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, 3 July 2019.
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Denosa rejects Gauteng MEC’s proposals for improved safety at Phola Park Clinic as inadequate Sowetan reports that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) has rejected a proposal by Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku to have Ekurhuleni metro police officers patrol Phola Park Clinic in Thokoza. On Tuesday, Masuku met with the Ekurhuleni health district and the clinic’s management following a serious security breach. The incident resulted in Denosa withdrawing its members from working night shift at the clinic. Masuku then announced that the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) would patrol the facility at night to ensure patient and staff safety. But the union did not buy that, with Denosa Ekurhuleni secretary Lebo Khumalo saying: “These incidents are happening all the time. EMPD would say they will come but at night they will say they are not baby-sitters. They are saying they are going to patrol but there is a chance they will patrol at 10pm and at 4am in the morning. What happens if there is an incident at midnight?” On Sunday night, three men entered the clinic carrying knives and searched for a man who had been stabbed in an apparent attempt to finish him off. They went from ward to ward, damaging property in the process. Khumalo said the union would feel safe when there was increased security personnel at the clinic and a security system screening people before they could access the facility. Read more of Penwell Dlamini’s Sowetan report on the above story at SA Labour News Emergency services operational in Cosmo City with metro cops to escort ambulances The Star reports that City of Johannesburg emergency services are operational in Cosmo City after the recent attack on an ambulance crew, but there could be some delays in assisting patients as precautionary security measures have been put in place. These include the screening of calls and getting security assistance from the Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) or the police. The City said despite attacks on paramedics last week, reports that emergency services had been suspended were incorrect. “There was a temporary withdrawal of the ambulance service to Cosmo City, which was misinterpreted as a shutdown of emergency medical rescue services to the residents of Cosmo City. This is entirely incorrect,” said Michael Sun, member of the mayoral committee for public safety. An ambulance crew was attacked while on a call to Cosmo City, west of Joburg. Sun advised further: “In light of the attack on the ambulance crew at Cosmo City, we are now screening calls coming from these hot spots. If the call is to attend to a volatile situation or a suspicious caller who cannot give us a precise location or description of the emergency, we will deploy the necessary resources to be escorted by the JMPD and/or SAPS. Each call will be assessed individually according to merit, type and level of emergency. We want to ensure both the safety of our residents and our EMS members.” The city has also installed panic buttons in the city’s ambulances; and EMS members have been provided with self-defence training and pepper spray as a preferred device to deter attackers. Read the full original of Anna Cox’s report on the above story at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Wage negotiations with platinum producers to start next week, says Amcu Bloomberg reports that according to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), it will be meeting with SA’s top three producers on successive days next week as it starts formal negotiations for a three-year wage deal. The union plans to meet with Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) on 9 July, followed by Impala Platinum (Implats) on 10 July and Sibanye Gold the day after that, according to general secretary Jeffrey Mphahlele. Amcu has demanded pay increases of as much as 48% as higher palladium and rhodium prices boost company earnings. “We will provide clarity on the rationale for our wage demands and take questions. Thereafter we will wait for companies to give us their offers,” Mphahlele indicated. Implats spokesman Johan Theron confirmed the meeting, while Amplats spokesperson Jana Marais said the producer would meet with Amcu later this month. Sibanye has yet to finalise a date, said spokesperson James Wellsted. Read the full original of the above report at Mining Weekly Amcu calls for tougher mine safety regulation following sixth Harmony fatality Mining Weekly reports that on Tuesday the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) called for greater accountability for mine safety and tougher regulation across the mining industry. This followed a fatality on Friday at Harmony’s Kusasalethu mine. An employee died following a shaft-related incident at the mine, near Carletonville. Amcu explained that an assistant to an onsetter was killed during the conveyance of material cars at the 105 level station. One assistant died from his injuries, while another was admitted to hospital. The union pointed out that the incident brought the number of fatalities at Harmony’s operations for the year to date to six. The first five fatalities occurred at the Bambanani Shaft, and the Doornkop, Phakisa and Tshepong mines. “Amcu calls for direct intervention from the Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe,” the union’s president Joseph Mathunjwa said in a statement. Read the original of the above report at Mining Weekly. Read Amcu’s press statement in the above regard at Amcu News JRA closes Roodepoort road badly damaged by illegal miners The Star reports that illegal miners are accused of having damaged a road in Roodepoort so badly that the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) was forced to close it as it was posing a serious risk to motorists. The City of Johannesburg said holes dug by the illegal miners on Iridium Street, between Randfontein Road and Penny Road, had resulted in water accumulating in them when it rained, which had undermined the pavement structure of the road. Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba said despite the road being old, illegal mining activities in the vicinity had contributed immensely to its deterioration. He claimed the road would have collapsed had they not acted quickly to close it. The closure will be in force until June 2020 pending repairs. Mashaba warned that illegal mining activity posed a serious threat as it happened near pipelines carrying gas and fuel and also threatened the safety of city employees working along pipelines. He also said the activities brought contamination risks to the city’s water supply. Read the full original of Botho Molosankwe’s report on the above story at The Star Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Results of PIC staff survey manipulated to create rosy picture, Mpati inquiry hears News24 reports that the judicial commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) heard on Tuesday that the results of a staff survey had been manipulated to present a false picture of employee satisfaction. The commission, headed by Justice Lex Mpati, is investigating allegations of wrongdoing at state-run asset manager, which manages R2.2trn in investments on behalf of public servants. Witnesses before the commission have spoken about a prevalent culture of fear in the corporation. The PIC conducted a two-part employee survey between October 2016 and May 2017. Ramabu Motimele, a senior HR business partner at the asset manager, on Tuesday testified that participation in the first round of the survey was low and prompted a second round. “The results of the (second round of the) survey did not surprise me at all. We were fortunate to have obtained a score above 50%, given the circumstances relating to the PIC climate at the time,” said Motimele. Some employees were neutral about their feelings. In Motimele experience, neutral sentiments were to be regarded as negative, however, the HR head, Chris Pholwane suggested that they be incorporated with positive sentiments. As a result, the score card of employee satisfaction increased from 56.7% to 74.8%. “This was completely misleading, given the terrible outcomes of the survey,” Motimele pointed out. He testified that such falsification was against good corporate governance and the real outcome of the poll had required intervention. Read the full original of Sibongile Khumalo’s report on the above story at Fin24. Read too, Climate of fear pervades PIC, inquiry told, at BusinessLive
Increasing number of employers failing to pay salaries, says Cosatu North West ANA reports that the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) in North West said on Wednesday that there was a growing number of employers who were failing to pay workers’ salaries, both in the private and public sectors. “The trend started almost two months ago in the security sector where employees were not paid and the employer alleges that the client, who happens to be government, have not paid. We feel that this is not a reasonable excuse for not paying workers their salaries,” the federation said in a statement. It went on to indicate: “Recently, we have learned of Westvaal Hospital and the Tswaing local municipality, who also have not paid workers their salaries. We view this as an exploitation of the workers and the violation of the workers’ rights and therefore we call on all employers to desist from the tendency of not paying workers on time.” Last week, the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), a Cosatu affiliate, reported that more than 30 municipalities across the country had informed workers that they were unable to pay salaries, leaving staffers to fend for themselves while medical aid, funeral policies and pension fund benefits fell into arrears. In Gauteng, workers at the West Rand municipality picketed outside the council’s offices following non-payment of salaries last month. Read the full original of the above report at The Citizen. Read Cosatu’s press statement at SA Labour News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Durban July at risk of shutdown due to union action over Phumelela retrenchments The Star reports that the Vodacom Durban July horse race, one of the highlights of the social calendar, might not go ahead as planned this weekend. The Academic & Professional Staff Association (Apsa), which is affiliated to about 500 workers who are in line to be retrenched by Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, has threatened to shut down the event. The union said in a statement: “As Apsa trade union, we have been engaging with Phumelela, which controls the Durban July, to deliberate on the planned retrenchment by the company, without any success. Phumelela has unilaterally decided to retrench about 500 staff members, claiming that it has a financial crisis, yet increased its management remuneration packages and allowances of its board members, who are mainly white males.” But Gold Circle Racing and Gaming said the event was run by them and not by Phumelela and indicated as follows in a statement: “The threatened strike action is against Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, who are currently undergoing a restructuring of their business that affects their employees. It’s all systems go for Saturday.” Apsa has given Phumelela until Wednesday to stop the retrenchments or there would no Durban July. Read the original of Tebogo Monama’s report on the above story at The Star. Read too, No threat to prestigious Durban July, says horse racing operator, at TimesLIVE
Survey reveals that half of SA teachers did not choose teaching as first choice ANA reports that the Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis) has revealed that more than half of South African teachers responded that teaching had not been their first choice. Only 49% cited teaching as their first choice for a career. The findings were announced on Tuesday by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshega during the release of the Talis report in Pretoria. Talis covered about 260,000 teachers in 15,000 schools across 48 countries and economies. It surveyed teachers and school leaders on the working conditions and the learning environment in several countries to provide a barometer of the profession. It is viewed as an examination of the basic education sector from the perspective of the teachers. The report also revealed that 60% of teachers were female, but only 20% of women were principals. In SA, 69% of teachers reported having participated in some kind of formal or informal induction when they joined their current school, compared to 42% of teachers across Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and economies participating in Talis. Read the original of the above report at The Citizen SA teachers busy with discipline issues at expense of teaching Sowetan reports that South African teachers spend less time on actual teaching and learning compared to their counterparts in countries such as Portugal and Sweden. This was indicated in the 2018 report of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis), which was released by basic education minister Angie Motshekga on Tuesday. According to the report, during a typical lesson teachers spent 66% on classroom teaching, which was lower than in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries (OECD) and partner countries, which had an average of 78%. Motshekga said SA teachers were spending more time on disciplinary problems, among other matters. “Another thing is that we have to fast track our programme on teacher laptops as teachers are still doing their jobs manually and have to keep records of the children as compared to countries were teachers are recording on ICT,” Motshekga indicated. Among all countries and economies participating in Talis, SA was the country where school safety incidents occurred most frequently and in several different forms. “We have a responsibility as an education department to support our learners and teach them about social behaviour,” Motshekga pointed out. Read the full original of Yoliswa Sobuwa’s report in the above regard on page 7 of Sowetan of 3 July 2019 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Prescribed assets would have 'very real negative impact' on economy, Helen Suzman Foundation warns Fin24 reports that the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) says that the introduction of prescribed assets in respect of financial institutions would have a "very real negative impact" on them and on the economy as a whole. The foundation released a briefing paper on Tuesday on potential impacts of prescribed assets. Prescribed assets’ refer to the practice of requiring funds to invest a certain percentage of their assets in government-approved instruments. The ANC, in its 2019 election manifesto, indicated that the party would "investigate the introduction of prescribed assets on financial institutions’ funds to unlock resources for investments in social and economic development". ‘In its paper, the HSF said that introducing prescribed assets would have a "negative impact on the stock-market and the country’s overall financial stability". Researcher Charles Collocott added: "Making investment funds instruments of government policy would be counter to the fiduciary duty of fund managers to act in the best interests of its members [….] as it will result in lower than market returns for the beneficiaries." He also claimed that prescribed assets would likely lead to decreased foreign investment in SA government bonds and SOE debt, reduce incentives to save for retirement, and an erosion of investment value. Financial institutions have been adamant in arguing against the introduction of prescribed assets, saying it would them force to bail out debt-laden government entities. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24. Read the HSF’s brief on this subject at HSF News
Government Employees Medical Scheme to appeal court ruling granting Public Protector jurisdiction over it News24 reports that the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) will be appealing a North Gauteng High Court ruling on Thursday that granted the Public Protector (PP) jurisdiction over it. "We will appeal the North Gauteng High Court ruling and we have already notified the Public Protector's office of this fact prior to her press statement. We have been advised that we have good grounds for an appeal," the scheme indicated in a statement on Tuesday. “We are confident that the appeal will be favourable to GEMS,” its principal officer, Gunvant Goolab, added. The PP’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, noted that the court had ruled in the PP’s favour, which “paves the way for advocate [Busisiwe] Mkhwebane to carry on with an investigation that was deadlocked for nearly two years, leaving the complainant in the matter in the lurch.” The PP received a complaint by a dependent of a GEMS member alleging that the scheme had refused to admit him as the beneficiary after the member's death. Gems then claimed that its regulatory body, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS), had already brought the matter to a close by ruling in favour of GEMS. But the High Court ruled that the case, which was in the interest of the public, should be investigated further to determine whether the complainant was unlawfully excluded from the scheme and if this amounted to improper prejudice. Read the full original of Canny Maphanga’s report on the above story at News24. Read the Public Protector’s press statement on the ruling at Public Protector News
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