In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Monday, 3 June 2019.
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Truck driver who was petrol-bombed while resting at the side of N1 fights for his life TimesLIVE reports that a truck driver was chased by attackers after they petrol bombed his vehicle while he was resting on the side of the N1 highway near Touws River in the Western Cape. Yolanda Huddlestone, from Huddlestone Logistics, said that 50-year-old Bernard Groenewald sustained serious burns to more than 60% of his body during the attack in the early hours of Sunday morning. She indicated that the next 48 hours would be critical for the injured driver. “Our drivers aren’t safe on the roads anymore. We don’t know where you can park safely,” she stated. Huddlestone indicated that between 11pm and 4am crime was so bad on the road that in some cases insurance was reluctant to cover losses. ER24 spokesperson Werner Vermaak said Groenewald was found “some distance” away from the flaming truck. “He managed to jump out of the truck and was apparently chased by an unknown number of men, who threw another petrol bomb directly at him,” he said. This was the latest in a series of attacks on truck drivers across the country. Trucks were torched at the weekend in KwaZulu-Natal. The Road Freight Association revealed in May that 1,300 trucks had been damaged or destroyed since last year. Read the full original of Dan Meyer’s report on this story at TimesLIVE DA calls for provincial government to address attacks on trucks in KZN ANA reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday called on KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) transport and community safety member of the executive council (MEC), Mxolisi Kaunda, to take urgent steps to ensure the safety of province’s road users as attacks on trucks and truck drivers continued. In the early hours of Sunday morning, a truck was set on fire on the Orthmann Road on-ramp in Pietermaritzburg. Fortunately, the driver escaped unharmed. Shortly after this incident, another truck was set alight on the N3 near the Mooi Toll Plaza. The driver was injured, but is in a stable condition. The attacks are believed to be related to the high number of foreigners being employed in preference to local unemployed drivers, which the local trucking industry has been raising as a concern for a number of months. Sharon Hoosen, DA spokesperson on transport in KZN, said: “These incidents have been going on since April last year, with more than 15 trucks burnt on the N3 this weekend alone, yet no one has been arrested let alone brought to book. The reality is that criminals are taking control of our roads with law enforcement nowhere to be seen.” Read the full original of the report on the above story at The Citizen
Rock burst claims female employee’s life at South Deep gold mine Mining Weekly reports that following a series of four seismic events in quick succession on Sunday, a 38-year-old female trackless crew leader was killed after being struck by a rock ejected from the rock face of Gold Fields’ South Deep mine. The gold miner reported that three of the seismic events had been been 1.4 and 1.9 in magnitude. The deceased employee received immediate attention on the scene by paramedics, but succumbed to her injuries soon after the incident. Three other team members sustained minor injuries and have since been discharged from hospital. Gold Fields suspended operations at South Deep on Sunday out of respect for the deceased and to allow employees access to counselling. The affected area will remain closed until it is deemed safe. The Department of Mineral Resources was due to conduct an in loco inspection on Monday. Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland on Monday said this was the company’s first fatality this year and came amid significant improvements in the group’s safety performance over the past five years. Read the full original of the report on this story at Mining Weekly
CEO who pledged R100,000 cash for charity if he could not fix SAA resigns TimesLIVE reports that the South African Airways (SAA) board has accepted the resignation of Vuyani Jarana, group chief executive officer. Jarana, who joined SAA in November 2017, was tasked with leading a strategy to return the airline to financial and operational sustainability. In June last year, he accepted a challenge from Free Market Foundation executive director Leon Louw to pay R100‚000 to charity if his three-year turnaround plan for the airline did not succeed. If he had led the airline into profit‚ Louw would have had to stump up the cash. In his resignation letter, Jarana cited slow decision-making and red tape at the airline, as well as blurred lines of accountability, for his departure. JB Magwaza, SAA chairman, commented that the airline would continue to implement actions to reduce SAA’s cost structure and make the airline more competitive domestically and globally. In terms of his contractual obligations, Jarana has committed to remain until the end of August to ensure an orderly transition of his responsibilities. Read the full original of the report on the above summary at TimesLIVE
Volvo shifts parental leave up to another gear Sunday Tribune reports that vehicle manufacturer Volvo’s paid gender-neutral parental leave policy that was recently launched in SA has been described as a “progressive” step towards gender equity in the workplace. Volvo said the perk not only provided fathers with more time off work to care for children, it also allowed the working careers of women to flourish because the child care burden was not placed solely on their shoulders. From 1 May, Volvo SA employees who have been with the company for more than a year are afforded six months’ leave with 80% pay when a child entered their lives. This is not only for mothers and fathers, but for same-sex parents and parents of adopted children. “It will improve work-life balance, boost family time and fits in with a human-centric company like ours,” said Greg Maruszewski, MD of Volvo SA. Volvo’s improvement is the first of its kind in the local motor industry. The standard provision for mothers is four months of paid maternity leave from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which is capped to a gross salary of R14,872. For women in the higher salary brackets, employers usually cover between 75% and 100% of the deficit. Fathers, adoptive fathers and same-sex partners get three days of family responsibility leave when babies arrive. However, under the Labour Laws Amendment Act, which was proposed in November, they will receive 10 days of paternal leave once it has been approved. Read the full original of Mervyn Naidoo’s report on the above at Sunday Tribune
New public service minister Senzo Mchunu to persevere with cutting of government wage bill The Sunday Independent reports that Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu has indicated that he would stick to the government programme of trimming the public service and cutting the wage bill. However, he insisted that his department would work with all stakeholders in the public sector, including unions. The public sector wage bill has been increasing over the years and stands at over R500 billion, but labour federation Cosatu has warned that it would not allow retrenchments in the sector. Mchunu observed that the issue of the public sector wage bill was just one of the hiccups he would encounter and that he would work with the unions. “There is no way I can walk away from the unions. Not only must we work closely ... we must forge common objectives,” he indicated. Mchunu also said he wanted stability in the public service, as this had been lacking in the sector for some time, viz.: “I know from what we have been observing, we do need greater stability in the public service. There are many disruptions in the form of strikes and work stoppages, and it affects governance. The public service is an important vehicle for government to fulfil its mission.” Read the full original of Loyiso Sidimba’s report on this story at Independent News. Read too, Mchunu ready to face public sector challenges, at SowetanLive
Report recommends major shake-up for law degree following concerns about poor quality of graduates The Star reports that the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme as taught at SA universities is headed for a major revamp after many institutions were found to be doing a shoddy job on aspects such as critical thinking. A report undertaken and released recently by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), the statutory body responsible for quality assurance, has recommended extensive changes to how the LLB is taught at 17 universities. The 98-page report, “The State of the Provision of the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Qualification in South Africa”, has highlighted a range of shortcomings in the degree. It was conducted by panels on behalf of the CHE following repeated concerns by professional lawyers that law graduates were of poor quality. “It is recommended that all law faculties/schools undertake a curriculum reform exercise (many, in fact, are already engaged in such an exercise),” the report indicated. It looks certain to thrust the debate about whether the LLB should be taught over five years back into the spotlight. It is currently a four-year programme. All panels that visited law faculties were met with laments of sub-par writing and research skills among students. The complainants, who were largely lecturers, blamed the school system for this deficiency. Half of the universities fared poorly in imparting critical thinking skills to students. The report blamed large classes as “the most serious inhibiting factor” to the imparting of critical thinking. It recommended a major cut to the number of students accepted to LLB courses. Read the full original of Bongani Nkosi’s report in the above regard at The Star
Public Servants Association tells PIC to sell its Eskom debt as it poses big risk to government pensioners Bloomberg reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA), whose members contribute most to the funds overseen by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), wants the fund manager to stop investing in the debt of Eskom. The 240,000-strong union said that by buying Eskom’s bonds the PIC was exposing pensioners to excessive risk as the state-owned power company was not selling enough electricity to cover its costs and has had to be bailed out by the government. It also urged the PIC to avoid investing in other struggling state-owned companies such as SA Airways. The Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), managed by the PIC, holds R54.8bn of Eskom bonds, or 16.8% of all the debt outstanding which amounts to more than five times the next-biggest holder. The PIC owns an additional R8.5bn of Eskom bonds on behalf of other clients. “The PIC needs to get out of Eskom,” Tahir Maepa, the PSA’s deputy general manager for members’ affairs, said in an interview. He added: “So long as they have the PIC as a piggy bank they will never be able to sustain themselves and run like a business. Eskom should be a business and not rely on bailouts from pensioners’ money.” The influence of the PSA and other unions on the PIC is about to increase as three labour leaders, including the PSA’s top executive, are set to be appointed to the organisation’s interim board. Read the full original of Antony Sguazzin’s report on the above summary at BusinessLive. Read too, Big three unions name candidates for PIC board, at Business Report
UIF says uFiling to be fixed by July City Press reports that the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has promised that the month-long delays and endless frustration caused by problems with the availability of the electronic uFiling system should be ironed out soon. But, employers and consultants, who must enter employee details on the electronic system in order to pay their unemployment contributions, and workers who want to claim from the UIF will likely take the promise with a pinch of salt – the UIF previously promised that all technical problems would be resolved by 1 April. Over the past two months, Rapport has received scores of complaints from employers and consultants battling with the system on a daily basis. uFiling is a free online service offered by the UIF, which allows employers to fill out their UIF declaration about employee salaries and pay their monthly contribution to the fund. Since February, uFiling has frequently been unavailable. When it has been available, employers could not submit data on employee salaries, which meant that payments and repayments could not be calculated. According to some, they went for up to three months without being able to upload information onto the site. There are also concerns about historical data that is allegedly no longer readily accessible. According to Makhosonke Buthelezi, director of communication at the UIF, most glitches will be a thing of the past by Friday and the UIF is confident that everything will run smoothly by mid-July. Read the full original of Riana de Lange’s report on the above at City Press. Read too, Claimants lament struggle to get UIF benefits paid out, at SowetanLive
Nurse, security guard and two doctors implicated in tying 76-year-old to hospital bench placed on special leave TimesLIVE reports that a nurse, a security guard and two doctors implicated in tying 76-year-old Martha Marais to a bench at Mamelodi hospital have been put on special leave. Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku visited the Marais family on Sunday after video footage showing her tied up on the floor went viral. She had been referred to the hospital for treatment as she had been feeling unwell on Tuesday morning. "We have done our preliminary investigation and we have received reports. The reports have revealed four individuals who were involved and who are on special leave pending their suspension," Masuku said. The report, according to Masuku, identified a number of challenges regarding how Marais was treated as well as capacity issues relating to management and infrastructure. The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said on Friday it planned to provide legal assistance to Martha Marais. Masuku welcomed the involvement of the SAHRC to conduct its own investigation “which will hopefully correlate what we find." Read the full original of Nomahlubi Jordaan’s report on this story at TimesLIVE
Rail service back on track on Monday after Mamelodi crash on Saturday left 57 injured ANA reports that a collision involving a passenger train and a tamping machine in Mamelodi on Saturday night affected the service between Pienaarspoort and Pretoria. Train services were expected to be up and running as usual on Monday morning. The collision left 57 passengers badly injured, 14 of them in critical condition. Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula on Sunday instructed the Railway Safety Regulator to prioritise its investigation into the collision. “I will soon meet all the rail and road entities to deal with this matter as a priority. The time has come for new and fresh ideas to stop the carnage,” Mbalula commented. He also instructed the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) to submit a report urgently regarding the incident and provide the injured and their families with the necessary support. In addition, he requested the Deputy Minister of Transport, Dikeledi Magadzi, to monitor the recovery progress of passengers who were injured and ensure they received further medical attention where necessary. Mbalula further commented: “It cannot be that our rail network is taking the same path similar to the crashes on our roads. Our rail network is slowly becoming the killing fields, just like our road network. It is unacceptable.” Read the full original of the report on the above at Pretoria News On Sunday, yet more train carriages burn in Cape Town, no injuries reported TimesLIVE reports that several train carriages were burnt in a fire that started at a Transnet engineering yard in Maitland, Cape Town, on Sunday. Five firefighting vehicles, one rescue vehicle and 21 firefighters were dispatched to contain the blaze. The fire was contained to several disused carriages. No injuries were reported. Sunday’s fire was the third involving trains in Cape Town within the space of a few days. A train pulled into Cape Town station on 28 May on fire. The next day another train was engulfed in flames at the station. Read the original of this report together with a photo at TimesLIVE
‘Ghost’ soldier causes panic after infiltrating SANDF City Press reports that the alleged infiltration of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) by a “rogue” soldier is being investigated by army intelligence services and the police. According to Rapport, a high-level investigation into the infiltration of the defence force has been ongoing for weeks, but kicked into high gear after the arrest of an alleged “ghost” soldier. The so-called soldier has apparently been active on several army bases for years, even though he was not officially a soldier. He was arrested when he tried to worm his way into the infantry group that was to accompany President Cyril Ramaphosa during his inauguration last weekend at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. “If he could get away with it for years, how many other ghost soldiers are out there, and what are they doing?” said a source close to the investigation. Apparently, the police are searching for another two suspects. They are also trying to confirm whether there was a conspiracy aimed at targeting any highly placed politicians, among them possibly Ramaphosa. Thapelo Mokgosi (29) has already appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on charges that he falsely presented himself as a soldier, as well as on charges of the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Read the full original of the report by Erika Gibson, Johan Eybers and Elizabeth Sejake on the above story at City Press
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