In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 15 February 2019.
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Ramaphosa says job cuts won’t be imposed on Eskom BL Premium reports that despite being overstaffed with as many as 27,500 employees, the government does not want retrenchments to be imposed on Eskom as part of the efforts to turn the bankrupt power utility around. Speaking in parliament on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said references to cost cutting "should be understood not to mean retrenchments. The preferred strategy in reducing human resources costs will be to offer voluntary packages to staff." A 2016 World Bank study found that Eskom needed a workforce of 14,244. Other sources also indicated that the utility was overstaffed. After his announcement last week that Eskom would be split into three separate units — generation, transmission and distribution — was met with fierce opposition from labour unions and political parties, including the ANC, Ramaphosa assured stakeholders that there would be engagement on plans for Eskom. "We accept, as government, that we have not done enough to bring some of the key stakeholders, such as labour, on board and are determined to correct this. As government, we understand the fears of workers about job losses at Eskom and in associated industries,” the president told MPs. Read the original of Bekezela Phakathi’s report on this story in full at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, No privatisation of Eskom, Cyril Ramaphosa assures, at SowetanLive Ramaphosa’s Eskom plan faces blowback from unions and others City Press reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa faces blowback over his government’s plans to fix state-owned power utility Eskom. He has established a Cabinet committee – led by Deputy President David Mabuza and including Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan – to deal with the power crisis. But, already slammed by unions for the proposed split in the company into separate generation, transmission and distribution units and potentially including independent power producers (IPPs) in its remit, the committee has come under fire for lacking technical expertise. Ramaphosa also faces accusations by some in the ANC of bowing to the dictates of the World Bank, which wants the involvement of IPPs to be accelerated and the power utility ultimately privatised. ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has warned that any proposal to privatise Eskom was misplaced because the ANC had no such policy. Trade unions are vehemently opposed to Ramaphosa’s proposal, announced in his recent state of the nation address, to unbundle Eskom into three separate entities. They claim it is a step towards privatisation, retrenchments and higher power prices. Labour federation Cosatu vowed to take drastic action, including not voting for the ANC in the general election in May. Metalworkers’ union Numsa has also expressed its strong opposition to any moves to privatise Eskom. Meanwhile, current and former Eskom executives have blamed last week’s load shedding on an exodus of skilled executives. They say that in the past two months skilled engineers with more than 200 years’ combined experience have left the company. Read the original of this report by Setumo Stone, Ngwako Modjadji, Sipho Masondo and Dewald Van Rensburg in full at City Press Ramaphosa promises to correct lack of consultation with labour on Eskom unbundling Engineering News reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged on Thursday that there had been insufficient consultation with labour on government’s plan to unbundle Eskom into three separate companies. But, he also stressed that the proposed restructuring would not result in privatisation. In his response to the debate on the State of the Nation Address (Sona), the President said that inclusivity should be the fundamental principle that underpinned the country’s response to the Eskom crisis, the depth of which had become evident again with the return of load-shedding. “We accept, as government, that we have not done enough to bring some of our key stakeholders, such as labour, on board on the various aspects of this matter, but we are determined to correct this,” Ramaphosa said, indicating that a “deep conversation” would be held with labour on Eskom in the coming days. He urged stakeholders to reject the “false narrative” that the only way out was through bitter confrontation and conflict. “Our challenges will not be resolved in the streets, but we will gather around the table to find workable solutions,” he said. His speech came only hours after the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) expressed its anger at a media briefing at the fact that the unbundling decision had been made in the absence of any prior consultation with the union. Read the original of this report in full at Mining Weekly Solidarity offers to help address Eskom skills shortage and calls for a commission of inquiry into crisis Solidarity on Friday launched a skills bank on its website where engineers and technicians can register so their skills can be re-recruited to help alleviate the crisis at Eskom. The creation of this knowledge bank by the trade union came in the wake of announcements made by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan that the services of competent former Eskom employees, locally and abroad, should be used to help alleviate Eskom’s skills shortages. Solidarity offered its assistance and called on all South Africans to make Eskom’s rescue a national project. Solidarity plans to publicise the skills bank widely among its members, former members and their networks. “We plan to post it on overseas groups, and we call on South African embassies and missions to help register South African skills so we could have the opportunity to re-recruit them. Many of the experts are abroad for the time being only and would be keen to offer their skills in South Africa instead. Thousands of retired engineers and technicians in South Africa are also ready to offer their help,” Solidarity CE Dr Dirk Hermann said. Solidarity also called on Ramaphosa to appoint a commission of inquiry under the chairmanship of a judge to investigate the crisis, mismanagement and corrupt activities at Eskom. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard in full at SA Labour News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Maritime safety body to investigate Durban ship fire that cost six lives TimesLIVE reports that the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) has launched a probe into the deadly fire that ravaged a Mozambican vessel in Durban’s port on Thursday. Six people lost their lives in the devastating blaze that left the Tropical 1 in ruins. Samsa announced on Friday that it had started investigating the cause of the fire. It said the vessel was registered in Mozambique, and that it was in the process of contacting Mozambican authorities to inform them about the incident. KwaZulu-Natal EMS responded to the fire, which started at about 2.30pm on Thursday. Three people were taken to hospital, but six others were found dead on the ship on Friday morning. Firefighters brought the fire under control at around 6pm on Thursday, but the vessel was not deemed safe to board at that time. The six deceased were found on Friday morning at around 2am. Read Suthentira Govender’s original report on this story at TimesLIVE Ten-man crew jumps sinking fishing trawler near Saldahna Bay News24 reports that ten crew members were rescued after their fishing vessel sunk off the west of the Western Cape near Saldahna Bay. According to the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) Coordinating Centre in Cape Town, the sinking of the trawler, registered as the Ankoveld, occurred early on Saturday morning. Samsa said in a statement that the vessel’s skipper, who was among the 10 rescued crew, confirmed that the Ankoveld experienced difficulties after it had begun to take on water in the engine room. It then capsized and sank. A vessel nearest the incident, the Atlantic Leader, successfully rescued the sunken fishing vessel’s 10 member crew who had already abandoned ship to life rafts. All 10 crew members were safely taken to Laaiplek harbour. Samsa officials in Saldanha Bay arrived at the scene to conduct an investigation into the incident. Read the original of this report by Ntwaagae Seleka in full at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Sibanye and Amcu show no signs of backing down in protracted gold wage strike BL Premium writes that it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has scored a tragic own goal with its three-month strike at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mines. Sibanye announced on Thursday that it was starting a formal restructuring process that could entail the loss of up to 6,670 jobs at five gold mines at Beatrix in the Free State and Driefontein in Gauteng because they were unprofitable during 2018. It stated that the restructuring was not related to the strike that Amcu started on 21 November to demand a R1,000 monthly wage increase for each of the next three years. The quantum of wages lost by about 14,000 employees, roughly half the gold workforce, who remain on strike means that even if Sibanye should relent they would take years to recoup the salaries they have lost so far. The strike shows no signs of ending, with Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman adamant there will be no change to the wage deal in place with three other unions. Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa is equally steadfast in not backing down. Running a constructive restructuring process while dealing with the deadlock in the strike will be difficult, particularly given the nastiness prevalent in the strike in which three people have been killed, houses torched in acts of intimidation, and other acts of violence. Read the original of the report on this story in full at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Save as many jobs as possible at your gold mines, Mantashe tells Sibanye-Stillwater ANA reports that mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe on Thursday urged Sibanye-Stillwater to explore all possible options to ensure that as many jobs as possible were saved during the producer’s restructuring at its gold operations. Earlier, Sibanye said it would be begining consultations with relevant stakeholders in terms of Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act regarding the possible restructuring of its gold operations, which might affect the jobs of more than 6,000 workers. The restructuring process was said to be as a result of ongoing financial losses experienced at Beatrix 1 shaft in the Free State and Driefontein 2,6,7,8 shafts in Gauteng during the 2018 financial year. In a statement, Mantashe urged all stakeholders to engage in good faith to save jobs, adding that the department would engage with stakeholders in line with Section 52 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA). Sibanye’s management has consistently highlighted the operational and financial risks associated with the underperformance of the Driefontein and Beatrix shafts at future forum meetings. Meantime, at least 15,000 workers, affiliated with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), have been on strike at Beatrix and Driefontein mines since November 2018 demanding higher wages. Read the original of this report in full at The Citizen Mantashe wants security beefed up after Gloria mine disaster ANA reports that mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe on Friday called for security at mines to be enhanced in order to effectively address illegal mining. This came after Mantashe visited the Koornfontein Gloria coal mine in Middleburg to get a progress report on rescue efforts for 22 people believed to be trapped underground. At least 13 people are known to be dead so far after the group, believed to be cable thieves, were trapped underground the week before last following a gas explosion at the mine. Cable and copper theft resulted in power to the mine being stopped, increasing the level of poisonous gases underground. Seven bodies were discovered in the early hours of Thursday morning, and they will be retrieved once power and ventilation are restored and the flammable gases underground are brought down to more manageable levels. In a statement, Mantashe said the priority remained to restore ventilation to Gloria mine and reduce flammable gases underground so the search and recovery process could continue with the necessary speed. Read the original of this report in full at Independent News Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Postings on mining charter / transformation
Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Nehawu vows to continue striking until the needs of TVET and CET lecturers are met The Sunday Independent reports that there is no end in sight in the standoff between the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) at vocational colleges across the country. Nehawu last week said it would not back down on its demands for the introduction of a new salary dispensation, better working conditions, the transfer of all college-paid lecturers into the Persal system and the removal of the director-general, Gwebinkundla Qonde. Nehawu spokesperson Khaya Xaba said their strike would continue indefinitely until their demands were met, adding that the union had declined to meet with the minister as they were allocated only an hour. Lecturers at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges and Community Education and Training (CET) colleges said little had changed since they migrated from the Department of Basic Education to DHET. The department indicated it was committed to resolving the issues amid the union’s threat to continue with its industrial action on Monday. Despite reported disruptions at some colleges, DHET spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said the current assessment of the strike indicated that not all colleges and campuses had been affected. “There have been reported cases of intimidation to force students and lecturers out of classes. Colleges have been advised to apply for court interdicts where intimidation occurs. Initiatives will be put in place to ensure that lost teaching and learning time is addressed,” Ngqengelele said. Read more of Lerato Diale’s original report on this story at SA Labour News. Read too, TVET colleges need serious attention from government, at SowetanLive
Samwu claims electricity power cut at its Joburg offices ‘was political’ Saturday Star reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has accused the City of Johannesburg of a witch-hunt to “destabilise” the union and embarrass its leadership. This came after the City disconnected electricity supply to the union’s offices in the Joburg CBD on Thursday. City Power technicians officially switched off the lights after a failed attempt by the union’s bosses to convince them that the electricity bill had been paid. On Friday, the City maintained that Samwu owed a whopping R1.2 million in unpaid municipal services. However, Simon Mathe, Samwu’s general secretary, said the figure was a fabrication. He stated: “They want to create a view that says we are irresponsible. It’s a witch-hunt. We have already paid the January bill. We are currently owing R38,411.03. The union last made payment on January 28 for an amount of R13,224.89. I don’t know why the City would lie to the public in this manner.” Mathe said the union had already instructed its attorneys to tackle the matter. Kutlwano Olifant from the office of the MMC for Finance acknowledged the payment made by Samwu in January this year, but noted that there was an outstanding balance of more than R25,000 on same account after the payment. She dismissed any suggestion that the move to terminate electricity at the union’s offices was meant to destabilise the union or that it was politically motivated. Read the original of Kgopi Mabotja’s report on this story in full at Independent News. Read too, No power to the people as Joburg cuts off Samwu headquarters, at TimesLIVE
Unions object to moratorium from April 2021 on performance bonuses for public servants Pretoria News reports that SA’s 1.3 million public servants will not be receiving performance bonuses from April 2021 and will get reduced incentives for doing their jobs well from this year. The move will be in place pending a review of the state’s incentive policy and due to national and provincial departments’ failing to comply with the Public Service Act. According to the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), this was a result of the government’s “current financial constraints, post the conclusion of the 2018 wage agreement and residual costs emanating the agreement”. But the country’s biggest public sector union and largest Cosatu affiliate, the National Health, Education and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), has rejected the move, saying it was not consulted. Nehawu’s first deputy president Mike Shingange said the government knew that it should consult its employees in the Public Sector Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). Shingange added that Nehawu believed this was just another provocation of public servants and undermining of the collective bargaining processes in the public service. Reuben Maleka of the Public Servants Association (PSA) indicated that they had already tabled their complaint against the move at the bargaining council. He claimed the directive issued on 30 January was in contravention of PSCBC resolutions and called on the government to come to the PSCBC to negotiate its plans. Read the original of Samkelo Mtshali’s report on this story in full at Independent News
Over 1,000 jobs at risk as Coca-Cola reels from sugar tax Business Times reports that the jobs of more than 1,000 people may be on the line as Coca-Cola Beverages SA embarks on restructuring due to the effects of the sugar tax imposed on sugary drinks from April last year. In a notice to the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), Coca-Cola said tax as well as "economic headwinds" had resulted in lower volumes than expected. Coca-Cola employs 7,100 people and retrenched 76 employees in the past year. The possible job cuts of just over 1,000 jobs include logistics and warehouses where "the activity level has reduced significantly as a result of the reduction in volumes". Those who could be affected include 117 warehouse operators, as well as clerks, shunter drivers, janitors, cleaners and scrub operators. Others at risk are an estimated 650 merchandisers. The company also intends cutting pay for certain jobs. Katishi Masemola of Fawu said they opposed the retrenchments on the grounds that the company would be in breach of a 2017 order handed down by the Competition Tribunal when the Coca-Cola Company merged with Coca-Cola Beverages. The Tribunal ruled that the merging entities should maintain employment levels for a period of three years from the date of approval. It also prohibited involuntary retrenchments in the bargaining unit. But the company said that the proposed retrenchments were not specific to the merger and were not in breach of its conditions. Masemola said: "Should they proceed with the intention to retrench, we'll obviously take legal action, but also use our collective power to go on strike or to do anything possible within the laws of the country to make sure those retrenchments do not happen." Read the original of Ntando Thukwana’s report on this story in full at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
ANC closes sexual harassment case against its spokesman Pule Mabe City Press reports that the ANC has closed its sexual harassment case against spokesperson Pule Mabe after the party’s grievance panel ruled last Monday that the complainant’s version was not supported by evidence. In contrast, Mabe’s version was “corroborated by witnesses whose relevant evidence the complainant did not refute or challenge”, said the panel. But, the 26-year-old woman, who was Mabe’s personal assistant at the time the alleged harassment took place, has options to fight the outcome, including going to the CCMA or the labour court. She also laid a police case against Mabe with the same allegations, which the panel felt was “an independent matter of the law enforcement process and does not have a bearing on the hearing”. The woman laid the charge against Mabe in November, alleging that he had made unwanted sexual advances towards her. Mabe contended that she made the complaint because her salary was cut. The panel also found against the complainant regarding claims that she lied about her qualifications and that she did not occupy a leadership position in Cosas as her CV stated, or that Mabe was abusive towards staff. Among the panel’s recommendations was that the party update its recruitment policy, especially regarding headhunting. It also recommended that the complainant remain a full-time employee at Luthuli House, but in a different department; that the ANC adopt a sexual harassment policy; and that both parties be taken for counselling. Read the original of Setumo Stone’s report on this story in full at City Press
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