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
Wednesday, 24 April 2019.
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Limpopo municipal employee run over and killed by council truck on Friday ANA reports that Thohoyandou police in Limpopo are investigating a case of culpable homicide after a female municipal worker was run over by a municipal truck on Friday morning. Police spokesperson Sergeant Vuledzani DathiIt indicated that a 37-year-old employee of Thulamela Municipality, Mbadi Mashonelo, was allegedly run over by a municipal truck whilst collecting refuse in the Thohoyandou CBD. The driver was apparently unaware the woman was behind the truck. DathiIt said the driver reversed the truck and instantly killed the woman, who worked in the Extended Public Work Programme (EPWP). Read the original of this report at The Citizen
Contractor serves 274 employees with notices of dismissal at Wescoal mine, deliveries to Eskom interrupted Fin24 reports that Wescoal indicated on Tuesday that production at the Vanggatfontein Mine in Mpumalanga would be suspended for a period of between six to eight weeks. The mine is run by Keaton Mining, a subsidiary of Wescoal, while the operations are outsourced to a mining contractor. Wescoal advised that 274 of the contract employees had been served with notices of dismissal following what it described as "work stoppages, strike actions and riots". Wescoal said employees "turned violent" on 16 April, resulting in the destruction of equipment and the blockage of the mine's entrance gate. The contractor was then granted a court interdict against the employees on 17 April in the Labour Court. A disciplinary hearing found that the "only recommendation which would be appropriate in the circumstances would be that of dismissal". As a result of the production downtime, Wescoal has provided a notice of force majeure to power utility Eskom of its inability to continue supplying coal in terms of their supply agreement. The mining contractor and Wescoal have embarked on a recruitment drive to hire new employees. Read the original report on the above at Fin24. Read too, Vanggatfontein coal deliveries to Eskom interrupted as striking miners dismissed, at Mining Weekly Production at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mines yet to return to normal following end to wage strike EWN reports that while thousands of workers have returned to their posts at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations, production is expected to take a while to pick up. A payless stay away of almost five months was called off last week after the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) signed a wage agreement with Sibanye, settling essentially on the same terms as the deal signed by three other unions in November. Head of stakeholder relations at Sibanye-Stillwater, Thabisile Phumo, said that the miners were offered transport to bring them back to work in the Free State and Gauteng, but because of Easter weekend delays, that had not taken place. But, Phumo indicated that even after returning, the miners would be put to work immediately. “The employees who were on strike will undergo retraining as well as medical fitness tests to ensure that when they go underground they are ready to resume their normal duties,” she indicated, adding that the results of those tests might affect the number of workers who would resume their duties. Read the original of Kgomotso Modise’s report on the above at EWN Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Numsa, Comair await Labour Court as talks over dispute deadlock Fin24 reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) indicated in a statement on Tuesday that it had met with the management of airline operator Comair on Saturday in an attempt to resolve the issue of salary discrepancies. In Numsa's view, Comair management was not taking the dispute seriously, despite two recent long meetings. "Numsa has given a very clear direction about how they can fix this situation over a reasonable period of time. They refused. Their proposal will worsen the problem and result in the wage gap being widened for the lowest paid workers," the union indicated. Last week the Labour Court temporarily interdicted a strike by about 300 Comair ground staff, but reserved judgment in the matter. According to Comair, the failure of the parties to reach an agreement meant that the parties would have to wait for the court to grant a final judgement on its application for an interdict against a potential strike. Numsa said on Tuesday that it expected to obtain reasons from the court this week on why it had granted Comair a temporary interdict. The union said that, depending on what the reasons were, it would assist it in making a final decision on a possible way forward. "We will also have to consult our members for a mandate," the union said, adding that it would likely be meeting with Comair again "soon" to try to find common ground. Read the full original of Carin Smith’s report in the above regard at Fin24. Read Numsa’s press statement at Politicsweb
Cosatu wants Finance Minister Mboweni to take his own advice and retire Bloomberg reports that labour federation Cosatu wants Finance Minister Tito Mboweni to practice what he preaches and retire, not because he’s too old, but because that they just don’t like him. When Mboweni was appointed in October to replace Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister, Cosatu made it clear it should only be a transitional move. Michael Shingange, Cosatu’s first deputy president, commented on Tuesday: “This is a man who says people who are 55 years old must retire because they are too old. It would be a huge shock for us if Tito Mboweni was to avail himself to be the minister of finance (after the 8 May general election).” Cosatu’s problem with Mboweni, who turned 60 last month, is not only his age, but the former central bank governor’s stance on state companies, which he says are over-staffed and should be sold off. In his February budget, Mboweni proposed offering early retirement to state workers who were 55 and older to help cut the government wage bill. The minister also said recently that it was time for old people to retire and for young people to run the country. Another minister in Cosatu’s crosshairs is Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. While Gordhan, 70, was appointed to help restore trust and credibility in Eskom, load shedding and constant crisis-management at the utility showed that he was failing, according to Cosatu. Read the full original of the report on the above by Londell Phumi Ramalepe and Amogelang Mbatha at Fin24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Free State government warns of social media job scam The Citizen reports that the Free State Provincial Government has warned members of the public not to fall victim to a social media scammer, who is promising people jobs in the provincial government in exchange for money and other favours. The office of the premier has identified a social media user going by the name of Mpho Gift, who claims to be from the office of the premier. According to the Government News Agency, the individual operates by requesting money, which in some cases amounts to about R8,000, from unsuspecting victims promising them placement in the provincial government. “We would like to place it on record that government posts are advertised in the local and national newspapers, other media platforms as well as the Free State Provincial Government website,” said the provincial government in a statement. It also emphasised that no government official or any other person was allowed to solicit or accept a bribe in exchange for job placements. “We will be approaching the law enforcement authorities for further direction on this matter,” the province advised. Read the full original of Kaunda Selisho’s report on this scam at The Citizen
Plain sailing for SA’s first and only female submarine navigator The Star reports that SA’s first and only female officer able to navigate a submarine, Lieutenant Gillian Malouw, is determined to progress in the combat branch to inspire others. “The world is filled with naysayers and negativity, but no one can take away what you’ve learnt and no one can take away your dreams. If you truly want something, do everything in your power to make it happen,” Malouw told the Cape Times. The 28-year-old said she was proud that she was able to accomplish what she had set out to do. “For the first time in the history of our submarine service, we have a female in a leadership position and in line to command a submarine. It shows we are moving in the right direction.” She joined the sea cadets when she was doing Grade 7 and made the decision to join the navy in Grade 9, when her cousin (Lieutenant-Commander Nsibande) joined. Malouw was accepted to start basic military training in January 2010. She described her job as an officer of the watch at sea as interesting. “This means that when I am on watch, I am accountable to the Officer Commanding for the safety of the boat in all aspects,” she explained. Read more of Gillian Malouw’s report on this story that appeared in The Star at SA Labour News
North West University meets LLB standards ANA reports that the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme at North West University (NWU) has finally received full accreditation. In 2017, the Council on Higher Education, which is responsible for quality assurance, issued notices of withdrawal of accreditation to the universities of Limpopo and Zululand, while the accreditation of Walter Sisulu University was withdrawn. NWU was one of 10 universities whose programme was hanging in the balance. This came after the council conducted a national review of the LLB programmes at 17 institutions in 2015 and 2016. The NWU submitted its progress report to the council in October. NWU vice-chancellor Dan Kgwadi indicated: “We had a dedicated team addressing the identified shortcomings, and all along I was confident that NWU will, through addressing the issues identified, ensure that we deliver an even better LLB degree, not only to the benefit of our students, but also that of the country.” This short report appeared on page 11 of The Star of 18 April 2019
SABC fires COO Chris Maroleng with immediate effect BusinessLive reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has terminated the contract of Chief Operating Officer (COO) Chris Maroleng with immediate effect. In a short statement, the public broadcaster said: “The SABC board met on Tuesday April 23. After due consideration of the findings and recommendations of a disciplinary process, the board resolved to terminate the contract of … Maroleni [Maroleng] with immediate effect.” Maroleng was appointed in January 2018 tasked with cleaning up the SABC. He took over from the controversial Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who was fired in June 2017 for bringing the SABC into disrepute. Maroleng is said to have been found guilty of three of four charges he faced at a disciplinary hearing. Reacting to the dismissal on Twitter, Maroleng said: “This is quite a low for my career. But I am considering my options with my legal advisers. I am going to appeal this decision to dismiss me.” Read the full original of the report on this story at BusinessLive. See too, Chris Maroleng ‘devastated’ by dismissal from SABC, at EWN Devastated Chris Maroleng vows to fight for his SABC job at CCMA The Star reports that fired SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief operations officer Chris Maroleng has vowed to fight back and challenge his dismissal by the public broadcaster. A devastated Maroleng revealed that he was currently taking legal advice and would probably take the fight for his job to the Commission for Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration (CCMA). The SABC board announced on Tuesday that Maroleng's contract had been terminated with immediate effect after he was found guilty in an internal disciplinary hearing. Maroleng was found guilty of three of the four charges he faced. He was found guilty of approving a monthly acting allowance of just over R15,000 for an employee, despite a written HR decision to the contrary. He was also found guilty of two charges relating to protecting former acting group executive for sport Marcia Mahlalela. Maroleng said he felt “pretty down” after being fired, but still had the will to fight. “I may have not followed processes to the T, or I may have demonstrated some sort of bad judgment, but the truth is that I never did anything that will ultimately result in the financial loss of the SABC. I did not defraud the SABC. I did not act corruptly to enrich anyone, including myself, but ultimately here I am fired,” Maroleng argued. Read the full original of Tebogo Monama’s report on this story at The Star
Springs hospital suspends and lays criminal charge against nurse who performed illegal abortion News24 reports that the Far East Rand Hospital in Springs, Gauteng, has laid criminal charges against a nurse who performed an illegal abortion on Friday while off duty. The termination of the pregnancy at a private home led to complications that resulted in the patient collapsing. "The nurse apparently gave the patient oral medication and did some manipulation which led to complications that saw the patient collapse. He then took the patient to Far East Rand Hospital under a guise that she was his partner," the Gauteng Department of Health indicated on Tuesday. The patient is currently stable in the intensive care unit. The nurse has been suspended, while his case has been referred to the SA Nursing Council for further investigation. Hospital CEO Dr Constance Ndobe also confirmed that criminal charges had been laid at the Springs police station. The department pleaded with members of the public not to use 'backyard abortion services' as they could lead to loss of life or patients could be scarred for life. Read the full original of Canny Maphanga’s report on this story at News24. See too, Male nurse charged after 'backyard abortion' goes wrong in Springs, at TimesLIVE 'Drunk' man drinks quart while working casualty shift at Port Elizabeth hospital News24 reports that a sick man and his wife who arrived at Port Elizabeth's Livingstone Hospital casualty division in the early hours of Thursday morning were received by a man drinking a quart of beer. He appeared to be intoxicated. The wife had rushed her husband to hospital after he collapsed at their home. She related: "This man with the beer was the first point of contact at casualty where patients are admitted. He was behind the service counter, but incapable of doing anything. He was still drinking his beer right there. There I was, with my husband unconscious in a wheelchair, and standing between me and the doctors is a man who can't even open a file." Moments later, a doctor arrived, seemingly to complain about a previous patient's file. The doctor assisted her husband while a nurse took over the paperwork. Lwandile Sicwetsha, Eastern Cape health department spokesperson, told Netwerk24 that the department was aware of the incident and was conducting an internal investigation. On Monday, he could not provide information regarding the man's position at the hospital. Read the full original of Cara-Lee Dorfling’s report on this story at News24
Nature of sexual harassment at work under the spotlight The Citizen reports that according to legal researcher Lee-Anne Germanos of the Helen Suzman Foundation, major employers are failing to police sexual harassment at work because they apply a flawed understanding of its very nature. In a series of legal briefs, Germanos has examined the roots of society’s ineptitude at policing sexual crimes by looking at how it is dealt with in the criminal justice system as well as in the workplace. Her criticism is that there is not enough context and understanding on sexual harassment in the workplace. Referring to an investigation by panel of inquiry appointed by Equal Education (EE) to investigate a series of sexual crime allegations, Germanos notes the legalistic approach adopted by the panellists who produced the majority report. “The anonymity of the victims was used as the sole ground for dismissing their complaints. One criticism of this approach is that it displays a misunderstanding of the nature of sexual harassment and the power dynamics which invariably accompany it,” Germanos pointed out. She further noted that sexual violence has been historically viewed as a crime of passion and lust rather than an act of violence and lamented the subjective manner in which society has dealt with sexual offences, where the onus of proof has been on the victim. Read the full original of Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni’s report in the above regard at The Citizen. Read Lee-Anne Germanos’ legal brief on sexual harassment in the workplace at HSF Briefs
'I burnt the trains', suspect in arson attack at Cape Town station tells magistrate TimesLIVE reports that "I burnt the trains," Thobela Xoseni declared during his first appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Wednesday. The 30-year-old smiled strangely at magistrate Greg Jacobs after a brief, loud and rambling consultation with his legal aid attorney across the wooden railing of the dock. Xoseni, from Khayelitsha, was arrested after video footage from Cape Town station, where two train fires occurred simultaneously on Sunday, apparently showed him exiting one of the trains. After explaining something through a Xhosa translator to his attorney, he declared loudly: "I set the trains on fire, I burnt the trains". The state prosecutor, Melanie Wells, told the court security officers were patrolling the station when they saw smoke coming from trains at platforms 13 and 14. When law enforcement authorities perused the footage they noticed Xoseni leaving a carriage shortly before the fire. Wells requested a postponement for Xoseni's mental state to be assessed by the district surgeon. He will be held in Cape Town central police station until his next appearance on 2 May. Read the full original of Aron Hyman’s report on this story at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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