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 roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 27 July 2018.
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Big job cuts on the way for Eskom, with extent to be revealed in September Sunday Times reports that Eskom chairman Jabu Mabuza said last week that it was unsustainable for the power utility to have to borrow money in order to repay the money it already owed funders and that it was working on a plan to restructure itself. This plan will be made public in September. In order to become self-sustaining Mabuza said Eskom had no choice but to cut its debt load. It also had to cut its other costs, the biggest of which were coal procurement and staff expenses. Eskom has a bloated staff complement, which Mabuza said the utility would address when it released the restructuring plan in September. Pressed on whether there would be any job losses, Mabuza said studies the utility had conducted revealed it had 33% more people than was necessary. "But we are dealing with the issue of wage increases right now. We have agreed that it would not be fair for management to raise the matter of restructuring while we are talking salary increases," said Mabuza. Eskom has previously said it would employ fewer than 37,000 people by April 2023. But whether tackled now or later, trade unions have made it clear they will fight any job losses with everything they have. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has even gone as far as accusing the current management of preparing Eskom for privatisation. Read this report by Sikonathi Mantshantsha in full at BL Premium (paywall access)
Miners treated for smoke inhalation after underground fire at Gold One mine ANA reports that according to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), more than 100 mineworkers were treated for smoke inhalation after they were rescued from an underground blaze that broke out on Thursday morning at Gold One's Modder East operations in Springs. The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) confirmed that 644 mineworkers were rescued underground when a fire started in the early hours of Thursday morning, and said all of them were evacuated to the mine's refuge bays from where they were brought to the surface. The NUM said it was disturbed by this incident, especially as it took place hardly two weeks after six workers died when a fire broke out underground at a Palabora Mining Company mineshaft in Limpopo. The union demanded an immediate investigation by the DMR as the regulator into this incident, and commended the efforts by the rescue team in making sure that all workers were brought to the surface alive. Read this report in full at IOL News. Read the NUM’s press statement in this regard at Cosatu News NUM censures Palabora Mining for restarting work at copper mine Sowetan reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has slammed the Palabora Mining Company in Limpopo for prioritising profits ahead of workers’ safety. This was after operations at the mine resumed on Wednesday, following the deaths of six workers. The miners died after a conveyor belt caught fire while they were working underground on 15 July. Operations had been shut down since the incident. However, the company issued a circular advising workers to return to work on Wednesday last week. Maboko Mahlaole, general manager for human resources, wrote that their focus would be on safety, health and risk assessments as part of revitalising safety measures. But NUM provincial secretary Phillip Mankge accused the company of prioritising profits, saying: “It shows how cheap the company takes the lives of its employees. How does it expect workers to return to work when investigations into the deaths of their six colleagues have not been concluded?” Philly Ntivana, chairman of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), said the company only wanted to brief workers. A company spokeswoman said the lifting of the stand down was to focus on maintenance to ensure that safety assessments were done properly. Read more of this Sowetan report by Frank Maponya at SA Labour News Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Untu announces Gautrain strike from Monday morning, contingency plan released Timeslive reports that wage negotiations between the United National Transport Union (Untu) and Bombela, the Gautrain operating company, deadlocked over the weekend. Bombela said on Sunday that it had offered an 8.5% increase in salaries and all benefits and that the minimum wage for operational staff would be increased to R8‚500 per month. Untu also released a statement on Sunday, saying that its members were demanding a basic salary increase of 10%, a housing allowance of R1,600 per month and incentive bonuses of R20,000 for all employees, amongst other items. According to the union, Bombela was unwilling to pay incentive bonuses. The Gautrain management released contingency plans for Monday morning, when the strike by its workers will begin. Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said the trains would be running a reduced service which would start at 5.45am and that there would be additional security at the stations. “The reduced service will consist of a peak period train service between 05h45 - 9h00 and 16h00 – 19h00 between Centurion and Sandton every 12 minutes‚ and between Sandton and Park stations every 20 minutes. No train service will be available during the off-peak period and only Centurion‚ Sandton and Park station will be open.” Read this report by Penwell Dlamini in full at Timeslive. And also, Untu announces Gautrain strike, at Fin24
Curtain call for Cosatu’s Sdumo Dlamini in September City Press reports that Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini will hang up his fighting gloves after 10 years in the ring, paving the way for the possible election for the first time of a woman as his successor. The labour federation’s congress is in September and already Dlamini’s own union, the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), has told him it would not support him should he want his position back. The Swaziland-born former nurse’s fate was sealed last week when the Nehawu national executive committee met. He was summoned and informed of the decision, which he accepted. Nehawu apparently plans to back Dlamini’s deputy, Zingiswa Losi, as a successor, in a campaign said to be gaining momentum. Under Dlamini’s tenure, Cosatu suffered its first split in decades with the expulsion of its biggest industrial union, the National Union of Metalworker’s of SA (Numsa) in 2015, which put Cosatu in a financial crunch. This was followed by the expulsion of its then powerful general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. Dlamini counts Vavi’s axing and that of Numsa, followed by the disaffiliation of the Food and Allied Workers Union, at the top of the decisions he regrets. Dlamini is a member of the NEC of the ANC and central committee leader in the SACP. Read this report by Hlengiwe Nhlabathi in full at City Press
SA’s wind industry calls for standard metrics for measuring employment in energy sector Engineering News reports that the SA wind industry has called for a standardised metric to determine employment in the energy sector. Currently all SA coal power-related employment studies use the metric employees or jobs as opposed to the more internationally applied metric of person-years as used to report renewable energy employment. A Meridian Economics study commissioned by the SA Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) suggests that the term 'jobs' used by the coal industry could be misleading, as a job could be anything from 1 day to 20 years. The power sector transition employment briefing paper says it is becoming standard to report employment in person-years both locally and internationally. “Simply counting a job can be meaningless. Standardising the metric job-year would assist more meaningful employment comparison between the two sectors (coal and renewable),” says SAWEA. Energy Minister Jeff Radebe applies the contemporary metric, job-years and full-time equivalent rather than “the old-fashioned and vague” jobs metric when referring to the employment opportunities being created by the renewable energy sector. He recently explained in Parliament that a job-year is equivalent to a full-time employment opportunity for one person for one year. Some studies suggest that the loss of coal mining jobs will outweigh the number of jobs created in the renewable energy, nuclear or gas sectors, while more recent studies suggest the opposite. “Going forward, standardisation of metrics and methodologies is likely to significantly improve the current state of confusion,” says the Meridian Economics study. Read this report in full at Engineering News. Read too, How to improve data on energy transition’s employment effects, at BusinessLive
More legal fights expected after ConCourt labour broker ruling BusinessLive reports that more litigation challenging SA’s labour laws should be expected following Thursday’s landmark ruling that found that the clients of labour brokers were the sole employers of workers placed with them. The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) found in favour of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), dismissing with costs an appeal application brought by labour broker Assign Services, which had argued that the Labour Relations Act deemed them "dual employers". Dual employment would have meant the absorbed temporary workers would be in an employment relationship with both the labour brokers and the broker’s clients. The ruling followed years of disputes between employers and labour unions on the interpretation of section 198A of the act, which was amended in 2014 to force companies to permanently hire contract workers earning less than R2,500 a month after three months of continuous service. While the ruling brings clarity to workers and business, it is unclear how it will function in relation to other labour laws. Labour experts said provisions in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, among others that still recognise labour brokers as employers, were likely to lead to more disputes. "We will see litigation seeking to align the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and other laws with the Labour Relations Act amendments," said Hogan Lovells partner Jean Ewang. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive. Read too, Court ruling is death knell for labour brokers, at Security.co.za (The Star) Labour broker ruling not death of temporary employment services, claims Adcorp Fin24 reports that according to workforce solutions company Adcorp, the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling in favour of Numsa over who should be regarded as the employer of workers placed by labour brokers, did not negate the "important role" played by temporary employment services. Nor did it affect their ability to operate at law, the JSE-listed company added in a statement to shareholders. Moreover, Adcorp argued, the judgment did not relate to equal treatment on remuneration and benefits, as this was already dealt with in Labour Relations Act Amendments, effective since 2015. "The judgment does not negate the important role that Temporary Employment Services (TES) will continue to play in workforce management and enabling skills development and employment in the economy," Adcorp said in the statement on Friday. The judgment "importantly" confirmed that the TES remained and there was not a transfer of the employment relationship, but rather, the "triangular relationship between the TES and the client" continued, the company argued. On Thursday, Numsa (National Union of Metalworkers of SA) celebrated the judgment, saying they hoped it would spell the "death knell" for the labour broker industry. Read this report by Marelise van der Merwe in full at Fin24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Hefty executive bonuses costly for Eskom The Sunday Independent reports that Eskom suffered huge losses and incurred irregular expenditure of billions of rand at the same time the power utility paid former bosses Brian Molefe and Matshela Koko millions of rand in salaries and bonuses. In audited financial statements, tabled in Parliament, Eskom revealed that Molefe, who was chief executive, was paid more than R6 million in 2017. In addition, he was paid a bonus of R2.1m in the same year. Molefe was paid another R958,000 in other payments. Former Eskom chief financial officer Anoj Singh was paid R4.8m in salaries and R1.8m in bonuses in 2017. In addition, Singh was paid R522,000 in various other payments. Former acting chief executive Koko was paid R3.8m in salaries, R1.4m in bonuses and another R79,000 in other payments. Sean Maritz, who was also appointed acting chief executive at the power utility for several months, took home a salary of R2.6m and raked in R1.1m in bonuses. Maritz also bagged R155,000 in other payments. Eskom stated that it incurred irregular expenditure of R19.2bn between 2012 and this year. Read this report by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi in full at IOL News
‘Artisans don’t do less important jobs, and SA needs more of them’ BusinessLIve reports that the sentiment expressed by Gauteng infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo‚ speaking alongside Deputy Minister of Higher Education Buti Manamela on Thursday, was that SA needed more artisans. The two said society needed to do away with the mindset that artisan jobs were less important‚ as their skills were in demand in SA at the moment. They also urged people to enrol in colleges‚ irrespective of their ages. They were speaking at the Moses Kotane Institute skills centre programme‚ launched at George Tabor Campus Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College‚ Soweto. Manamela argued that artisan jobs were regarded as having less prestige because one got one’s hands dirty, but he said this idea needed to be done away with as there were many benefits of this kind of work — including good salaries. "Artisans are better paid than some of us in suits and ties," he pointed out. Artisans include carpenters‚ electricians‚ mechanics and technicians. Read this report by Nonkululeko Njilo in full at BusinessLive
Unions and parties seek to steer PIC probe, while Solidarity takes court action to get information BusinessLive reports that several trade union and political groups launched bids on Thursday to influence the investigation into the affairs of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) that Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene announced on Wednesday. He announced two inquiries: an independent inquiry into governance at the PIC for which he will choose the head and set the terms of reference, and also a forensic inquiry into several directors, including CEO Dan Matjila, that will be run by the fund manager’s board. The PIC manages nearly R2-trillion in government pension and other funds. UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, who has an active court application to force Nene to hold an investigation and suspend Matjila, aims to influence the terms of reference of the inquiry and has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Trade union Solidarity also entered the fray on Thursday, announcing that it had launched a court application to compel the PIC to provide it with information on various transactions. These included the PIC’s investment in Independent Newspapers, VBS Mutual Bank and oil and gas company Camac. Cosatu and the DA said it was imperative that the two amendment bills before Parliament must be processed. Read this report by Carol Paton in full at BusinessLive. Read Solidarity’s press statement in this regard at Solidarity News
More officials arrested for fraud in Ekurhuleni licensing department clean-up News24 reports that in a blitz to clean up fraud and corruption at Ekurhuleni licensing departments, four more officials were arrested in Germiston on Friday, bringing the arrest tally to 13 in the last two weeks. Road Traffic Management Corporation (RMTC) announced on Friday that the four Ekurhuleni Metro officials, including a supervisor, were arrested at the Germiston licensing station in Wadeville. On Thursday, five officials were arrested at the Alberton and Bedfordview licensing offices, while four others were arrested at the Benoni licensing department last week. All the arrested officials allegedly colluded with motorists to clear outstanding vehicle licence fees and penalties by registering vehicles in the names of deceased people or unsuspecting individuals, before re-registering the same vehicles in the names of the original owners. All officials arrested last week were due to appear in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday. More suspects are expected to be arrested. Read this report by Alex Mitchley in full at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Transport minister meets with MEC as more commuter trains blaze in Cape Town BusinessLive reports that Transport Minister Blade Nzimande "cleared his schedule" to visit Cape Town on Friday after the latest in a series of commuter train fires. Brett Herron‚ Cape Town’s MEC for transport‚ joined Nzimande at the Metrorail depot in Paarden Eiland "to view the damage to [rail] infrastructure due to sustained attacks on Metrorail trains in the past few months". Nzimande’s visit followed a fire on Thursday that damaged five carriages of a train at Retreat station‚ in Cape Town’s southern suburbs. “As a result‚ commuters who are travelling to the far south will have to travel at least an hour longer to get home this evening‚" said Herron on Thursday. While the cause of the fire was still being determined‚ it followed on an alleged arson attack on the previous Saturday when several carriages of two train sets were destroyed at Cape Town’s main station. Read this report by Dave Chambers in full at BusinessLive Cape Town rail transport 'situation' the worst in the country, Nzimande laments News24 reports that Transport Minister Blade Nzimande said on Friday that Cape Town’s rail transport "situation" was the worst in the country. He was conducting a walkabout at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA’s (Prasa’s) Paarden Eiland depot, where he viewed the damage to the state-owned enterprise's infrastructure caused during various arson attacks. The torching of trains and other vandalism has become so severe that Metrorail's central line, which previously had 33 trains transporting commuters in Cape Town, is now down to only eight. Nzimande, flanked by provincial Transport and Public Works MEC Donald Grant and mayoral committee member for transport and urban development Brett Herron, said all three tiers of government were working together to deal with the vandalism. In the most recent incident, five carriages and overhead power cables were damaged when a train was torched at Retreat station on Thursday. Herron said the "displacement" of train commuters onto the road network was causing huge congestion and putting strain on public transport modes such as buses and taxis. A transport imbizo is planned for September. Read this report by Tammy Petersen in full at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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