TOP READ

Millions of jobs in SA could soon be automated, but the country is ill-prepared for this looming reality

Daniel le Roux, senior lecturer in the department of information science at Stellenbosch University, points out that limited work has been done to study the potential impact of AI and automation on economies in the developing world.  Prompted to investigate the situation in SA, he used data collected by Statistics SA for its Quarterly Labour Force Survey and an automation index produced by academics at the University of Oxford.  From this, he was able to estimate that occupations performed by almost 35% of South African workers – roughly 4.5m people – are potentially automatable in the near future.  Roughly 14m South Africans work in around 380 different occupation types.  Sixty-four of these occupations, employing an estimated 3.6m workers, have a 90% or greater probability of being automatable in the near future.  These occupations include, for example, cashiers, tellers, secretaries and telephone salesmen.  The occupations of another 2.6m workers, of whom 900,000 are employed as farmhands and labourers, have an 80%-89% probability of being automatable.  Workers of all skills levels are at risk.  Accountants, auditors and dental technicians are all highly skilled and their jobs are extremely susceptible to automation.  But trends suggest that people in low and medium-skilled occupations are generally more at risk than those who require extensive education.  But Le Roux notes, the country appears ill-prepared for this looming reality and there is very limited high-level discourse about how SA plans to navigate this wave of technological advancement.

Read this thought provoking article in full at The Conversation

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY

SA sex workers suffer depression and post-traumatic stress disorder

Saturday Star reports that for a long time health professionals and caregivers have known that South African sex workers suffer from high rates of depression and post-traumatic stress, but no one knew the extent of the problem.  Now a new study has provided a snapshot of a group of sex workers who work in Soweto.  The study, which appeared in the journal, Plos One, found that more than two-thirds of the sex workers in the sample suffered depression.  Of that same sample, 39.6% showed symptoms for post- traumatic distress disorder (PTSD).  The cause of this, according to one of the authors of the paper, Jenny Coetzee, was due to the high levels of violence they experienced.  “You are going to find very high levels of trauma and depression - and with that comes high levels of drinking,” said Coetzee.  The researchers focused on 508 sex workers across Soweto in a study that took place over seven months during 2016.  Of that total, only two of the participants weren’t black and 16 were migrants.  What the study further revealed was that two-thirds of the sex workers went hungry regularly and 50% of them were binge drinkers.  Only 14% claimed they had never been a victim of violence.  The Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) said dealing with mental health issues among sex workers would require a multi-disciplined approach.

Read this report by Shaun Smillie in full at Saturday Star

Taxi violence at 'crisis levels', police portfolio committee warns

Timeslive reports that Parliament's Police Portfolio Committee has warned that taxi violence has reached “crisis levels” in SA.  The committee was reacting to the latest incident in which 11 people linked to a Gauteng-based taxi association were gunned down while travelling in a minibus taxi between the towns of Colenso and Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.  The ambush occurred when members of Ivory-Park Taxi Association were returning home after attending the funeral of a colleague in Ematimatolo.  Four people were also critically wounded when gunmen opened fire on the vehicle.  Committee chairperson Francois Beukman pointed out that on numerous occasions they had highlighted that in order to deal with crime effectively there was a need to eliminate illegal firearms.  He went on to say that the incident was “a further indication that violence in the taxi industry has now reached crisis levels in the country and a multi-sectoral intervention strategy must be implemented to effectively deal with this scourge.”

Read this report by Nomahlubi Jordaan in full at Timeslive. Read too, 'We have not lost control‚' says Santaco after taxi massacre, at Timeslive

Environmental Affairs minister condemns murder of Kruger Park ranger by poachers

Timeslive reports that Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has condemned the murder of a park ranger by alleged poachers in the Kruger National Park.  “His death at the hands of alleged rhino poachers is an indication of the severity of the threat our rangers are faced with on a daily basis‚” she said.  The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) said on Friday that the ranger, who was from Bushbuckridge‚ Mpumalanga, was wounded by “unscrupulous individuals and gangs” on Thursday afternoon in a shootout.  SA National Parks (SANParks) spokesman Ike Phaahla indicated:  “The field ranger and his colleagues made contact with a poaching group that they had been tracking‚ supported by the K9 Unit.  It appears as they approached the group‚ shots were exchanged‚ seriously injuring him in the upper body.”  A doctor was flown in‚ and although they stabilised the rnager at the scene‚ he died en route to the hospital.

Read this report by Nico Gous in full at Timeslive

MINING LABOUR

AngloGold says there's no escaping inevitable demise of South African gold sector

Bloomberg reports SA’s gold industry, once the world’s largest, faces an inevitable decline, according to the chairperson of the country’s biggest producer of the metal by market value.  Output will continue to shrink as miners chase ever-deeper ore bodies while struggling to keep costs down, said AngloGold Ashanti chairperson Sipho Pityana in an interview last week.  “Gold is a sunset industry.  It doesn’t matter what you do, it doesn’t matter how you do it, you are not going to be able to change that,” he observed.  SA’s gold mines are the world’s deepest and among the most labour intensive.  The country’s gold production dropped 16% in May from a year earlier, falling for an eighth straight month as aging infrastructure, depleted reserves and accidents raised costs and curbed output.  Still, for producers that were able to mine safely, profitably and reward shareholders with returns, there might still be a future, Pityana said.  Automation could offer the answer to mining super-deep reserves in the future, he opined.  AngloGold gets about 13% of its output from SA, down from 43% in 2007.

Read this report in full at Mining Weekly

AngloGold Ashanti appoints Barrick Gold’s Kelvin Dushnisky as CEO

BusinessLive reports that AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) has chosen world number one gold producer Barrick Gold Corporation’s president Kelvin Dushnisky to replace departing CEO Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan.  Dushnisky will start as CEO of the world’s third-biggest gold miner by production from 1 September, replacing Venkatakrishnan who will be joining Indian diversified miner Vedanta as CEO.  "Following an extremely competitive global search, we’re pleased to name someone of Kelvin’s calibre and experience to lead this organisation," said AngloGold chairman Sipho Pityana.  Dushnisky oversaw Barrick’s mines in Australia, Africa, North and South America and the Middle East, working closely with governments and on community relations.  He will be joining at AGA shortly after the producer reduced its SA footprint to a single underground mine and a tailings retreatment project, favouring investments outside SA, its historical home.

Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING / WAGE NEGOTIATIONS

No bonuses at Eskom amid massive losses and irregular expenditure

The Citizen reports that Eskom revealed at its financial results presentation on Monday morning that it suffered a net loss of R2.3bn in the 2017/18 financial year.  This compared to the R888m profit in the previous period.  The power utility also reported that its net cash from operations had declined from R45.8bn to R37.6bn.  CEO Phakamani Hadebe said the losses were compounded by alleged corruption and mismanagement, challenges of governance and the negative investor sentiment plaguing the energy provider.  Chairperson Jabu Mabuza indicated that R19.6bn in irregular expenditure had been documented in Eskom since 2012, with most of it coming from 2018.  He stated:  “We will continue to pursue those engaged in wrongdoing and take corrective action within the South African legal framework.  We are determined to clear the company of corruption in all its forms, with about 250 cases reported through Eskom’s whistleblowing channels currently under investigation.”  Due to this financial disarray, Eskom said it would not be paying any bonuses to staff, EWN reported on Monday.  The payment of bonuses forms part of the wage demands currently being negotiated with unions.  Eskom said it informed them on Friday that it could not afford to make bonus payments.

Read this report in full at The Citizen. Read too, Eskom won’t pay bonuses to staff due to financial constraints, at EWN

PRICES / TARIFFS

US steel and aluminum import tariffs a big concern for industry, says Busa

ANA reports that Business Unity SA (Busa) said on Sunday that it was very concerned about imminent job losses in the domestic steel and aluminium industry if the import duties imposed by the United States government go ahead.  Speaking at the Brics Business Council meeting in Durban, Busa representative Busiswe Mabuza said that business acknowledged Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies' efforts and wished him success in the negotiations.  "The threat to more than 7,000 jobs posed by the imposition of tariffs on South African steel and aluminium exports to the US remains a big concern, as every single job counts and the country cannot afford any further job losses in an economy that has such high unemployment levels," Mabuza observed.  His remarks came after the US government earlier this year decided to impose duties on imports of steel and aluminium, including from South Africa, as the Trump administration continues to clamp down on imports and widen its protectionism.  Busa is a confederation of business organisations.

Read this report in full at Engineering News

APPOINTMENTS / RECRUITMENT / STAFFING

City of Johannesburg to appoint 180 more traffic wardens

ANA reports that Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba advised on Thursday that the City had passed a resolution to boost the Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) with a further 180 traffic wardens.  Mashaba said in a statement that the City was growing at a substantial rate of about 3,000 new residents per month and this rapid growth in population necessitated that the City increased and improved capacity in all areas in order to deliver services efficiently and effectively.  The City would be recruiting the 180 additional traffic wardens from the former Extended Public Works Program (EPWP) employees who were previously trained to perform traffic pointsman duties.  “The recruitment process will commence shortly and qualifying beneficiaries in terms of this first Traffic Warden Recruitment Program will be contacted to present themselves for the relevant processes.  Once the recruitment program is completed, the City will see 180 traffic wardens servicing the residents of Johannesburg,” Mashaba indicated.

Read this report in full at The Citizen. Read Mayor Mashaba’s press statement in this regard at DA News

EXECUTIVE PAY / WAGE GAP

Nene wants explanation from SAA about interim CFO pocketing over R5m for six months’ work

Mail & Guardian reports that Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has demanded an explanation from SA Airways (SAA) for its contract with interim CFO Robert Head that will see him pocketing more than R5‑million for six months’ work.  The contract is part of a series of expensive hires by the cash-strapped national carrier.  CEO Vuyani Jarana has justified the appointments as the only way to turn the airline around.  The British-based Head, a former finance head at Nedbank and SARS, was appointed on a six-month contract in April after the airline had placed its chief financial officer, Phumeza Nhantsi, on suspension in March.  In a letter addressed to SAA’s board last Monday, Nene also took members to task over their failure to inform him of the suspension of the finance head and the appointment of an acting one.  He furthermore asked SAA to produce evidence that it had followed its own recruitment processes, including determining whether local skills were available, when hiring several British-based consultants.  Head’s package, which comes to just more than R900,000 a month, eclipses what the chief executives and finance heads at Eskom and Transnet earned in the same period during the past financial year.

Read this report by Sabelo Skiti in full at Mail & Guardian

Naspers shareholders call for clarity on CEO’s ‘obscene’ R1.6bn pay bonanza

BusinessLive reports that multinational internet and media group Naspers is heading for another stormy annual general meeting as shareholders demand an explanation for the R1.6bn paid to CEO Bob van Dyk during the year.  This comes even as the company has won institutional support for its considerably improved 2018 remuneration report.  Asief Mohamed of Aeon Investment said the just-released report was a significant improvement in terms of disclosure and aligning executive pay with shareholder interests.  "But the quantum being paid out is obscene and probably puts Van Dyk amongst the richest 1percent on our planet."  The latest report does little to dispel the worry that Van Dyk and his executive colleagues are securing huge payouts because of the stellar performance of the Naspers share price.  Almost R1bn of the R1.6bn Van Dyk picked up during 2018 was the payout on shares that had been allocated to him in 2014 when he was appointed CEO.  In addition, he cashed in R619.6m in share appreciation rights during 2018.  Mohamed believes a platform that could be used to call on global institutions to vote against Naspers’s pay policy is the UN-backed governance investor network, Principles for Responsible Investment, which plays an activist role in promoting good governance.

Read this report by Ann Crotty in full at BusinessLive. Read too, Naspers shows its gratitude with handsome salary rewards, at SA Labour News

DISCRIMINATION / RACISM / SEXISM

Racial SMS sent to employee was false‚ Mango Airlines says

Timeslive reports that a text message allegedly sent by a Mango Airlines employee to another staff member saying they should not return to work because they were black and HIV positive has turned out to be fake.  This was confirmed by the airline on Saturday and followed an investigation by the division of the airline’s security department specialising in fraud investigation.  The airline said it viewed the false allegations made in the SMS seriously and that investigations were continuing to establish the source and origin of the SMS in question.  Once that was concluded, the airline would seek legal advice in terms of the next steps to be taken in regard to the matter.  The text message‚ in the form of a screengrab posted on social media that went viral‚ came from someone saved as “Mandy HR Mango” in the recipient’s phonebook.  The message read: “Mango cannot allow you to work with us‚ you are black and HIV positive.  That is just too much for us.”

Read this report in full at Timeslive

MISCONDUCT / DISCIPLINARY ACTION

SARS disciplinary chair considers objections by Moyane’s lawyer

Business Day reports that the chairman of the disciplinary inquiry against suspended SA Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane‚ might rule in two weeks’ time on objections to the process by the tax boss.  On Saturday‚ Azhar Bham heard arguments from Moyane’s counsel‚ advocate Dali Mpofu‚ on three main objections to the process initiated by President Cyril Ramaphosa after Moyane’s suspension in February.  The three main issues were the right to oral evidence or cross examination‚ the admissibility and content of the affidavit by former finance minister Pravin Gordhan in the disciplinary matter‚ and the two "parallel inquiries" in respect of which Moyane was at the centre.  Advocate Heidi Barnes‚ for Ramaphosa‚ told the hearing that the process unfolding against Moyane was fair‚ just and one that did not entitle him to oral evidence.  She added that in any case‚ the terms of reference did not exclude oral evidence‚ which was at the discretion of the presiding officer.  On the parallel processes, Barnes said Bham did not have the authority to order one or both processes to be halted, as they had been instituted by the president.

Read this report by Natasha Marrian in full at BusinessLive

CORRUPTION / WORKPLACE CRIME

Cosatu consults its affiliates over bid to oust PIC boss Dan Matjila

The Star reports that labour federation Cosatu is consulting with its affiliates regarding attempts to remove Public Investment Corporation (PIC) boss Dan Matjila, as the fight for control of the crucial funding institution intensifies.  On Sunday, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the federation wanted to consolidate a response to the developments at the PIC, which manages public funds and assets.  “We want them to respond to what is going on as a bloc, meaning they have to get more information from the Government Employees Pension Fund and the PIC to respond on these issues,” Pamla said.  On Thursday, the Public Servants Association (PSA) threw its weight behind Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in what the union called political interference in the PIC’s affairs.  This came as Nene moved to block a court bid by the United Democratic Movement (UDM) to force him to suspend Matjila over allegations of funding some businessmen without approval of the board, among others.  In his answering affidavit, Nene said the PIC matter did not need the attention of the courts, as due process was currently under way to address the allegations.  On Thursday, the PSA’s Tahir Maepa said the attacks on the PIC, including calls for the freezing of investments pending the appointment of union representatives onto its board, ran the risk of the PIC losing its integrity and independence.

Read this report by Siviwe Feketha at IOL News. Read too, Trade union springs to PIC CEO Dan Matjila's defence, at Fin24. And also, Public Servants Association says attacks on PIC viewed as political interference, at Business Report

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE / ABUSE

NPA declines to prosecute Mduduzi Manana for allegedly abusing domestic worker

News24 reports that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has declined to prosecute ANC MP Mduduzi Manana for allegedly abusing his domestic worker.  Gauteng NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane confirmed on Monday that Manana's case would not go ahead as there was no reasonable prospects for a successful prosecution.   Manana allegedly tried to push his domestic worker Christine Wiro down a flight of stairs in May.  The charges as laid were later withdrawn.  An audio clip emerged thereafter of Manana allegedly trying to bribe Wiro with R100,000 to drop the charges.  Manana later said he intended laying a complaint against the domestic worker for allegedly trying to "extort" him.  The embattled MP will this week face a parliamentary ethics sub-committee inquiry into his conduct.  The charges include a separate 2017 incident, when Manana was caught on camera assaulting a woman in a nightclub.

Read this report by Paul Herman in full at News24