In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Thursday, 23 August 2018.
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Emotional time for family of Sharks Board employee as they identify his body Daily News reports that the family of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board employee whose body was recently found, have said this was a very emotional time for them and they were hurting a lot. Siyabonga Gabela, 36, was part of the crew on board the KZN Sharks Board boat that capsized earlier this month in Richards Bay while they were inspecting and changing shark nets. His colleagues, Richard Gumede and Mandlakayise Gumede, died in the ordeal, while two others survived. The Sharks Board confirmed that the body spotted floating near the pier on Alkantstrand Beach by local fishermen was Gabela’s. His father said: “First, he couldn’t be found and now his body is so badly decomposed. It’s a very hurtful time for us, I just saw his body and because of the condition it is in, I didn’t let his mother see him.” Last week, a memorial service was held at the eThekwini Community Church for Richard Gumede and Mandlakayise Gumede. Sharks Board employees, on strike because over work conditions and salaries, sat at the back of the church. A memorial service for Gabela is planned for Friday at the KZN Sharks Board Bay Station in Richards Bay. Read this report by Anelisa Kubheka in full at Daily News Bail for man who allegedly beat up car guard and left him to die SowetanLive reports that the man accused of beating a car guard to death has been granted bail in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. Philani Milton Mkhulisa made his second appearance in court Wednesday and was granted bail of R2,000. On the evening of 7 August, Mkhulisa parked near the corner of Pritchard and Rissik streets in the Joburg CBD. A car guard allegedly requested money from him to keep an eye on the vehicle, but Mkhulisa apparently refused. When he returned to his car later on, he allegedly found that it had been broken into and some of his belongings were missing. He then confronted the car guard who had wanted money from him and demanded answers as to what had happened. Mkhulisa then allegedly beat the guard and left him bleeding on the pavement. The guard later died on the scene. The missing items from Mkhulisa’s car were two bags which had toiletries, his ID book and matric certificate. Mkhulisa handed himself over to the police after they had visited his home in Alexandra. He is due to return in court on 31 August. Read this report by Penwell Dlamini in full at SowetanLive. Read too, Beaten car guard still unidentified 16 days after his death, at SowetanLive
Solidarity welcomes Mantashe’s proposal to withdraw MPRDA Amendment Bill Mining Weekly reports that trade union Solidarity on Wednesday said the mining sector’s quest for policy certainty would receive a huge boost if Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe’s proposal to withdraw the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill was implemented. Mantashe reportedly wants to withdraw the bill, which has been stuck in the National Council of Provinces for months. Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said the bill has created uncertainty in the mining sector since 2013, and that its withdrawal, as well as the proposed finalisation of the Mining Charter before the end of the year, would remove huge obstacles preventing growth in the sector. “At retrenchment consultations and wage negotiations, trade unions constantly have to hear that the low commodity prices, uncertain regulatory environment and high electricity tariffs are the reasons behind a retrenchment or a low wage increase. The removal of these regulatory restrictions will therefore be a huge boost for the industry,” Du Plessis observed. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly. Read too, ‘No need to change mining act’, at BusinessLive. Read Solidarity’s press statement in this regard at SA Labour News Gold mining wage negotiations to resume on 29 August Mining Weekly reports that gold mining wage negotiations continued on Wednesday between gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater and Village Main Reef and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), Solidarity and Uasa. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) did not attend, as it had declared a dispute with the gold producers on Tuesday. The NUM's dispute would be referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for facilitation and was one step away from a legal, protected strike action, the union stated. Wage negotiations will continue on August 29. This short report is at Mining Weekly Despite declaring dispute in gold mining wage talks, NUM hopes for ‘amicable agreement’ The Citizen reports that despite being the only union to pull out of the gold mining wage talks with the Minerals Council SA (MCSA), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is hopeful about eventually reaching “an amicable agreement” with the MCSA. The MCSA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) represents four gold producers in centralised talks. NUM spokesperson Luvhuwani Mammburu described the talks as “tough”, but added “we hope to reach an amicable solution through the CCMA facilitation.” The NUM this week declared a dispute with the MCSA and referred the wage deadlock to the CCMA for facilitation – leaving the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), Solidarity and the United Association of South Africa (UASA) at the negotiating table. The three unions on Wednesday continued discussions with gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater and Village Main Reef, without a tangible outcome being reached. Chief negotiator for the gold producers, Motsamai Motlhamme, said parties “engaged in bilateral meetings with each union to discuss the process going forward following which the parties reconvened in a plenary session”. Read this report by Brian Sokutu in full at The Citizen Labour department welcomes high turnout by ex-mineworkers in Northern Cape seeking unclaimed benefits ANA reports that the Department of Labour (DoL) on Wednesday expressed its appreciation for the overwhelming turnout of former mineworkers in the John Taolo Gaetswewe (JTG) district, in the Northern Cape, who heeded the call to make applications for unclaimed benefits. The campaign has witnessed a turnout of 3,279 potential applications since its launch on 30 May. The DoL team managed to take 758 applications and 2,521 potential applicants were issued bank forms to fill in and return. The campaign, which is aimed at former mineworkers who left employment in the mines prior to April 2002, was successfully rolled out in the JTG district from 13 to 16 August, targeting Kuruman and surrounding villages, as well as the Bothitong and Dithakong areas. The campaign will continue in Cassel (3 September), Loopeng (4 September), Kathu (5 September) and Heuningsvlei (6 September), including mop-up work in Kuruman on 22 and 23 August to assist potential applicants who were turned away owing to high influx. The campaign will soon shift focus to the ZF Mgcawu district, in the Northern Cape. This short report is at Mining Weekly Sibanye-Stillwater was not negligent on safety, says CEO Neal Froneman Miningmx reports that Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said on Thursday that the US and SA platinum group metals (PGMs) and gold producer did not expect to be fined by the SA regulators for safety violations because it did not believe it had been negligent. “But let’s wait for the outcome of the investigations,” he added. He was answering questions at an analyst and media presentation on the group’s results for the six months to June. He began by dwelling at length on the group’s safety performance, culture and focus. Safety leapt to the forefront when 21 people died on the group’s SA gold mines in the first six months of this year, almost half the total number of fatalities in the SA mining industry. These events were followed by the launch of two separate shareholder class actions in the US, claiming Sibanye had lied about its safety practices. CFO Charl Keyter said Sibanye was trying to join the two actions to reduce costs. The group reported a 13% decrease in SA gold production as a result of the safety incidents, two of which occurred in the second quarter at Kloof and Driefontein mines. Read this report by Charlotte Mathews in full at Miningmx Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Pangas used in clash involving job seekers in coal mining town Timeslive reports that several houses were set alight and several people injured in clashes between community members in Phola near Ogies on Wednesday. Colonel Mtsholi Bhembe of the SA Police Service (SAPS) said: “A group of people who were marching to a local power station demanding employment were attacked by another group‚ who also torched several houses in the process. The group believed to be from Ogies used pangas‚ axes and other dangerous weapons during the attack and as a result‚ more than 40 people sustained injuries‚ some so severe they had to be hospitalised.” Bhembe said no arrests had been made thus far. A short report by Naledi Shange is at Timeslive
Balancing act in the election of Cosatu’s new leaders ‘will be tricky’ BusinessLive writes that Cosatu’s affiliates will have to perform a fine balancing act between politics and the needs of workers when they elect the new leadership at the union federation’s September congress. The new leadership will have the task of growing Cosatu’s membership, which has dwindled by 300,000 to 1.6-million since its last congress in 2015. The federation is also seeking to redefine itself politically. It threw its weight behind President Cyril Ramaphosa at the ANC’s national elective congress in December, but its posture is increasingly shifting as the weak economy continues to hit its membership hard. The nomination process opened on Monday, allowing the 15 affiliated unions to propose candidates for president, general secretary and other key posts. Cosatu could make history at the congress if it elects second deputy president Zingiswa Losi as its first woman president. Unions are apparently in agreement that she should be appointed in the role. Concerns have been expressed that general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali and deputy Solly Phetoe are "not dynamic enough". Ntshalintshali said last week he would stand for the position again if nominated. According to sources, Mike Shingange, first deputy president of Nehawu, is being considered to take over from Losi to serve alongside Tyotyo James, if the latter seeks to continue. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive. Read too, NUM and Nehawu leading Losi’s campaign to be elected new Cosatu president, at Mail & Guardian
High unemployment figures, economy worry Cyril; details of stimulus package coming soon The Citizen reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his oral question and answer session in the National Assembly on Wednesday that the high unemployment rate was a clear signal that the country’s economy could not continue to grow at the current rate. Ramaphosa stated that creating employment, in particular for young people and women, was the most urgent and critical priority for the government. He indicated this in light of Statistics SA (Stats SA) announcing in July that the official unemployment rate in the country had increased by 0.5% to 27.2% in the second quarter of 2018 from the first quarter. The president stated that extraordinary measures and exceptional efforts were required to address the challenge of unemployment. Furthermore, understanding the causes that led to the high unemployment rate was key to success in remedying its impact. Increasing the level of investment into the country’s economy was what government had prioritised as a way of addressing unemployment, the president stated. He indicated that in the coming days, Cabinet would announce details of a stimulus package to reignite growth in the country’s economy. Read this report by Makhosandile Zulu in full at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Eskom drops bombshell that it expects to have 7,000 fewer staff in five years’ time Reuters reports that a senior manager at cash-strapped Eskom said on Thursday that it expected to have 7,000 fewer staff members in five years’ time. “Eskom intends to reduce headcount from 48,678 to 41,613 by 2023 across all levels through normal attrition,” Marion Hughes, a senior manager at the power utility said in a strategy presentation. Unions representing employees at the state-owned company have said they would resist attempts to cut the workforce and fight moves to privatise the firm. Eskom has R270bn of state-guaranteed debt, while its total debt is about R390bn. In July, Eskom said it was considering selling noncore assets and job cuts after swinging to a full-year loss. The utility was forced to cave in to union demands for higher pay after protesting workers forced some generating units to be switched off, leading to load shedding in July and August. Read this report by Ed Stoddard in full at BusinessLive Gupta news channel is not dead, claims Manyi The Citizen reports that the owner of Afro Worldview, formerly ANN7, which was recently discontinued by Multichoice, says the channel is not dead. Mzwanele Manyi has urged media and the public to stop their “mischievous” attempts “to negatively influence the MultiChoice process.” “Afroworldview is NOT dead. This is mischievous and meant to negatively influence the MultiChoice process. Allow MultiChoice to observe its own processes,” he tweeted. The satellite television company, Multichoice is in the process of selecting a new company to fill the Afro Worldview slot after the contract between the two came to an end. The company is expected to announce the successful bidder by 28 August. Afro Worldview is one of more than 60 companies that submitted applications to Multichoice for the new channel. Manyi’s channel had its last broadcast on Multichoice’s DStv on Monday night and its employees were told to not come back to work the following day. They were promised their July salaries. Read this report in full at The Citizen
Tshwane alleged to have lied about using SAQA for verification of manager’s qualifications The Citizen reports that suspended Tshwane manager Moeketsi Mosola is alleged to have misrepresented the truth in his claim about the verification of the qualification of a senior manager with the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA). SAQA released a statement on Wednesday stating that the Tshwane metro’s claim that it used SAQA to verify the qualifications of its senior managers before appointing them was false. Responding to the media probe on the veracity of the qualifications of one of his senior managers, Previn Govender, Mosola told the Sowetan newspaper that “he had personally overseen the appointment of all senior managers reporting to him and that he had verified their qualifications with SAQA.” But, SAQA has put it on record that they do not have any verification records for Previn Govender on their database. “No verification of qualifications for Govender were ever processed as SAQA has no verifications agreement with the city of Tshwane,” the organisation stated. The qualification authority said they brought these findings to the attention of the city and they were informed that the city had made a mistake in using SAQA’s name. Mosola was suspended on Wednesday, last week. Read this report by Gopolang Chawane in full at The Citizen
To start fixing gender pay gap, don’t ask female job applicants what they currently earn The Thomson Reuters Foundation writes that asking job applicants what they earned served to entrench the gender pay gap because women often started work on lower salaries. A survey by the Young Women’s Trust, a British charity, found that almost half that country’s employers asked the question during interviews. "Women often start work on a lower salary than men, move to a new job and are paid based on their previous wage, as opposed to what they or the role are worth. We have to break the cycle that traps women in low pay," said the charity’s head, Carole Easton. The practice is already banned in California and the city of New York. Including wage details in job adverts — which 42% of UK employers surveyed said they did not do — would also help, Easton said. However, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), an employers’ group, said banning conversations about pay could have unintended consequences. Read this report by Umberto Bacchi in full at BusinessLive. Read too, PwC puts focus on gender pay gap, at Engineering News. And also, Female execs in SA still underrepresented, at Fin24
Pandor calls for rethink of plan to reduce number of Setas BusinessLive reports that Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Minister Naledi Pandor has questioned her predecessor Blade Nzimande’s plans to reduce the number of Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas). It emerged in Parliament on Wednesday that she has instructed her officials to come up with a better proposal to improve the performance of Setas. They are intended to bridge SA’s skills deficit and boost employment, but they have been widely criticised for their inefficiency, corruption and maladministration. The DHET’s Maliviwe Lumka told MPs that the department was proposing a reduction of the number of Setas from 21 to 15, but shortly after Lumka’s presentation to parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education and training, Pandor said she was sending her officials back to the drawing board. "I have said to the department we need to think more carefully. Mergers are not the solution to the challenges that are confronting us. There are serious problems of governance, poor regulation, [and] there’s too much independence with determining the use of funding," the minister said. She added that the Setas needed clearer and better rules governing how they were run, including the process of appointing CEOs. Read this report by Tamar Kahn in full at BusinessLive
Audiologist and speech therapist guilty of 259 counts of medical aid fraud Cape Times reports that disgraced audiologist and speech therapist Wandile Theophilus Mashego has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of 259 counts of medical aid fraud. He was also convicted on another count for contravening the Medical Aid Schemes Act. The sentence was wholly suspended for five years, on condition he pays back the R506,000 he defrauded from Bonitas Medical Fund, which brought the case following the discovery and investigation of the crimes. Bonitas COO Kenneth Marion said Mashego had submitted fraudulent claims on behalf of Bonitas members during 2014 and 2015. A soon-to-be-identified “runner” had provided details of Bonitas members to Mashego, who then billed Bonitas fraudulently, for “services” to these members. Marion indicated that about 15% of claims in the health-care industry had an element of fraud, waste and abuse, translating into a loss of R190m for a scheme the size of Bonitas. He said guilty parties were found all along the health-care delivery chain, including medical practitioners, employees, service providers and fund members. Current trends seemed to be “phoney doctors or medical practitioners” who submitted claims using other doctors’ practice numbers. Read this report by Raphael Wolf in full at Cape Times
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