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 afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Tuesday, 26 March 2019.
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President of policing union 'assaulted' by cops, but police say he was resisting arrest TimesLIVE reports that the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has expressed shock and “disgust” at allegations that the president of the SA Policing Union (Sapu), Mpho Kwinika, was "assaulted" by police officers at the weekend. According to Saftu, eight police officers in Sunnyside, Pretoria, arrested Kwinika on what it termed “trumped up” charges and assaulted him without provocation. National SA Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Brig. Vish Naidoo confirmed the arrest, but was adamant that police operated "within the confines of the law". He also claimed - without providing specifics - that there was "resistance" during the arrest, which allowed officers to use "minimum force". In its statement, Saftu said: This assault lasted several hours and in this process they broke his arm, burst his eardrum and [he] has suspected broken ribs. In the ordeal, that lasted six hours before [he was charged], they refused him his right to inform his lawyers and family and also refused him medical treatment.” According to Saftu, Kwinika was denied access to a toilet and was forced to sleep in his own urine. The federation said it would write to President Cyril Ramaphosa to order an investigation into what happened. Kwinika is set to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Read the full original of Nomahlubi Jordaan’s report on this story at TimesLIVE. Read Saftu’s press statement on this matter at Saftu News Arrest of president of policing union came after calls to probe corruption, says Saftu TimesLIVE reports that the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) says SA Policing Union (Sapu) president Mpho Kwinika's arrest coincided with calls by union members for the state presidency to probe police corruption. Sapu is affiliated to Saftu. Speaking on Radio 702, Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said it was no coincidence that Kwinika was arrested and allegedly assaulted by police at Sunnyside, Pretoria, at the weekend. Kwinika, according to the federation, sustained a broken arm, burst ear drum and bruising to his ribs. Kwinika's treatment was akin to that in the apartheid era, Vavi added. Police, however, said the union boss had been disturbing the peace and had resisted arrest. Vavi said Kwinika had known for weeks that he was in danger. Threatening behaviour was now being directed at the general secretary of the union, Tumelo Mogodiseng, according to Vavi. Kwinika was charged with disturbing the peace, assaulting police officers and resisting arrest. Vavi claimed the charges were "trumped up". Kwinika is due to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday. Saftu said they had since written to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the SA Human Rights Commission seeking assistance. Read the full original of Naledi Shange’s report on this story at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Worker dies in 'freak accident' in Emfuleni involving grass-cutting tractor News24 reports that a man was killed in a "freak accident" while driving a grass-cutting tractor in Emfuleni. It is believed that the vehicle's tyre burst, "with the resulting pressure causing fatal injuries", according to Emfuleni municipal spokesperson Stanley Gaba. The man was employed by a company contracted by the local municipality to cut grass at Caravan Park in Vanderbijlpark. Police and municipal officials were at the scene to conduct preliminary investigations. "Further investigations by the police, the labour department and Emfuleni Local Municipality are under way to determine the cause of the accident and loss of life,” Gaba indicated. The original of this short report by Pelane Phakgadi is at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Labour Court stymies Amcu yet again in Sibanye-Stillwater gold wage strike BusinessLive reports that a court ruling on Friday was the latest of a series of legal setbacks for the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) in its protracted wage strike at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mines. The union’s members are now in the fifth month of a strike which commenced on 21 November 2018 to back a demand for a R1,000 monthly salary increase. The Labour Court ruling by Judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje on Friday disallowed an Amcu appeal against a ruling relating to a union membership verification process. This has cleared another hurdle for Sibanye to extend its wage agreement with three other unions to all its gold employees pending a union membership verification process involving the CCMA. Sibanye has steadfastly argued that the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity and Uasa represent the majority of workers at its gold mines and it should thus be able to extend the wage agreement with them to Amcu’s members. While Amcu can still obstruct the verification process, Sibanye could in the coming weeks complete the process and approach the court with the results to secure an end to the strike. If the verification process proves that the three unions are indeed in the majority as per the timelines set out in various judgments, it would mean the Amcu strike would no longer be protected and Amcu’s members would have incurred severe financial hardship for nothing. Read the full original of Allan Seccombe’s report on the court ruling at BusinessLive Vantage Goldfields stalls on Lily Mine and Barbrook deal City Press Business reports that the company that had sealed an agreement to buy a 74% shareholding in Vantage Goldfields this month lodged an urgent court application to enforce the transfer of the shares and avert liquidation of the gold mining company. Flaming Silver Trading 373 – a subsidiary of Siyakhula Sonke Corporation (SSC) – as approached the Pretoria High Court to force Vantage to hand over the shares and other documents. Vantage owns the Lily and Barbrook gold mines in Mpumalanga. The two mines have been under business rescue since the entrance to Lily Mine’s shaft collapsed on 5 February 2016 – leaving three workers dead and buried underground. Not since Flaming Silver and Vantage reached their agreement in November 2017 have the shares been transferred, despite the Department of Mineral Resources’ approval of the transaction in December 2018. This stalemate stalled the release of a R190m loan from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to Flaming Silver. Flaming Silver’s application was lodged in reaction to Vantage’s threat on 13 March to cancel the agreement because Flaming Silver had breached it by failing to secure the funding. Meantime, the business rescue practitioners have threatened to liquidate Vantage because of lack of progress in respect of the agreement or to look for other purchasers of the mines. In its application, Flaming Silver pointed out that should liquidation happen, the prospect of “employing approximately 900 employees and generating revenue will be extremely remote and probably impossible.” Read the full original of Sizwe Sama Yende’s report on the above story at City Press Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Numsa downs tools at BMW South Africa’s Rosslyn plant over shift allowances ANA reports that members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) went on strike on Monday at BMW South Africa (BMWSA) over changes to terms of employment at the company’s Rosslyn plant in Pretoria. Numsa said in a statement that the car manufacturing company was trying to impose a shift rotation system on workers, but did not want to pay the shift allowance which had previously been afforded to workers. According to the union, BMWSA had previously had fixed-term contract workers who were on permanent night shift and they had earned a 28% night shift allowance. But under the new system, the union claimed, the company was only willing to pay them a 23% night shift allowance. Furthermore, the company was allegedly imposing this only on workers who were paid hourly and who did bargain together with “salaried” workers. The company was apparently granted an urgent interdict on Friday to block the strike. But Numsa’s Jerry Morulane said they had applied for leave to appeal the interdict and, in the meantime, they were entitled to continue with the strike because the application for leave to appeal suspended the interdict. However, the company on Monday applied for an urgent interdict to block Numsa members from continuing with the strike, pending the outcome of the appeal. Read the full original of the report on the strike at The Citizen. Read too, Numsa members embark on strike at BMW’s Rosslyn plant, at Engineering News. Read Numsa’s press statement on the strike at Polity Following talks, union hopeful wage strike at SARS can be averted ANA reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) said the likelihood that a strike at the SA Revenue Service (SARS) could be averted was high following two days of “informal discussions” that could see a deal struck on Tuesday night. PSA spokesperson Tahir Maepa said leaders of the two major unions, PSA and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu), met with acting SARS commissioner Mark Kingon and his team on Tuesday morning and, while no deal had been formally struck, the union would not be opposed to agreeing to a settlement proposed by the CCMA. The unions are demanding an 11.4% increase, while SARS revised its offer to 7%. The CCMA proposal was for an 8% increase across the board, an agreement on prenatal leave, performance bonuses for those who qualified, and that the wage hike be part of a single year agreement. “If that CCMA proposed settlement agreement is tabled, the likelihood is that we are going to find a solution,” said Maepa. He indicated that a formal meeting in the bargaining forum was expected to take place at 6pm on Tuesday. PSA last week served SARS with notice of a strike to commence on Thursday. Read the full original of the report on this story at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Stats SA reports first increase in employment in six months BusinessLive reports that the number of employed South Africans rose by 87,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase was driven largely by a rise in the number of those employed in the business services, trade and community services sectors, Statistics SA indicated on Tuesday. This was the first increase after two quarters of contraction. While SA usually sees a seasonal boost in temporary employment in the fourth quarter, full-time employment also saw an increase of 50,000. Employment in the business services sector was up 53,000, while trade saw a boost of 49,000 and community services rose by 9,000. Employment in the primary sectors of the economy, however, took a knock. Construction shed 18,000 jobs, while mining and quarrying fell by 7,000 and manufacturing by 3,000. The number of employed, according to the survey — which covered all industries other than agriculture — rose to 10.06-million in the quarter to the end of December. Compared to a year ago, employment increased by 158,000 or 1.6% year-on-year with an increase of 77,000 in business services, 55,000 in trade and 32,000 in community services. Read Sunita Menon’s short report on this story at BusinessLive Jobs boost on the horizon as Mpumalanga special economic zone gazetted BusinessLive reports that the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) on Friday gazetted the creation of the 155ha Nkomazi special economic zone (SEZ) in Mpumalanga. The zone will focus on primary agriculture, agroprocessing and fertilizer production. It is estimated that it will provide an additional R5.3bn in new economic production in the area, and result in more than 81,000 sustainable jobs through various agricultural value chains. The zone’s boundaries include the N4 and the Komatipoort-Swaziland railway, and it will offer a range of incentives, including infrastructure and reduced corporate tax rates. According to the application for the zone, it aims to almost triple economic activity in the region by 2026, and raise provincial economic output by a third. Overall national GDP could receive a 2.5% boost, while SA’s primary agricultural output could rise by almost a tenth, according to the feasibility study in the report. Read the full original of Karl Gernetzky’s report on the SEZ at BusinessLive
Looming job losses threaten the CSIR’s climate change research Mail & Guardian reports that close to 100 jobs at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are on the line as the research centre undergoes restructuring. But, recently departed employees say this will severely affect the organisation’s capacity to do crucial research, especially related to climate change. In the restructuring, departments that are being dissolved and merged include natural resources and the environment; defence, peace, safety and security; research development and innovation. More than 270 staff members, mostly in mid-manager positions, received notices of possible retrenchments in December. At least 46 employees took voluntary severance packages and a further 127 have been moved into different positions in the organisation in a process facilitated by the CCMA. According to Tendani Tsedu, spokesperson for the CSIR, 99 staff members have yet to be placed and are undergoing a re-interviewing process. He said restructuring was necessary because some areas of the business were no longer financially viable. Tsedu added that restructuring included restricting recruitment to critical positions only, in particular for positions directly linked to secured contract funding. He denied the restructuring will negatively affect environmental research. Instead, the researchers would be moved into a new department called the “smart places hub”. Read the full original of Jacques Coetzee’s report in the above regard at Mail & Guardian
With the UIF’s uFiling system down for ‘maintenance’, the unemployed struggle to lodge claims Daily Maverick reports that the Department of Labour’s (DoL’s) uFiling system has been offline since 22 February, leaving jobless citizens unable to apply for compensation from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). According to the error message on the home page, the website has been down due to “required maintenance and upgrade of the uFiling System”. UIF director for communication and marketing Makhosonke Buthelezi indicated the maintenance process would modernise the uFiling system and enhance some functions. However, according to a press statement released by the DoL on 19 February, the plan was to have the system up and running by 25 February. In the statement, spokesperson Teboho Thejane said the DoL would be relocating its data centre to another building, thereby also impacting the uFiling system. The uFiling system’s downtime has naturally caused frustration among individuals trying to submit online claims with the UIF and many have taken to the Department’s Facebook page to voice their concerns. The call centre has also provided minimal assistance to disgruntled citizens with calls left unanswered. Filing of claims at labour centres can also be a challenge, with the system being offline for a week at a time. The UIF provides short-term relief to workers when they become unemployed or are unable to work because of maternity issues, adoption leave, or illness. It also provides relief to the dependants of a deceased contributor. Read the full original of Sandisiwe Shoba’s report in the above regard at Daily Maverick
Cape Town seeks rail experts to assist with takeover plan for passenger rail ANA reports that the City of Cape Town said on Tuesday it would be appointing a team of rail professionals to assist its transport directorate with business plans to take over passenger rail management from the national government. It said it was evaluating and assessing four tenders for the exercise and that the rail experts, once appointed, would develop a feasible and incremental plan for the city to assume the urban rail function from the state-owned Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa). The city council approved the business plan in October 2017 and its structured and incremental format will allow Cape Town to acquire the necessary skills and develop additional capacity to ensure the long-term sustainability of the rail service. The city council will announce the winner of the tender once the supply chain management process was concluded and it was satisfied that there was a preferred service provider who would be able to meet the criteria or scope of work. “The assignment of the urban rail service will have long-term implications for residents and commuters,” said mayoral committee member for transport Felicity Purchase. Read the full original of the report on this story at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Numsa employee loses unfair labour practice case against the union over car scheme Carmel Rickard reports that in a case certain to intrigue many, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) recently found itself in an unusual role — as an employer in dispute with a union organiser who challenged an alleged unfair labour practice. Even the Labour Court could not resist pointing out the irony of the union being "taken to task by one of its own employees", with acting judge Sean Snyman calling it a case of the "shoe being on the other foot". The dispute concerned a car-purchase scheme the union offered its employees as a benefit — subject to certain conditions. The conditions included that if a car developed problems and was not used for 30 days, the allowance paid to the employee would lapse. Importantly, every employee who was allocated a vehicle had a duty to report any problems with that car. When local Numsa organiser Mandla Skhosana ignored these conditions, despite receiving reminders, the union suspended access to his vehicle and fuel allowance. Skhosana claimed he had been unfairly treated and took his grievance to the CCMA. When the arbitrator found in Numsa’s favour, Skhosana asked the Labour Court for its view. Judge Snyman found nothing wrong with the arbitrator’s ruling as there was no doubt that Numsa’s decision to suspend the allowance was "objectively justified and relevant". He ruled that the case amounted to a disagreement over how the union applied a benefit policy — something that fell far short of establishing an unfair labour practice. Read the full original of the report on this dispute at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
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