In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Thursday, 15 November 2018.
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Immense qualifications database will be a machine for making red tape and killing jobs Belinda Bozzoli and Andricus van der Westhuizen write that the ANC is pushing through an amendment to the National Qualifications Framework Act that will have severe effects on job creation, the smooth running of business and the government, and access to educational opportunities. The bill has reached the final stages of parliamentary approval. Ostensibly it seeks to reduce qualifications fraud by exposing and recording the hundreds of people who falsely claim they hold particular qualifications to obtain jobs, and the many institutions that offer qualifications without the necessary accreditation from the SA quality assurers. However, it will do this by creating an immense database and forcing, by law, every employer and educational institution to use it. The implausibly huge database will contain details of every single qualification ever offered legitimately in SA as well as who offers it; every single qualification that has been falsified; the name of every single person who has obtained a qualification (both domestic and foreign); the name of every single person who has attempted to commit fraud through claiming qualifications they do not have; and every single institution that has fraudulently offered a qualification. The writers say that creating and managing it will be a monumental task. All employers and educational institutions will be required to consult this database in respect of every applicant for a job or educational place in their institution, and to report apparently fraudulent ones. If 400 people apply for a job, all 400 will have to be checked on the database. In the view of the writers, the imposition of yet more red tape on business will have a negative effect on job creation. Read this full opinion piece by Prof Bozzoli, shadow higher and education and training minister, and Van der Westhuizen, deputy shadow higher education and training minister, at BusinessLive
Sibanye-Stillwater signs three-year gold wage agreement with unions ANA reports that gold and platinum producer Sibanye-Stillwater has concluded a three-year gold wage agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa. The agreement covers wages and basic conditions of employment for employees at Sibanye’s SA gold mines for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2021. It provides for increases to the basic wage of so-called Category 4-8 surface and underground employees of R700 per month in the first and second years, and R825 per month in the third year. The employees known as ‘miners & artisans’ and ‘officials’ will receive increases of 5.5% in year one and 5.5%, or CPI, in years two and three of the agreement. Neal Froneman, CE of Sibanye, said they were pleased to have reached this agreement with the workers after protracted talks in the gold mining sector. He commented that the deal was fair, “but takes into consideration the longer term sustainability of the gold operations.” In addition to the wage increases, the deal covers increases to the living-out allowance, increases to the medical incapacity benefit and the establishment of a task team to look at the various medical aid schemes with a view to shifting employees to a new medical aid dispensation. Sibanye-Stillwater currently employs 32,231 bargaining unit employees at its SA gold operations. Read the full original of this report at Business Report. Read Sibanye’s press statement at Moneyweb. Read too, Sibanye-Stillwater brings peaceful, successful gold wage talks season to close, at Miningmx Kumba champions achievable ‘zero-harm’ approach for mining industry Mining Weekly reports that Kumba Iron Ore safety and sustainable development executive head Philip Fourie says that the mining industry’s efforts to achieve zero harm are achievable. But that will need a fundamental change in mindset from mine leadership, including a relentless focus on managing catastrophic and fatal risks. “By addressing the leading indicators for fatal accidents, they will be automatically eliminated. We know the fatal risks facing us, and we need to manage them properly,” he said in a statement. A step-change in the way Kumba views safety has resulted in a considerable drop in serious incidents and injuries across its operations, with zero fatalities since 2016. High-potential incidents were reduced by 77% and total recordable cases by 45% for the first half of this year. According to Fourie, the elimination of fatalities approach recognises that fatality prevention and accident prevention are two different issues that demand a complete focus on managing fatal and catastrophic risk. “The traditional thinking is that several lost time injuries turn into a fatality. That’s simply not the case. The circumstances that cause fatalities are totally different to those that cause accidents,” said Fourie. He outlined a six-point approach to achieving zero-harm, starting at the top. At Kumba, safety results now form part of employee key performance indicators (KPIs) and, as such, affect their performance-based remuneration. Read the full original report at Mining Weekly Lonmin deal must deliver on social and labour plans, communities tell Competition Tribunal BusinessLive reports that local communities have complained to the Competition Tribunal about a veil of secrecy around the proposed merger of Lonmin and Sibanye-Stillwater. On Wednesday, the final day of the tribunal’s hearing on the proposed merger, they warned that an already volatile situation would be stoked if 13,300 expected job losses were not mitigated. The merger is billed as the saving of Lonmin, but it will bring job losses, significantly affecting local communities, including Marikana. Affected communities asked the tribunal for tighter conditions to ensure the companies could not shirk social obligations under their social and labour plans (SLPs), which are development plans companies commit to as basic conditions for mining rights. Lonmin has been found to be noncompliant with its SLPs. Louie Mogaki of the Greater Lonmin Community claimed there had been no consultation on the merger with most of the community, and the companies had been secretive. While Sibanye committed to taking on all outstanding SLP obligations from Lonmin, the community was distrustful. Marikana women's group Sikhala Sonke asked for merger conditions relating to SLPs to be more specific so the companies could be held to account. Read the full original report by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive
Samwu to continue with West Rand shutdown, says premier has agreed to place district municipality under administration News24 reports that workers at the embattled West Rand District Municipality say they will not budge until all their demands have been met. On Wednesday, they embarked on a march and handed over a memorandum to the office of Gauteng Premier David Makhura, calling on him to deal with their grievances. According to SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) spokesperson Bongani Mgcina, the acting premier, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, received the memo and made a commitment to respond within seven days. However, Mgcina was adamant that they would continue with their shutdown until all their demands were met, including that their third-party funds such as medical aid, pension and provident fund contributions were paid to them. "While the acting premier is contemplating answers to our memorandum, we will not be rendering our services," Mgcina said. Samwu’s memo also called for the municipality to be placed under administration. On Thursday, Samwu issued a press statement indicating that, following the march, Premier David Makhura “made a commitment that the municipality will be placed under administration in terms of Section 139 (of the Constitution). We welcome this move as a step in the right direction in addressing the challenges currently faced by the municipality.” Read the full original report by Sesona Ngqakamba at News24. Read Samwu’s press statement at SA Labour News Dis-Chem faces strike on Friday over unresolved wage dispute Business Report writes that operations at Dis-Chem Pharmacies are likely to be disrupted by a strike on Friday due to a wage impasse between management and the National Union of Public Service & Allied Workers (Nupsaw). The union’s national organiser, Solly Malema, said: “We have failed to reach consensus with the management on wages and other conditions at work. The strike will go ahead as planned on Friday and it will affect all Dis-Chem operations in the country.” Dis-Chem spokesperson Caryn Barker stated: “We have already advised the union that unfortunately we are not in a position to meet their demands, so we expect the strike to go ahead on Friday.” Nupsaw said Dis-Chem had failed to meet its demands, which included a minimum wage of R12,500 per month across the board and an increase of 12.5% for those earning above R12,500. Malema accused Dis-Chem of not negotiating in good faith: “Our members had their security wage adjustments reduced without any explanation. To make matters worse, there are no guaranteed annual bonuses, yet the employer is busy planning expansion of 20 stores in the 2019 financial year, with the hard work of its more than 13,500 employees. This shows that Dis-Chem is not ashamed of its treatment towards employees.” But he added that the union was open to further negotiations with the company in an effort to prevent the strike. Read more of this report by Sandile Mchunu at SA Labour News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
NUM to march on Saturday against IPPs, retrenchments, privatisation of Eskom, closures of power stations and collieries ANA reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday said its members would be marching on Saturday to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. This would be in protest against Independent Power Producers (IPPs), retrenchments, the privatisation of Eskom, the closure of power stations and the closure of coal mines. NUM deputy president Philip Vilakazi said the union did not support what was currently happening at Eskom and was vehemently opposed to the Department of Energy signing 27 IPPs agreements, among other concerns. He stated: "We are extremely worried about the thousands of jobs that are going to be destroyed in Mpumalanga" and added that the most painful thing was that the renewable energy produced by the IPPs was going to be sold through Eskom. "We are saying and we have said that Eskom is a government entity, if the IPPs have got power to generate, let them stand alone and compete with Eskom. The NUM is going to defend these jobs." Vilakazi also asserted: "We will fight privatisation of Eskom and retrenchments with all we have, no matter at whose irritation that will be and we will stop at nothing but victory." Read the full original of this report by Thembelihle Mkhonza at IOL News. Read the NUM’s press statement in this regard at NUM News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Nedlac rocked by new scandal as two executives probed for financial irregularities BL Premium reports that the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) has been rocked by scandal yet again, with two executives allegedly implicated in financial irregularities. Nedlac is a labour department entity made up of government, business, labour and community constituencies, and formulates labour market policy and provides input on other legislation. The organisation is currently tasked with ensuring that proposals by the recent jobs summit to create 275,000 jobs a year are implemented. Nedlac’s CFO Mfanufikile Daza has been suspended and is facing charges for allegedly breaching procurement policies. Executive director Madoda Vilakazi said the CFO had been suspended over "a number of issues" and investigations were being finalised. But another investigation into how the institution incurred irregular expenditure amounting to R391,809 in the 2017/18 financial year could find that Vilakazi himself abdicated his responsibility. That investigative report will be tabled at the Exco meeting on Friday. In 2015, a forensic investigation found that Nedlac’s former CFO Umesh Dulabh and former executive director, Herbert Mkhize, had fraudulently and illegally spent close to R2m in council funds. In 2017, the auditor-general flagged several irregularities in Nedlac’s financial statements. Read the full original report by Theto Mahlakoana at BL Premium (paywall access only)
‘Massive’ fuel price drop on the cards for December, reckons AA Engineering News reports that the Automobile Association (AA) announced on Thursday that, based on current data, motorists could expect ‘massive drops’ in the prices of petrol and diesel for December. The association is predicting a drop of R1.54 per litre for petrol, with diesel dropping by 92 cents and illuminating paraffin by 85 cents. "After months of sustained pressure on the fuel price, fuel users will receive a substantial breather at the end of November going into December if the current fuel price trends continue," said the AA in a statement. It added: "The main driver of lower prices has been an accelerating decline in international oil prices, which have trended downwards since the beginning of this month. The picture has been helped along by a modest improvement in the Rand/US dollar exchange rate." The association said the prognosis could however change before month's end and caution should remain the watchword. The original of this short report is at Engineering News
SABC spends R14m on awards ceremony and after-party, but intends laying off employees BusinessLive reports that MPs have told the top brass of the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) that it was unfair of them to retrench ordinary workers while the public broadcaster was spending millions of rands on parties and bonuses. The SABC board and its senior executives appeared before the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday to account for irregular expenditure incurred by the corporation in the past year. Democratic Alliance MP Tim Brauteseth told the board that it was simply unjustifiable that workers could be facing retrenchment when Metro FM spent R14m on an awards ceremony and after-party during the 2017-2018 financial year. SABC chair Bongumusa Makhathini indicated that, as part of cost-containment measures, the national broadcaster would no longer allow frivolous or exorbitant spending of public money. “These are part of our cost-cutting. Our austerity measures have saved us about R400m. If people don’t see any efforts to cut costs and drive efficiencies, they will be very disappointed,” Makhathini stated. IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa made the point that there was no “standardised” remuneration regime at the SABC, particularly when it came to on-air talent management. Read the full original report by Thabo Mokone at BusinessLive Standard Bank revamp puts more than 500 IT jobs on the line BusinessLive writes that the future of more than 500 employees hangs in the balance as Standard Bank looks to revamp its IT division. The bank indicated on Wednesday that it had concluded an IT review, which showed a need to adapt its operating model and skills set. "This process will result in 526 IT employees receiving section 189 notices, which will commence the consultative process with the employees involved," the company said. The jobs to be shed are in the traditional IT space, which would probably include people who work with legacy systems and old application programs that are being phased out. Most of the affected permanent staff hold executive and managerial positions and the final number will be determined once the consultative process is complete. The bank said the restructuring would create new capabilities, which should result in more than 180 "new-generation" IT positions in areas of cloud engineering, data science and analytics and cyber security, among others. Eugene Ebersohn of trade union Sasbo pointed out that as new roles would be created and some of the staff would be moved to other positions and branches, it looked as if only about 179 people could eventually end up without jobs. This exercise will be the second time in five years that Standard Bank has restructured its IT division. Read the full original report by Londiwe Buthelezi at BusinessLive. Read too, Standard Bank to shed 500 jobs, on page 17 of Business Report of 15 November 2018
Poor governance on part of pension funds behind most complaints to adjudicator BusinessLive reports that poor governance within funds and administrators was the reason behind most complaints to the pension funds adjudicator in the past year. In releasing her office’s 2017-2018 annual report, Adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane said that fund members had been forced to complain after things that should have been dealt with were left hanging, resulting in thousands of complaints and stretching resources at her office. “Fund members are forced to approach the [adjudicator] on a myriad of issues that should be attended to by funds in the ordinary course of business,” Lukhaimane stated. The most common problems were non-payment or late payment of contributions by employers, and the funds and administrators not paying out benefits. An employer withholding payments to a fund was not a technical issue, but theft of a member’s pension, Lukhaimane pointed out. She noted that 2017-2018 had been particularly challenging in that 794 complaints had been received in the year, which had been a record high. Of the total complaints, 4,405 were determined, 2,571 were found to be out of jurisdiction, and 1,462 were settled; 367 complaints were closed for various reasons. Lukhaimane said her office did its best to finalise complaints expeditiously, despite the fact that the funds that generated the largest number of complaints took, on average, 90 days to file responses instead of the stipulated 30-day period. Read the full original report by Devlin Brown at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
R2K and SOS concerned with 'culture of sexual harassment' at the SABC News24 reports that two advocacy groups have indicated their concern with "what seems to be an endemic culture of sexual harassment" within the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). In a joint statement, the Right to Know Campaign (R2K) and SOS said they felt that the "culture of silence around the matter" was cause for concern. They added that the allegations that have emerged were of a serious nature and had to be resolved as soon as possible. They criticised SABC leadership for not applying its sexual harassment policy more stringently and said: “It is clear that this has been continuing for a long time and has been successfully kept under the radar by the leadership at the institution. Further, this raises serious questions about the institution's knowledge, concern and ability to address issues of rape and sexual violence in the workplace." The groups called for workshops to equip employees with strategies that make it easy to identify when sexual harassment was occurring and how to confront it and demanded that a policy be created to protect all whistleblowers “in order to reinforce and encourage issues of sexual harassment to be reported without any victimisation or negative repercussions." Read the full original report by Kaveel Singh at News24
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