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
Thursday, 25 July 2019.
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New transport department director-general to prioritise Prasa security Engineering News reports that Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Wednesday announced Alec Moemi as the new director-general (DG) of the Department of Transport, effective 1 August. He was formerly the DG of the Department of Sports and Recreation. The transport department has been without a full-time DG since 2016. Mbalula indicated that he had asked the new DG to immediately prioritise issues that impact on the department’s employees and the filling of critical vacancies, 21 of which were senior management posts and six of which were deputy DG vacancies. Mbalula noted as an immediate priority the urgent implementation of interventions aimed at addressing critical challenges facing the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa). To ensure passenger and user safety, the DG has been tasked with developing an all-encompassing national policy on safety and security in public transport, which must lead to direct in-sourcing of at least 80% of security personnel by Prasa, with these security officers to receive their basic training from the police. On the United National Transport Union-led railway safety strike set for Friday, Mbalula said the department had mitigation measures in place to deal with the strike and to ensure that it was conducted safely. Regarding public transport, Mbalula said the department would be operationalising integrated public transport networks or bus rapid transit systems across five additional cities of Mbombela, eThekwini, Rustenburg, Polokwane and Mangaung, over the next nine months. Read the full original of the informative report on the above at Engineering News Contingencies in place for Friday’s Metrorail strike, says Transport Minister ANA reports that Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Wednesday that critical staff would not participate in Friday’s planned strike action by Metrorail workers. At a media briefing, Mbalula indicated that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) had put in place contingencies to ensure disruptions to the Metrorail service were at a minimum after the United National Transport Union (Untu) was granted permission to go on strike on Friday. “There are no train drivers who are involved in the strike, that we need to be clear about … critical staff will not be taking part in the strike,” the minister asserted. “I don’t have the numbers of how many workers are going on strike but we are ready in terms of the workplace situation, through Prasa, to address any anomaly that would actually arise out of the strike should it actually degenerate into something else, violent or whatever, so the law enforcement agencies and our security complement is ready for it,” the minister stated. Untu is demanding, among other things, that measures be introduced to protect staff, who have come under attack, and a plan be put in place to ensure an end to the breakdown in services which has led to delays and people being laid off as a result of constantly being late for work. Read the original of the above report at The Citizen. Read too, Untu and Fedusa to march on 26 July 2019 with seven demands to President Cyril Ramaphosa, at SA Labour News (press statement) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
SABC condemns death threats directed at its journalists ANA reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) on Thursday said it was concerned about the latest death threats directed at its journalists who were covering various issues across the country, including instances of alleged corruption. According to SABC spokesperson Vuyo Mthembu, the public broadcaster had also noted, and was disturbed by recent instances of political and corporate bullying directed at its news service staff, with some of these happening on social media platforms. Group executive news and current affairs, Phathiswa Magopeni, said: “The SABC takes the threats seriously, and wants to put on record that these acts go against its constitutionally guaranteed freedom to perform its duties without hindrance.” She added that the continuing intimidation of journalists who were committed to delivering untrammeled news and current affairs content to the public, was in itself a threat to the public mandate. The broadcaster appealed to the public to give its journalists a safe space to do their work, in a manner that guaranteed transparency, accountability and inclusiveness. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Emergency services rescue two men trapped in structural collapse in Durban ANA reports that eThekwini Fire and Rescue Services on Wednesday morning rescued two men from a construction site in Durban. Netcare 911 reported that the emergency service responded to reports of a structural collapse at a construction site in Clare Estate, where two adult male construction workers were building a wall when the structure collapsed on both of them. The fire and rescue services managed to free both men from the rubble. The men were assessed at the scene and were found to have sustained moderate injuries. They were then taken to hospital for further treatment. Circumstances leading up to the structural collapse will be investigated by the relevant authorities. Read the original of the above report at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Treasury says miners’ concern about carbon tax a “red herring”, but Minerals Council warns of 6,000 job losses a year BusinessLive reports that a senior Treasury official has dismissed as a "red herring" the mining industry’s concerns over a relatively new tax on carbon dioxide emissions, saying the levy was too low to add up to unbearable costs. The tax, which was enshrined into law in May, faced opposition from big polluters such as miners, steelmakers and Eskom, which had warned it would eat into profits and push up electricity prices. Anglo American Platinum has said the tax could cost it up to R300m, while the Minerals Council of SA (previously known as the Chamber of Mines) warned it could lead to 6,000 job losses a year. "In the short term, the impact of the carbon tax on the price of electricity is minimal," said Treasury deputy director-general Ismail Momoniat on the sidelines of a coal industry conference on Wednesday. He went on to say that the challenges facing the mining sector could hardly be attributed to the carbon tax, which seeks to lower carbon dioxide emissions to ensure SA complies with global agreements such as the Paris accord to combat climate change. The mining industry is already taking strain from rising costs, especially electricity price increases, which it fears carbon tax will affect further. Read the full original of Lisa Steyn’s report in the above regard at BusinessLive Amplats rolling in cash after a bumper six months, but is talking the good times down Financial Mail writes that a tenfold increase in its cash pile in the space of a year is probably the most obvious sign that the lean times are firmly behind Anglo American Platinum (Amplats). But the platinum producer has travelled a painful journey to transform itself and CEO Chris Griffith is determined to avoid the mistakes of the past. While platinum prices continue to languish at multiyear lows, the rocketing prices of palladium and rhodium, with the benefit of a weaker rand, helped the miner produce a bumper set of half-year results this week. Besides a 120% jump in half-year headline earnings, Amplats kept cost increases to 6% — lower than mining inflation of 7.5%. But it will be tested as wage negotiations kick off in earnest. The majority union, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), has this year upped its hallmark minimum wage demand of R12,500 a month to R17,000. While the good fortune of the company undeniably puts it in a weakened negotiating position, Griffith says the miner will be mindful of the long-term implications of any agreement. "As prices go up, they also come down and what we will be very careful about is that we don’t embed unsustainable cost inflation that when prices do come down … that we then have to start retrenching again." Instead, Griffith notes that one-off payments or benefits are likely to be part of the settlement that the company envisages. Read the full original of Lisa Steyn’s report in the above regard at BusinessLive Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Koala dies, animals allegedly neglected as month-long Pretoria Zoo strike continues The Citizen reports that a koala bear has died and it has been alleged that animals are not being fed properly because of a month-long strike by staff at the Pretoria Zoo. “While we have been on strike, a lot of things have gone wrong in the zoo,” claimed National Trade Union Congress secretary Frans Rasethe, who reported that most of the staff have been on strike since 12 June. The strike came after staff were transferred from the National Research Foundation to the zoo. “When we were transferred, the employer did not consider a lot of things such as salary discrepancies for better working conditions, medical aid, and other benefits,” Rasethe claimed. He said that while management was dragging its feet in meeting employee demands, things were taking a turn for the worst at the zoo. Rasethe said the management had used interns to fill in for striking employees, but that their inexperience was showing. He referred to an incident in which an inexperienced driver had crashed into the elephant enclosure and said animals were not being fed or treated properly, which had led to the death of a koala last Saturday. But, zoo spokesperson Angeliné Schwan said Willie the koala died while under the care of veterinarians in the zoo hospital and that his death “was caused by a chronic liver condition.” Schwan also denied that the majority of the staff was on strike and claimed operations at the zoo were running smoothly. Read the full original of Reitumetse Mahope’s report on the above story at The Citizen
Numsa ready to down tools over wages in automotive sector if agreement not reached next week SowetanLive reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has given the strongest indication yet that it could embark on strike action to force automotive sector bosses to accede to its wage demands. On Wednesday, Numsa treasurer Mphumzi Maqungo advised that the last round of negotiations between the union and employers would be held in Port Elizabeth from 30 July to 2 August. “We have set aside these four days to purely fight and see whether we can’t find a solution and reach an agreement. If we don’t reach an agreement, we will strike. I don’t want to lie. We can’t be massaging each others’ egos for far too long,” he commented. Maqungo also advised that Numsa would hold its automotive national shop steward council on 29 July to consolidate feedback from its members on the 4.5% wage increase offer from the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo). The feedback will be taken to the last round of negotiations for consideration. Numsa is demanding a one-year, 20% wage increase across the board; as well as morning, afternoon and night allowances of 10%, 20% and 30%, respectively. Also, the union is demanding an annual bonus increase from 8.33% to 12%; six months’ paid maternity leave and 10 days’ paid paternity leave; as well as a transport allowance of R5,000 a month. Numsa moreover wants clerks, welders, spray painters and metal-finish workers to be paid a 20% allowance. Read the full original of Luyolo Mkentane’s report on the above at SowetanLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Municipal workers cause traffic congestion in Tshwane CBD on Thursday demanding wage increases ANA reports that thousands of City of Tshwane workers flooded central Pretoria and caused traffic congestion on Thursday, demanding salary adjustments as well as labour brokering to be done away with. Outside the Tshwane Municipal offices, SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) members demanded to be addressed by Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa. According to Samwu, the municipality’s top directors received 18% increases since 2017, to the exclusion of lower-ranked municipal workers. The union said the mass action by thousands of workers from various departments was a demonstration that workers wanted the same 18% increase twice for each year the senior directors had received it. Samwu’s Tshwane deputy regional secretary, Valentine Matlala, pointed out that the City of Tshwane had been upgraded in ranking meaning that its workers could be paid more, but the increases benefited only top-level managers. Mokgalapa tried to address the crowd, but was drowned out when he didn’t announce the 18% increase that Matlala claimed had been agreed upon in a meeting. According to Mokgalapa, everything was scheduled to be ironed out on Friday in another meeting with stakeholders. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Denel gives assurance that July salaries will be paid on time Fin24 reports that Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni’s commitment to recapitalising Denel gave the state-owed arms manufacturer the confidence to announce on Wednesday that would be able to pay July salaries on time. The utility released a statement on Wednesday to that effect. In an earlier statement on Monday, the company said it could not guarantee the payment of salaries. But, in the latest statement, Denel group CEO Danie du Toit said Mboweni's commitment to recapitalising Denel was a welcome development. "These steps will contribute greatly to the financial turnaround of the company and the restructuring of our business which has been initiated by our new Board," said Du Toit. The details of the bridging finance mechanism through which Denel has accessed the funding to pay salaries remains confidential. The statement also indicated that Denel would continue to dispose of non-core assets and establish strategic equity partnerships across all of its divisions. Read the full original of Khulekani Magubane’s report on the above at Fin24 Treasury insists no bailout funding for SABC unless it meets conditions BusinessLive reports that Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said in Parliament Wednesday that the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) would have to comply with conditions laid down by the Treasury before it could access the R3.2bn that it has requested from the government. The guarantee was refused mainly because the SABC had failed to meet its obligations and the business plan it had presented was not strong enough. The 11 conditions that had to be met were laid out in a letter sent to the SABC in April. Those included finalising the board (which has been accomplished), removing noncore and nonperforming activities, maximising advertising revenues and clawing back expenditure on content. Though finance minister Tito Mboweni declined to grant the SABC the guarantee, he previously said in a letter that he recognised the immediate need for the public broadcaster to be granted some form of assistance. On Tuesday, Mboweni said government financial support for struggling state owned enterprises such as the SABC, Denel and SAA would be released in chunks as certain conditions precedent were met. There had to be progress in these organisations before the government would grant them funds, the minister indicated, adding that chief restructuring officers would be announced for each of the entities. Read the full original of Linda Ensor’s report on the above at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Gauteng Health under fire over failure to pay community service nurses for past six months The Star reports that the Gauteng health department has come under fire from hundreds of community service nurses who accused it of withholding their salary payments for more than six months after they commenced their jobs. On Wednesday, more than a dozen Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) members marched to the department’s head offices in downtown Johannesburg where they demanded that the more than 600 workers be immediately paid their salaries. The marchers were however left outside for more than an hour before their grievances were heard, following their refusal to leave. Markos Khensani, who led the group, slammed the department and accused it of undermining nurses, whom he said were the backbone of the province’s congested public healthcare system. The nurses concerned are graduates of the national government’s nursing programme in which nursing students are trained for four years with a stipend and then placed in various provinces as salaried community service nurses for a year before being fully absorbed into the system. The department however, failed to ensure that they received their salaries after placement, leaving them to survive on their stipends. One of the nurses said the department had been ignoring their complaints for almost seven months and added that intakes from previous years have also been subjected to the same treatment of not being paid. Read the full original of Siviwe Feketha’s report on the above story at Independent News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mediclinic ‘disappointed’ at negative voting at AGM on remuneration report and share-allocation plan BusinessLive reports that private-hospital group Mediclinic International said it was “disappointed” after a large portion of shareholders voted against its remuneration report and a resolution to allow directors to allocate shares in the company. “The views of all shareholders are important to us and we are disappointed in this outcome,” Mediclinic said after 28.6% of shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) voted against its pay report and 21.1% disagreed with the share-allotment plan. The company said further: “We will reflect carefully on the different feedback already received and continue to engage with shareholders on this important issue, to understand more fully the reasons for their position.” An update will be published within six months. The high proportion of votes against the resolution to allow directors to allot ordinary shares “reflects the prevailing institutional voting policies in SA”, Mediclinic also commented. Meanwhile, 16% of votes opposed a resolution allowing directors to make political donations. Read the full original of Nick Hedley’s report in the above regard at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
In seventh death in Mandeni, robbers decapitate paper mill worker on his way to work SowetanLive reports that another body has been found near a railway line in Mandeni, KwaZulu-Natal, bringing to seven the number of bodies found in the area. On Sunday morning, 35-year-old Manqoba Shabane's lifeless body was discovered by passers-by. His head had been chopped off and his valuables stolen. Shabane was apparently on his way to work in the nearby paper mill when he was brutally killed. A lunch box was found next to his body. Police suspect the thugs faced resistance from the deceased. "Judging from the manner that he was killed, it would appear as if the deceased died fighting for his life. We suspect that a panga might have been used to chop his head off because it had been totally removed from his body," Captain Philani Mzimela indicated. The railway crossing is the only route used by pupils to reach their schools and students studying at the uMfolozi TVET College. Mzimela cautioned members of the public who frequented the area passing the railway bridge to walk in groups for safety reasons. Seven people have died under mysterious circumstances in the area. Early this month, the body of Nokuthula Mdiniso, who had been an engineering intern working at Isithebe Industrial Estate, had also been found dumped near the railway line. Read the full original of Sandile Motha’s on the above story at SowetanLive
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