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 Friday morning early roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African -
labour-related stories that appeared since
Wednesday, 20 March 2019.
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Hawks arrest trio involved in fatal shooting of off-duty Kranskop constable News24 reports that three men have been arrested following the fatal shooting last Friday of a Kranskop police constable and a bystander. The trio, aged between 20 and 32, allegedly played a role in the killing of off-duty Constable Thandoluhle Mhlongo and bystander Mazwi Zuke. A Hawks spokesperson said that Mhlongo, who was stationed at Kranskop police station, went to the premises of a local shisanyama to investigate the loud noises of a vehicle that had been repeatedly driving recklessly on the street. As soon as he walked out, he was fired upon by the occupants of the vehicle. He managed to pull out his service pistol, but two suspects alighted from their vehicle and continued firing at him. Another off-duty Kranskop police officer, who was in the vicinity, responded to the sounds of gunfire and two of the suspects were shot and wounded during the exchange. Their accomplices managed to drag them into the car and they fled the scene. Both Mhlongo and Zuke succumbed to gunshots wounds at the scene. An intensive manhunt culminated in the arrest of two suspects in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. A third was traced to Newlands where an unlicensed firearm was retrieved after he attempted to flush it down the toilet. The suspects will appear in the Kranskop Magistrate’s Court on Friday and will be charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of unlicensed firearm. Read the full original of Kaveel Singh’s report on the above story at News24
Labour Court rules extension of Sibanye-Stillwater wage agreement to Amcu members lawful BusinessLive reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) lost a critically important court case on Wednesday in opposing the rights of Sibanye–Stillwater to extend the wage deal signed with three other unions at its gold mines. Amcu called some 14,000 of its members out on strike on 21 November to demand a better wage deal than the three-year agreement Sibanye signed last year with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa. In the latest ruling in a long series of court battles, Judge Connie Prinsloo ruled that Sibanye and the three unions were entitled to extend the agreement to Amcu members. Amcu had approached the court to prevent an extension of the agreement, arguing that its members could not have the wage deal imposed on them after having been on strike for so long. “Amcu’s arguments that members have sacrificed wages from November 21 2018 to date and they cannot be deprived of the fruits of their sacrifice without their consent is not sustainable in law. Amcu members benefit to the extent that they become entitled to the improved conditions of employment embodied in the wage agreement, with retrospective effect to the normal implementation date,” Prinsloo said. In a technical judgment, her decision in favour of Sibanye drew on past cases and an interpretation of the Labour Relations Act relating to extending wage agreements to other parties. Sibanye immediately claimed victory, saying it could now proceed with a union membership verification process by an independent party and bring the strike to an end. It was not immediately clear if the strike remained protected. Read the full original of Allan Seccombe’s report on the court ruling at BusinessLive. Read too, Labour Court declares Sibanye wage extension valid, at Mining Weekly Amcu accepts in-principle settlement as proposed by CCMA in wage dispute with Sibanye Mining Weekly reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has accepted, in principle, a proposed settlement agreement advanced by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in an attempt to resolve the wage dispute between the union and Sibanye-Stillwater. The union has been on a protracted wage strike at the miner’s gold operations since 21 November. The CCMA proposed a payment of R5,700, coupled with other benefits as contained in a previous settlement agreement. These include a salary advance of R5,000, debt consolidation, non-deductions of employer contributions to benefits, death benefits of employees who passed on during the strike, as well as disciplinary issues. While Amcu members previously indicated acceptance of the other issues covered, up to now they had insisted on a payment of R9,300. At a meeting facilitated by the CCMA on Tuesday, Amcu communicated its in-principle acceptance of the proposed settlement, emphasising that the R5,700 should be split over two years of the wage agreement term, which is three years in total, as well as back-pay for the first year of the term. Even though Sibanye has not accepted the CCMA proposal Amcu is positive that this will create the necessary momentum to see a speedy resolution to the wage dispute. Read the full original of the report on the above at Mining Weekly Dumped mineworkers fight for Aurora payout and for jobs back at Gold One’s Modder East mine The Star writes about Xolisa Dyomfana, who has been bitterly disappointed twice by mining companies. First he was part of a group of workers who were not paid by the now defunct Aurora Empowerment. Now he is one of the 209 mineworkers fighting Modder East Gold One for money dating back to 2012. In the Aurora case, he was one of more than 5,000 workers at the Orkney and Grootvlei gold mines who lost their jobs after the mines were stripped of gold and assets while under the control of Aurora. In the Gold One case, the workers were part of a strike in 2012. During the action, the gold producer dismissed half the workforce (1,044 employees) after obtaining a court interdict prohibiting the illegal wage strike. For the past seven years, Dyomfana and his colleagues have been fighting for a payout or their jobs back. They say they had been protesting because they wanted their union, the Professional Transport and Allied Workers Union, to be accepted at the mine. Three days after the strike, a court order ruled that they must return to work, but they were allegedly turned away at the gates. The workers took their case to the Labour Court, but lost in 2016. Most of the former employees, who live at the Skoonplaas informal settlement near the mine, survive on piece jobs and the mercy of friends and family. Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party secretary Vusi Ngqokomash, who is trying to assist the miners, said: “Eighty percent who live in Skoonplaas are unemployed because of this. They’ve been fighting the company for years but nothing has come of it.” Read more of Tebogo Monama’s report which appeared in The Star of 20 March 2019 at SA Labour News Other general posting(s) relating to mining
National Union of Mineworkers agrees to rethink shutdown at Eskom during election week BusinessLive reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will meet with its members next week to consider whether a shutdown at power utility Eskom will take place during the week of the May general elections. The union's shutdown threat came after President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement in February that Eskom would be split into three state-owned entities. NUM met Ramaphosa, public enterprise minister Pravin Gordhan and energy minister Jeff Radebe on Monday. NUM general secretary David Sipunzi said the meeting had had “quality results” that needed to be considered. He indicated that the union would consult its members in the next seven days on the outcome of the meeting and whether the shutdown should go ahead. The NUM said it was relieved after Ramaphosa gave the assurance at the meeting that no jobs would be lost in the process of unbundling Eskom and that it would remain 100% state-owned. Moreover, Gordhan had reassured the union that no instruction had been issued to Eskom to start retrenching workers. The union, however, said that despite the meeting with Ramaphosa it would still go ahead with its march to the ANC’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg at the end of March. Read the full original of the report on the above by Genevieve Quintal and Claudi Mailovich at BusinessLive Vaal Triangle taxi strike on hold on Thursday for Human Rights Day, to continue on Friday News24 reports that taxi operators in the Vaal Triangle suspended their strike for Thursday in order to honour and celebrate those who died and others who were left injured on 21 March 1960 in Sharpeville. On Wednesday, routes leading in and out of the Vaal were blockaded with objects such as burning tyres and trucks. People were prevented from entering and leaving the area. Twelve taxi operators affiliated to the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) were demanding the completion of a taxi rank that has been standing empty for six years and for their local municipality to fix mushrooming pot holes on the streets of the Vaal. Santaco regional spokesperson Mbuyiseni Mahlangu said on Thursday that they were respecting Human Rights Day, but would continue with the strike on Friday. He also said that they were waiting for Gauteng Premier David Makhura to come and address them, but if he failed to do so, the Vaal would resume its lockdown from Friday onward. On Wednesday afternoon, police arrested more than 50 taxi operators for allegedly barricading roads and pelting motor vehicles with stones. The arrested suspects are expected to appear in court soon on charges of public violence. Read the full original of Ntwaagae Seleka’s report on the strike at News24 Farmworkers protest at Parliament on Wednesday for moratorium on evictions GroundUp reports that over 200 farmworkers marched to Parliament on Wednesday to hand over a memorandum demanding an immediate moratorium on farm evictions, an urgent meeting with the minister of rural development and a task team to address farm evictions. In 2014, then deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa apparently promised a moratorium on farm evictions, but such a promise has yet to be fulfilled. Organised by the Women on Farms Project, the memorandum claimed that evictions in the broader Cape Winelands and the Drakenstein municipality had become a crisis. It was said that twenty thousand people were at risk of eviction on Drakenstein farms. Colette Soloman, director of Women on Farms, said that farmers were still "illegally evicting farmworkers" and at the same time "we see luxury housing developments going up". "Where must we go? We are born on farms," said a Simondium farmworker. An official from the Presidency accepted the memorandum. Read the full original of Ashraf Hendricks’ report on the protest at GroundUp
Rob Davies warned that 'devastating' Copyright Amendment Bill could cost jobs Fin24 reports that a coalition of artists, writers and publishers has written to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Minister Rob Davies to challenge the Copyright Amendment Bill, which was due to be adopted by the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday. The coalition comprises writers, book and music publishers, film directors, producers, musicians, performing artists, film and television workers, content creators and business people. The bill seeks to update SA’s four-decade-old copyright law and the DTI argues it will protect authors, composers, artists and other professionals in the publishing sector, and that it will improve access to educational materials. However, the coalition's letter claims that the bill carries "unintended negative consequences" and is potentially "devastating" to the creative industry. The Bill will lead to job losses, the writers argue, as academic publishing becomes less financially viable, forcing publishers to close. The letter cites an impact assessment by PwC and the Publishers' Association of SA (PASA) which found that 1,250 jobs – nearly a third in the publishing industry – would likely be lost due to implementation of the Bill. The same report found that the Bill could see a 33% decrease in sales, equivalent to R2.1bn, plus a decrease in exports of local titles. The letter argues there will be an additional impact on the film industry, as well as on satellite industries. Even where jobs aren't lost, the Bill will cause loss of income to working creatives, the coalition points out. Read the full original of Marelise van der Merwe’s report on opposition to the Bill at Fin24
Cosatu slams Standard Bank’s planned branch closures and job cuts The Citizen reports that Cosatu says the decision by Standard Bank to close 91 of its branches and retrench more than 1,000 employees countrywide has reinforced the trade union federation’s call for the Labour Relations Act to be amended to make it impossible to lay off employees easily. Last week, Standard Bank said it planned to close offices and retrench about 1,200 staff by the end of June. The move was apparently necessitated by the need to digitalise its commercial and business bank. The fear has been expressed that the decision to close offices and retrench staff could trigger a domino effect, with other banks following suit as banking was shifting to internet and mobile banking thereby rendering some staff redundant. On Sunday, Cosatu’s spokesperson Sizwe Pamla condemned the bank’s decision. “We reiterated our position that we need to amend the Labour Relations Act that allows this to be possible,” Pamla said. The EFF also entered the fray and condemned the Standard Bank’s move, describing it as “misguided and unethical”. “When the EFF takes over government in May, we will place a moratorium on all retrenchments, even by the private sector,” said EFF national spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. Read more of Eric Naki’s report in The Citizen of 18 March 2019 at SA Labour News
Mother of pupil in Sans Souci ‘slap incident’ claims R150 000 in damages from teacher News24 reports that the mother of a former Sans Souci Girls' High School pupil slapped by her Afrikaans teacher during a physical altercation has lodged a claim in the Equality Court for damages amounting to R150,000. A statement issued by lawyer William Booth representing teacher Clarissa Venter confirmed that his office had filed opposing papers objecting to the claim. "[The mother of the pupil] has also claimed that our client allegedly assaulted [the pupil] due to her daughter being of a different race and cultural background," he said. The incident was "clearly" not a result of racism or cultural discrimination on the part of Venter, Booth maintained. He went on to say: "This appears to be nothing more than a vexatious attempt to obtain financial gain as a result of an incident which was in fact instigated by [the pupil's] lack of discipline, unruly behaviour and extreme provocative conduct." Venter will reportedly return to work in the second term, after the school governing body ratified a decision that she should receive a fine, final warning and anger management sessions. Last month, the pupil's mother removed her teenage daughter from the school. Both the pupil and the teacher have laid assault charges against each other. The pupil's matter is being held in camera as she is a minor. Venter will return to the dock at the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on 18 April. Read the full original of Tammy Petersen’s report on this story at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
More worker representatives on PIC board an imperative, says Cosatu The Star reports that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) commission of inquiry into allegations of impropriety continued this week, and Cosatu reiterated its call for more worker representatives at the level of the board of the embattled financial services institution. Matthew Parks, the labour federation’s parliamentary co-ordinator, pointed out that the majority of PIC funds was money belonging to pensioners employed in state institutions. Information supplied by Cosatu contended that 87% of funds managed by the PIC was public servants’ pensions. About 7% was workers’ unemployment insurance (UIF), while 4% constituted workers’ injury on duty insurance. “There have been many stories of dubious investments, and politicians, their relatives and dodgy businesses reaping billions off it. Workers cannot afford for the PIC to go the route of Eskom. It is the largest investment fund in SA and Africa. It has shares in most companies. It owns 12.5% of the JSE’s shares. It is too large to fail,” Parks observed. He contended that the problem was that the PIC Act allowed the minister of finance to appoint the board with few checks and balances; no worker representation; no requirements to account to depositors, the public or Parliament; and no investment guidelines. Most importantly, he said, there have never been any union representatives on the PIC board. Over the past two years, Cosatu has worked closely with ANC MPs to draft a PIC Amendment Bill, which provides for three worker representatives on the board. The original of Ayanda Mdluli’s report in the above regard appeared on page 4 of The Star of 19 March 2019 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Cosatu adds its voice to call for action against Markus Jooste and associates over Steinhoff scandal The Star reports that labour federation Cosatu has joined MPs in slamming the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks for failing to rein in those who were responsible for the fraud at retail giant Steinhoff. On Tuesday, MPs said the collapse of Steinhoff had been a result of a few senior executives, and they were surprised the Hawks and NPA had been slow in prosecuting those involved. Steinhoff chief executive Louis du Preez named several former executives as being linked to the scandal, after PwC released a forensic report last Friday. Markus Jooste, the former chief executive, was named in the PwC report as one of those who inflated prices and the assets of the company by more than R100-billion. Cosatu said it wanted Jooste’s assets seized and the law enforcement agencies to recover stolen monies. “Cosatu calls for decisive action from the Hawks and the NPA. The federation calls upon Parliament to increase their oversight of the Steinhoff debacle investigation and prosecutions,” it exhorted. The acting head of the Special Commercial Crimes Unit in the NPA, advocate Mpho Doubada, indicated that they could not begin prosecution until the Hawks had concluded their investigations. He said another delaying factor was the complexity in nature of the cases, as Steinhoff operated in several countries. Read the full original of Siyabonga Mkhwanazi’s report on this story at Independent News
Four cops arrested and face murder rap for death and assaults in custody ANA reports that four SA Police Service (Saps) officers have been arrested in connection with the murder of 48-year-old Phikolomzi Tatsi and the assault of two other men. On Tuesday, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Moses Dlamini said two sergeants and two constables had been arrested on Monday for their actions on 10 March. It is alleged that three men were assaulted in the back of the Katlehong police station by at least five police officers. After the assault, the three were put in the back of a police van and taken to hospital to draw blood from one of them, who had been the driver of a vehicle that had earlier been stopped. The driver was taken to a doctor while the two other males were left behind in the van. “One male died in the back of the police van and was certified dead by a doctor. The post-mortem and medical examination showed that the victims were severely assaulted,” said Dlamini. The four officers were due to appear in the Palmridge Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder and two of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Read the full report on this story in The Citizen of 20 March 2019
Vadi engages Soweto residents over closures of taxi ranks SowetanLive reports that taxi commuters in Soweto have demanded that rival taxi associations must resolve their issues in order for closed routes and ranks to be reopened. Residents made the demand during a community meeting in Orlando on Tuesday, where they met with Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ishmael Vadi as a result of the closure of six taxi ranks. Vadi shut down these ranks and taxi routes being used by the Witwatersrand African Taxi Owners' Association (Wata) and the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association (Nanduwe) due to ongoing violence between those taxi associations. An Orlando West resident said it was unfair for commuters to suffer because of the two associations' failure to resolve their differences. Another resident said she has been forced to walk long distances in the scorching heat since the barring of the two taxi associations. Vadi indicated that Wata and Nanduwe had already signed an agreement committing to end their violence. He said their agreement was currently before him, but he was reluctant to commit to a decision without engaging the community and whether it was convincing enough to reopen the affected taxi ranks. Read the full original of Tankiso Makhetha’s report on the above at SowetanLive OTHER NEWS HEADLINES AND PRESS STATEMENTS
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