MINING LABOUR

Sale of Gupta-owned Tegeta may be ‘fake’, NUM warns Parliament

BusinessLive reports that one of the issues facing new Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe will be whether to approve the sale of the Gupta-owned Tegeta Exploration & Resources to little-known Swiss clothing company Charles King for R3bn.  The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) raised concern in Parliament on Wednesday that the sale might be a "fake" and one which could leave workers without jobs as Charles King had no experience in mining.  Tegeta owns Optimum Coal Mine, which is now under business rescue, as well as Koornfontein and Brakfontein mines.  Acting chief director Modilati Malapane told the portfolio committee on mineral resources on Wednesday that no formal application had been lodged with the department for the sale, as required.  Malapane said the department "cannot allow the sale of Optimum ... irresponsibly.  We have to see whether it will be sustainable for not."  Charles King is reportedly a shell company owned by Amin al-Zarooni, a Gupta business associate.  Media reports have suggested that the company was created as a vehicle for the Optimum transaction.

Read this report by Linda Ensor in full at BusinessLive

Optimum workers paid, but questions raised about future sale of mine

ANA reports that Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources heard on Wednesday that there was no reason to place Optimum Coal Mine into business rescue other than the financing woes of Tegeta Exploration and the now fugitive Gupta family.  Goodwill Mthombeni, chairperson of the Optimum branch of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told the committee that the union believed the reported sale of Optimum to a Swiss clothing company was not above board and that according to company statements Tegeta had made R2.2bn since it acquired the mine in 2016.   Mthombeni also reported that after a standoff with management, permanent workers at the coal mine began receiving their salaries on Tuesday.  NUM called a strike at Optimum last week in protest at workers not receiving their wages.  Mthombeni said similar problems had been reported at other mines belonging to Tegeta, including Koornfontein and Evander.  The management of Optimum on Wednesday failed to show up for the briefing to the committee.  The committee heard however from the Department of Mineral Resources that Optimum had flouted its social obligations, which it was stressed had been respected by the previous owners Glencore

Read this report in full at Mining Weekly

Alarm at resurgence in mine deaths

Financial Mail reports that it is estimated that 88 miners died in accidents on SA’s mines last year, which was an unhappy regression for the industry because fatalities had fallen from 615 in 1993, to 200 in 2007, to 73 in 2016.  This year hasn’t started well either as the Chamber of Mines (COM) has confirmed that 14 mineworkers have died since the beginning of 2018.  While the COM cannot pinpoint the exact reasons behind the spike in fatalities, trade unions have blamed increased pressure on workers as one of the causes.  The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu) say workers have been forced to compromise on safety as they perform functions that would ordinarily require more manpower than is currently available.  NUM’s health and safety chairman Peter Bailey says that since mass retrenchments hit the industry in 2014, mineworkers claim they have had to work long hours without rest, while the violation of safety standards has become the norm.  Workers are facing a double-edged sword, say Bailey and Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa, namely a dysfunctional department of mineral resources has led to a mass exodus of skilled inspectors, leaving mining houses to their own devices.  Lerato Tsele, acting head of safety at the COM, says her institution supports a call for a new inquiry into safety.  In the past, similar inquiries made a big difference.

Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive

Gwede Mantashe wants Mining Charter agreement in three months

BusinessLive reports that in his first public comments on the Mining Charter, new Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday he would like the document outlining obligations on companies to transform to be finalised in three months.  The third iteration of the Charter was gazetted by his predecessor, Mosebenzi Zwane, in June 2017 and has been suspended pending the outcome of legal action brought by the Chamber of Mines to have it reviewed and set aside.  One of the first actions of new President Cyril Ramaphosa was to call the Chamber into a meeting last weekend ahead of the four-day court case to get it to agree to postpone the legal action to give talks around a new Charter a chance.  Ramaphosa replaced the ill-regarded Zwane in a reshuffle with Mantashe, a veteran miner and former leader of the National Union of Mineworkers.  Mantashe told reporters on the steps of Parliament in a brief interaction that he had set himself a three-month time-frame to finalise the Charter.  However, on Wednesday the Chamber declined to say whether it had been consulted by Mantashe on the three-month time-frame or whether it was an achievable target.

Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive

Implats loss narrows as it cut 1,400 jobs at biggest mine

Bloomberg reports that Impala Platinum cut 1,400 jobs at its Rustenburg operations, narrowed its loss and closed shafts even as the producer of platinum-group metals (PGM) seeks further cost reductions to boost cash flow by as much as R1bn in the next two years.  Implats is looking to "refocus or close unprofitable areas" and revise costs structures to return to profit in an environment of low prices for platinum-group metals, the producer said in a statement on Thursday.  Its headline loss, which excludes one-time items, narrowed to R150m in the six months ended 31 December from R508m a year earlier.  Impala halted operations at four shafts at its Rustenburg mine in January and is optimising operations at three others.  It wants to operate lower-cost, shallower and mechanised assets and the Rustenburg operation may be profitable in a low-price environment, it said.  “The challenges and uncertainties confronting the South African PGM industry remain significant,” Impala said.

Read this report in full at Fin24

Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining

• Northam’s housing plan unites families, at BusinessLive

INDUSTRIAL ACTION / STRIKES / LOCK-OUTS

Marathon strike at DUT comes to an end, with lectures to resume on Monday

Timeslive reports that the marathon staff strike at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) has been suspended.  Vice-chancellor Professor Thandwa Mthembu announced late on Wednesday that the institution would be fully operational from Thursday, with lectures due to resume on Monday.  The lock-out imposed on staff who took part in the seven week industrial action was also suspended at 5pm on Wednesday.  This followed a protracted meeting between deputy minister of higher education and training, Buti Manamela, with unions and management on Tuesday.  Both parties agreed to return to the negotiating table.

Read this report by Suthentira Govender in full at Timeslive

PROTESTS / MARCHES / CAMPAIGNS

Unpaid protesting Zululand workers shot at by police, claims municipal union

ANA reports that the Municipal and Allied Trade Union of SA (Matusa) on Thursday condemned the police for brutally shooting at workers who had gone on strike because the Zululand District Municipality had failed to pay wages on the due date.  An appalled Kurt Ziervogel, general secretary of the union, said “police shot and injured a number of our members earlier today.  Workers were striking as a result of the municipality not paying the February salaries”.  Salaries are payable on the 25th day of each month, but 25 February fell on the weekend.  As a result, workers had expected to get paid on Friday.  On Monday, Matusa members downed tools in protest as they had still not received their pay.  Workers gathered outside the gates of the municipal offices, where they waited in anticipation of being addressed by the mayor.  Ziervogel said instead of the mayor addressing them, he called the police who opened fire on the strikers.  A number of workers were seriously injured and had to be hospitalised.

Read this report in full at The Citizen

UNION NEWS / STRUCTURES / ORGANISATIONAL REPORTS

Saftu spokesman Patrick Craven's house raided‚ laptop and cell phone stolen

Timeslive reports that according to Patrick Craven, spokesperson of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), his laptop and cell phone were taken on Wednesday by people purporting to be from the SA Revenue Service (SARS).  Speaking on Radio 702 on Thursday‚ Craven said the men raided his house on Wednesday and took his and his wife’s laptops and a cell phone.  Craven explained:  “They seemed plausible.  They said they wanted to check if anybody is renting the property.  It was some sort of a lifestyle audit.  It turned out that it was a well-planned attempt to steal computers.  There may be a political motive behind this.”  The incident at Craven’s house came as the Western Cape home of author Jacques Pauw was raided by the Hawks on Wednesday.  Pauw has been targeted by authorities since he published a book last year detailing allegations against former president Jacob Zuma.

Read this report by Nomahlubi Jordaan in full at Timeslive

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• Now we have to sleep with our laptops under our pillows, says Vavi on robbery at unionist Craven's home, at News24

NATIONAL BUDGET / PRICES

Numsa rejects increase in VAT from 14% to 15% and other levy increases

ANA reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) appeared before Parliament’s standing and select committees on finance on Wednesday to make submissions on the 2018 fiscal framework and revenue proposals in the 2018 Budget.  Former finance minister Malusi Gigaba last week announced a one percentage point rise in VAT from 14% to 15%, plus an increase in the general fuel levy by 22 cents and in the Road Accident Fund levy by 30 cents.  The union said all the proposed increases were coming at a time when working class families were still trying to cope with a 5% rise in tariffs by power utility Eskom, and that higher social grants also announced in the budget would do very little to offset the damage.  It was said that the fuel levy and Road fund levy increases would affect not only those travelling by car or taxi, but also the cost structure of transport and logistical companies that deliver food, clothes, appliances and other goods.  The union claimed that the governing party was pursuing “a diligent, effective and ruthless attack on working class families by promoting disastrous neoliberal capitalist policies”.

Read this report in full at The Citizen. Read too, Cabinet considering expanding zero-rated VAT basket, at eNCA

Cosatu warns of nationwide strike if Parliament fails to reject VAT hike

EWN reports that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has threatened to mobilise workers for a nationwide strike if Parliament fails to reject the proposed increase in the value-added tax (VAT).  Cosatu's Bheki Ntshalintshali said:  “We made our submission to Parliament on the budget on Wednesday.  If we do not get any results or positive response, we’ll mobilise our workers for a strike against the VAT increase.”  Former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba announced the first VAT hike since 1993 during his Budget speech in February, a move which has been widely slammed by opposition parties and labour organisations.  Meantime, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said the party would soon march to the National Treasury against the increase in VAT and transport levies because they were regressive and anti-poor policies.  The SA Communist Party (SACP) has also rejected government’s announcement of an increase in VAT, warning it marked the possible beginnings of a regressive creep.

Read this report by Clement Manyathela in full at EWN

REMUNERATION / SALARY ADMINISTRATION

Gupta-linked mobile clinic company fails to pay staff

eNCA reported on Wednesday that 140 employees who work for Gupta-linked mobile clinic company Mediosa have not been paid their February salaries.  Medicosa is contracted to the North West and Free State Health Departments.  Over the past few weeks, workers at some Gupta-linked mining companies also failed to get paid.  This resulted in work stoppages.

This short report is at eNCA

Nehawu accuses NYDA board members of corruption for hiking their salaries

ANA reports that the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) on Thursday accused top executives of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) of corruption.  It said that newly-elected board members had unilaterally increased their salaries without following due process.  According to the union, NYDA chairperson Sfiso Mtsweni and deputy chairperson Bavelile Hlongwa increased the salaries for their offices with effect from 1 January 2018 without consulting the union members for a clear mandate and way forward.  The union’s branch executive committee said it viewed the actions by the employer as illegal and discriminatory since a number of employees had been denied bursaries for this academic year due to lack of funds.  Nehawu has demanded to be allowed to make a presentation at the human resources and remuneration committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday and has also called for an urgent bargaining forum to convene to resolve the matter.  Failing that, the union would roll out mass action beginning with a picket on Wednesday and a strike action.

Read this report in full at The Citizen

MISCONDUCT / DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Disgraced Eskom executive Sean Maritz resigns with immediate effect

Timeslive reports that disgraced Eskom executive Sean Maritz has submitted his resignation with immediate effect.  The state-owned power utility's spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe confirmed that Maritz‚ who was on suspension as Head of Information Technology‚ submitted his resignation earlier on Thursday.  His disciplinary hearing‚ which was scheduled next week‚ will fall away as a result."  Maritz‚ the former Chief Information Officer‚ was facing charges related to his approving a payment to a Hong Kong company after Eskom secured a R25-billion loan from the Chinese company Huarong Energy Africa‚ as well as for penning a letter to McKinsey & Company absolving it from paying back R 1.6-billion unlawfully paid to it and Trillian.  Maritz was embroiled in another scandal when it was found he hired a friend and church buddy at Eskom and paid him a R100,000 monthly salary without declaring the friendship.  Maritz is the latest in a long line of senior managers and executives to resign or be fired for various infractions of Eskom's internal policies.

Read this report by Sabelo Skiti in full at Timeslive