van Onselen commented that it remained to be seen whether the improvement in the LMI could be sustained in the following quarters. He noted as well that the present dilemma was that cyclical improvements in business cycle indicators in the first quarter, and a decrease in job insecurity, as measured by Solidarity Employee Confidence Index, could not overcome the stagnating conditions of the SA economy to avoid an official recession. “This leads us to conclude that structural economic weaknesses arising from political uncertainty and a harmful antibusiness policy environment are presently weighing more than cyclical improvements,” Van Onselen observed. Based on a report at Engineering News. Read Solidarity’s press statement in this regard at Politicsweb
Private sector doctors rescue KZN cancer patients Daily News reports that oncologists and radiotherapists from the private sector will provide oncology services at public health facilities, while the Department of Health is recruiting replacements to treat cancer patients. This was indicated by department spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi after questions were posed about the mass exodus of oncologists from state-owned medical facilities to private practice. Currently, there are only two oncologists left at Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg, while there are none Durban. Last week, the last oncologist based at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital resigned. This hospital sees, on average, at least 80% of the province’s cancer patients. Mkhwanazi said the head of the oncology clinical unit at Grey’s would oversee the management of patients both hospitals, while other private oncologists and radiotherapists from the Hopelands Oncology Clinic would assist. The department has advertised posts to fill vacancies. According to Noel Desfontaines of the Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of SA (Hospersa), hordes of doctors were leaving because of poor working conditions, critical staff shortages and machines not being properly maintained. Read this report by Se-Anne Rall in full at Daily News
Angry commuters torch trains, loot, at Cape Town station over lengthy delays News24 reports that two trains were set alight and shops looted at Cape Town station on Monday night, when commuters went on the rampage in reaction to lengthy delays. No injuries were reported. Police were on the scene and helping to keep protesters at bay while the firefighters tried to douse the flames. The smoke was so thick that firefighters had called a truck with special breathing equipment to the scene. City of Cape Town fire and rescue spokesperson Theo Layne said the station was not on fire, as some people had tweeted. The chaos started early in the evening, when passengers became increasingly irate over lengthy delays, which Metrorail attributed to an overloaded electrical system. Metrorail’s Richard Walker apologised to customers, but criticised those who caused the damage. Surveillance footage would be studied to open cases of malicious damage to property. Technicians restored power at 20:52. Read this report by Jenni Evans and Austil Mathebula in full at News24. Read too, Commuters rebel as Metrorail fails in Cape Town, at GroundUp More Metrorail delays on Tuesday after torching of Cape Town trains News24 reports that train commuters were on Tuesday stuck with further delays on all routes after eight train carriages were set alight at Cape Town station. In a service alert on its Twitter account, Metrorail said residual delays of "60+" minutes were being experienced in the region. Two trains (eight carriages) were set alight and shops looted on Monday night, when commuters went on the rampage in reaction to lengthy delays. Platforms 15 and 16 remain closed, while officials assess the damage. The delays on Monday night were the result of defective electrical feeds. The United National Transport Union (UNTU) has demanded that Metrorail regional manager Richard Walker should resign immediately. General secretary Steve Harris said Metrorail did not warn commuters about the problem with the feed for hours, which led to agitated commuters as queues grew longer, with some attacking staff and property. Harris said they had applied to the High Court to force the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) to implement reasonable safe measures to protect staff. Read this report by Jenna Etheridge in full at News24
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