Today's Labour News

TOP STORY – AMCU SYMPATHY STRIKE

Cutifani confirms 27 February Amcu strike at Amplats, hard on heels of Harmony, AngloGold notices

Miningmx reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has reportedly issued seven-day sympathy strike notices to AngloGold Ashanti and Harmony Gold, with its members set to down tools on 27 February.  A seven-day notice period is a legal requirement for a secondary strike.  Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) also received a secondary strike notice, Anglo American CEO, Mark Cutifani confirmed on Thursday.  Amcu on Tuesday called on its members at gold, coal and platinum mines on strike to protest the possible retrenchment of about 6,700 workers at the gold mines of Sibanye-Stillwater.  Amcu is escalating threats in a standoff with Sibanye CEO, Neal Froneman, who announced last week that the company may cut jobs at its Driefontein and Beatrix mines.  Cutifani indicated:  “We received notice at 6.26pm on Wednesday of a secondary strike notice.  This is in relation to Sibanye [Stillwater].  It won’t help South Africa’s platinum industry at large.  I’m sure the Minister will look at this one and be involved in trying to make sure we land (up with) something sensible for the country.”

Read the original of Ed Stoddard’s report on this story in full at Miningmx. See too, Amcu plans strikes at Lonmin, Amplats, at Moneyweb

Lonmin gets notice from Amcu of sympathy strike in support of Sibanye gold industrial action

Fin24 reports that platinum producer Lonmin has received notice of a sympathy strike from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) in support of its ongoing industrial action at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations.  The company said that according to the notice, the strike will commence on 28 February and last until 7 March.  Thousands of Amcu members at Sibanye’s gold operations have been on strike since 21 November, demanding higher wage increases.  "Lonmin is in the process of obtaining legal advice to inform our response to the notice," the producer indicated.

The original of this short report is at Fin24

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

Strike-hit but upbeat Sibanye confident of value uplift as precious metals shine, at Engineering News

2019 BUDGET

Cosatu draws line in the sand over trimming of public sector, Eskom's unbundling

The Star reports that Cosatu has drawn a line in the sand over government’s plans to trim the public sector and unbundle troubled power utility Eskom.  The trade union federation, an alliance partner of the governing ANC, came out guns blazing on Wednesday against some announcements made by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in his maiden Budget speech.  Mboweni said the government would cut the public sector wage bill by R27-billion over the next three years; and this year freeze salary increases for members of Parliament, provincial legislatures and executives at public entities.  “The public wage bill is unsustainable.  We must shift expenditure to investment.  The first step is to allow older public servants, who want to do so, to retire early and gracefully,” Mboweni said.  In the face of stiff opposition, Mboweni said the government was going ahead with the unbundling of Eskom, and it had also attached strict conditions for a R6.8bn guarantee for the SABC, including a restructuring of the state broadcaster - a move that is seen by some unions as a way of cutting jobs.  On the cutting down of the public sector, the federation said in a statement:  “These soothing words hide a plan to butcher jobs in the public service, at a time when there is a desperate shortage of teachers, doctors, nurses, community health workers and staff in all the other public services.

Read the original of the report by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi and Siviwe Feketha in the above regard in full at The Star

Unions tell Mboweni to cut costs at level of high-earning top

The Citizen reports that labour federation Cosatu and its public service union affiliates are up in arms over Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s plan to cut the public service wage bill by R27 billion over the next three years.  They called on the government to instead reduce the number of ministers, deputy ministers and government departments.  Cosatu also accused Mboweni of negotiating with workers in parliament instead of tabling his proposals in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council.  Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said:  “No unilateralism will be entertained by the workers, and this will receive an obligatory pushback.  Cancelling public servants’ performance bonuses without consulting them will only serve to demotivate these workers.  This will weaken an already fragile public service and we are likely to see more skilled people abandoning it.  The government is not assisting anyone by negotiating in parliament instead of using the appropriate platforms.  If it wants stable labour relations then it must engage workers about their conditions.”  In his budget speech on Wednesday, the minister said the first step was to allow older public servants, who want to go, to retire early.  This would save an estimated R4.8 billion in 2019-10, R7.5 billion in 2020-21 and R8 billion in 2021-22.  Speaking on behalf of Cosatu public service unions, Mugwena Maluleke, Sadtu general secretary, said”  “The high wage bill is not a problem caused by workers, but by the high number of ministers and deputy ministers and the upper echelon of bureaucrats who earn very high salaries.”

Read the original of Eric Naki’s report on the above in full at The Citizen. Read too, Mboweni puts old civil servants in firing line, at SowetanLive

Unspent NHI funds shifted to provinces so they can fill critical public healthcare posts

BusinessLive reports that in a pragmatic move to tackle one of the most pressing problems confronting public healthcare, the Treasury has shifted unspent National Health Insurance (NHI) funds to provinces so they can fill critical posts.  “Implementing NHI is a policy priority for the sector.  However, the government needs to address staff shortages and other problems in public health facilities before the policy can be fully rolled out,” the Treasury said in its 2019 budget review.  Ahead of his budget speech on Wednesday, finance minister Tito Mboweni said one of the most pressing issues was the poor state of public hospitals.  He noted:  “We need simple, effective interventions.  We need more doctors and nurses.”  So, the Treasury has moved R2.8bn out of the NHI indirect grant over the next three years to fill critical public-healthcare posts, including interns and community service positions.  This will be achieved through a new human resource capacitation conditional grant, which means the funds are ring-fenced and provinces cannot use them for other purposes.  An extra R1bn has been added to the provincial equitable share in 2021/2022 to fund the permanent appointment of interns, while a further R1bn has been added to improve pay for community healthcare workers and bring their remuneration in line with the minimum wage.

Read the original of Tamar Kahn’s report on this story in full at BusinessLive

New Carbon Tax gets roasted by AA, Cosatu

Fin24 reports that there has been largely negative reaction to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's announcement on Wednesday that a Carbon Tax - which forms part of government's efforts to deal with climate change - will be instituted in early June on petrol and diesel.  The tax is based on the "polluter pays" principle.  The Automobile Association (AA) said the tax was "grossly unfair" as South Africans would be paying an emissions tax on "inferior quality fuel" despite not having access to higher quality fuels, as available in many other markets in the world.  The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) raised concerns that the tax would push up the price of consumer goods, along with other fuel levy increases.  "Just as the plastic bag tax has not changed consumer behaviour or reduced pollution, and the funds were not used for recycling initiatives as initially promised, this carbon tax on petrol will just be another revenue stream for government’s coffers," Outa claimed.  Labour federation Cosatu commented that the carbon tax, in addition to an increase in the sugar beverages tax, was an indication that government had abandoned previous commitments to protect vulnerable workers.

Read the original of Lameez Omarjee’s report on this matter in full at Fin24

Sugar tax increase will shrink the industry further, says South African sugar association

ANA reports that the South African Sugar Association (SASA) said on Thursday it was disappointed by the announcement that there would be an increase in the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), commonly known as the "sugar tax".  During his budget speech on Wednesday, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said government has decided to hike the sugar tax by 5.2%.  Hans Hackmann, SASA chairperson, said the sugar tax had already caused serious damage in the sugar industry, representing a decline in local demand for sugar of approximately 200,000 t/y, thereby reducing industry revenue by about R1-billion a year.  Sugar production contributes about R14-billion to SA’s gross domestic product and the industry employs 85,000 people directly, and a further 350,000 indirectly through food processing and other sectors.  Hackmann said it was regrettable that the implementation of mitigation measures, as recommended by a Nedlac Task Team, had been delayed.  He indicated that they would seek engagement with government and Parliament to discuss the process of expediting the implementation of mitigation measures, including the raising of the import duty on dumped sugar to a more appropriate level.

Read the original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

Government encourages early retirement for up to 30,000 public servants, at Engineering News

No direct increases in corporate and individual taxes, at BusinessLive

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY

Maritime safety authority wants know what triggered deadly blaze at ship in Durban harbour

TimesLIVE reports that according to the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), a preliminary investigation was underway into what started a fire that claimed six lives at the Durban port last Thursday, with outcomes expected at the end of the week.  The Mozambican-registered vessel, berthed at the Transnet repair dock for scheduled maintenance, started burning in the early hours of Thursday morning.  The blaze left six dead and three injured.  Acting Samsa CEO Sobantu Tilayi indicated:  "We need to determine the trigger of the fire but our difficulty is that it was so intense and it spread so quickly, that our sense is that something fuelled the fire.  We need to establish what fuelled the fire."  Tilayi added that Samsa was not in a position to estimate the cost of the damage to the vessel but that it would be a complete right-off.  Meanwhile, Rescue Care said that the three people who were taken to hospital had sustained minor injuries.

Read the original of Lwandile Bhengu’s report on this story in full at TimesLIVE

Robbers flee with three kidnapped guards

Sowetan reports that three security guards were kidnapped and then later dropped off on the highway early on Tuesday morning after a failed break-in at a mall in Alberton.  The suspects had tried to break in at the Baby and Company shop at West Pack Lifestyle Alberton.  Graphite Security’s Marius Nel said five armed perpetrators tried to break into the shop around 5am.  They were armed with 9mm pistols and were carrying a bag with bolt cutters.  The crime was foiled when security guards pressed the panic button.  The guards were forced into a Jeep Cherokee and the suspects drove off as a local security company arrived.  They managed to lose the tail of the security company and dropped the three guards off on the N3 near the N17 turn-off to Johannesburg.  One of the guards was assaulted with a blow to the head and was admitted to hospital.  The other two guards were physically unharmed.

The original of this report by Nico Gous appeared on page 8 of Sowetan of 21 February 2019

PROTESTS

Popcru calls for calm as police attacked, officers' houses torched in Bloemhof protest

TimesLIVE reports that three houses were torched, a police station was damaged and officers were attacked after violence erupted on Wednesday evening in Bloemhof, in the North West.  Police spokesperson Captain Sam Tselanyane indicated that a group of community members gathered at the police station and demanded the release of six people who had been arrested for assault the previous evening.  “There was confrontation between them and the police.  They pelted the police station and our members with stones.  Our members eventually managed to (disperse) them,” Tselanyane said.  The protestors then headed to the local township, where they torched three houses occupied by police officers.  One house was burnt to ashes and the other two were badly damaged.  The protestors also pelted police cars patrolling the area.  On Thursday morning, they blocked several roads and prevented people from going to work.  In a volatile situation, schools in the town were closed.  The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) called for calm to be restored, saying:  “We appeal to community members not to take the law into their hands.  We condemn these unjust acts and want to call for calm and dialogue in the community of Bloemhof.

Read the original of this report by Iavan Pijoos in full at TimesLIVE

VOCATIONAL REGISTRATION

Failed bid by three guards involved in Clifton beach saga for registration reinstatement

News24 reports that the Clifton beach saga resurfaced on Wednesday with a court dismissing an application to have the suspended registration of three private security guards reinstated by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA).  This was the outcome of an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria by the Professional Protection Alternatives (PPA).  PSiRA is investigating the three for alleged breach of its code of conduct in the light of complaints about the guards' alleged removal of beachgoers in December.  PSiRA agreed with the court's dismissal of the application as not urgent as the security guards have not exhausted their recourse within the regulatory body.  Their hearing is scheduled for 4 March.  "Accordingly, the authority welcomes this judgment as it was an unnecessary exercise considering that the three officers had an opportunity to appeal against their suspended registration with the authority," said PSiRA in a statement.

Read the original of Jenni Evans’ report on this story in full at News24

SEXUAL HARASSMENT / ABUSE

ANC spokesman’s former PA hits back at outcomes of sexual harassment complaint

News24 reports that as the ANC’s spokesman Pule Mabe returns to work after being cleared of sexual harassment, his former personal assistant who lodged the complaint against him, has come out in public and rejected the findings.  In a statement released on Thursday, a saddened Kgoerano Kekana said:  "I strongly disagree with the outcomes."  She accused the grievance panel of ignoring seven of her eight witnesses available to corroborate her version of events and of not even including an account from the only witness the panel heard from in its report on the matter.  Kekana described working in the ANC national spokesperson's office as the "most horrible four months" of her life.  “The perpetrator has been emboldened by the outcome and gets off scot-free within the organisation.  Not only is this an affront towards women, it gives further courage to abusive men to bully female subordinates," said Kekana of the hearing's outcomes.  She also lambasted the political party for not having either a sexual harassment policy or a recruitment, appointment and promotion policy.  The ANC last week said both Kekana and Mabe had agreed with the party on the outcomes and that she would be absorbed back into Luthuli house to serve in a different department.  The former PA, though, has continued to question how the ANC's concluded the matter.  She said she was seeking to explore other avenues to get recourse.

Read the original of Tshidi Madia’s report on this story in full at News24