In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Wednesday, 21 August 2019.
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Fraudulent qualifications or fake certificates in CVs criminalised The Star reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law tough new rules criminalising the submission of fraudulent qualifications or misrepresentation of education credentials. Job seekers and prospective students who submit fraudulent qualifications or misrepresent them will now face up to five years in prison in terms of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Amendment Act 2019. SA Qualifications Authority (Saqa) CE Joe Samuels advised that Ramaphosa signed the Act into law last Tuesday and it was published in the Government Gazette on Monday. It will come into effect on a date determined by Ramaphosa and its provisions could have different commencement dates. Samuels said Saqa would study the Act and look very seriously at parts that could be implemented immediately and do preparatory work for other aspects of the new law. Five-year sentences, unspecified fines or both will be handed to people found guilty of making false entries in the national learners’ records database or are party to the falsification, dissemination or publication of a qualification or part-qualification of who any person. Owners of bogus education institutions will also face jail time for awarding fraudulent qualifications. The Act provides for the establishment of a separate register of misrepresented or fraudulent qualifications or part-qualifications, which is expected to be published periodically Read the full original of the above report by Loyiso Sidimba at Independent News
Armed men hold up courier delivery crew in Randburg, no one injured News24 Wire reports that goods worth R5,000 were stolen from a courier van in Sonneglans, Randburg, on Tuesday. The van, belonging to CourierIt, was parked in a driveway at 10.20am when the crew was confronted. CCTV footage of the incident has been circulated on social media and shows the suspects arriving in a grey vehicle. Honeydew police spokesperson Captain Balan Muthan advised that the delivery men were approached by two armed suspects. “One of the suspects pointed a firearm at the complainant and took some of the parcels from the bakkie,” he stated. The men then fled the scene, leaving the couriers uninjured. A CourierIt general manager said the matter was under investigation. Read the original of the above report at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Joburg’s newly signed historic labour pact already in tatters BusinessLive reports that the ink was barely dry on the ground-breaking agreement signed by the City of Johannesburg and two trade unions, before infighting broke out within the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) over the pact. On Monday, DA mayor Herman Mashaba, together with representatives from Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu), signed what they described as a historic and first-of-its-kind memorandum of understanding, aimed at promoting harmonious labour relations and advancing service delivery. But, Vuyani Singonzo, who signed the agreement on Samwu’s behalf as its purported regional chair, has come under fire from the union, which claims he did not have authority to do so. On Tuesday, Samwu Gauteng provincial secretary, Bafana Zungu, indicated that Singonzo, Meisie Sekaledi and Paul Thlabang were fired as shop stewards for alleged misconduct in 2016. They challenged their axing all the way to the Constitutional Court, which ruled in 2018 that the decision to fire them was legal. “They are in contempt of court by going around in public and signing agreements on behalf of Samwu,” claimed Zungu. Mashaba’s spokesperson said the city only worked with recognised unions and that it was up to the Zungu faction to prove that the Singonzo faction had no authority to enter into the agreement, “and then we will discuss [it]”. Read the full original of the above report by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
Legal challenge against Mining Charters II and III continues BusinessLive reports that the legal challenge to remove all mining charters gazetted after the first charter was “definitely going ahead”, the lawyer behind the action, Hulme Scholes, has advised. Scholes, who has a long history in SA's mining law, argues that the underlying Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act allowed only one iteration of the Mining Charter, which was the first one implemented in 2004. Scholes, who brought the challenge three years ago, is waiting for the Minerals Council SA (MCSA) to submit an affidavit in the case or present arguments against the challenge. “We are waiting for the Minerals Council to file its affidavit to either confirm the challenges we brought against the charter or to put their own view before the court. We are definitely going ahead with this,” Scholes said. He explained that he had excluded the first charter from his challenge and was seeking to set aside the second two charters gazetted in 2010 and 2018, because the minister had acted beyond the powers granted in the act. The third charter upped the black ownership element of the underlying requirements to securing mining and prospecting licences to 30% from 26% and demanded refreshed empowerment deals for any sales or transfers of mining rights — something the MCSA has given notice it will challenge in court. Read the full original of the above report by Allan Seccombe at BusinessLive Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Energy minister Gwede Mantashe sees unions ultimately backing Eskom rescue plan Bloomberg reports that according to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, trade unions that oppose the government’s plans to split embattled state-owned Eskom Holdings into three units will ultimately have to support the reforms. The power utility is reliant on government bailouts as it struggles under R440-billion of debt and annual losses. Mantashe is one of the key officials charged with ensuring that there is a reliable power supply and Eskom becomes financially sustainable. He said in an interview with Bloomberg TV: “The unions are going to get behind the plan. We have a duty to do what is right for the country, more than what is just right for unions and workers, and we must do what can save the economy, what can save the country.” Mantashe added that Eskom “must be redirected and managed properly. If it fails, that would be a disaster for South Africa.” He is a former general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, which along with the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, represent the bulk of the utility’s 46,665 workers. Both unions have rejected plans to separate Eskom into generation, distribution and transmission units under a state holding company as they fear the move would be precursor to privatisation and job losses. Read the full original of the above report at Mining Weekly
Tshwane Council blocks mayor's request to revoke appointment of acting city manager SowetanLive reports that Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa's push for the appointment of the metro's acting city manager to be revoked fell flat after a marathon special council meeting on Tuesday. Mokgalapa sought council approval to revoke the appointment of chief operations officer James Murphy as the acting accounting officer at a special meeting held in committee. The rescission was opposed by the ANC, while the EFF demanded to know who was currently acting as the city manager as outgoing Moeketsi Mosola was on leave. Following heated engagements between councillors, Mokgalapa's request was withdrawn by council despite the mayor having argued that Murphy had been fingered by the auditor-general (AG). Mokgalapa told council that he had come across a report by the AG, whose recommendations were against the council's decision to appoint Murphy. Yet, Murphy was cleared by the city's internal audit chief earlier this month, who indicated that the AG's report that Mokgalapa was relying on had been withdrawn. The report related to allegations that Murphy was named as a person of interest in a probe over donations to NGOs by the city about five years ago. Mokgalapa blamed the ANC for the collapse of the meeting, saying that the party was against the implementation of the report's recommendations against Murphy. Read the full original of the above report by Isaac Mahlangu at SowetanLive
Department of Employment and Labour wants salary gap information from companies ANA reports that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) wants employers to provide information on salary differentials between their top earners and lowest paid workers to help it work towards reducing remuneration gaps, a senior official told a workshop in Kimberly. The department is conducting roadshows across the country with the theme “real transformation makes business sense”, the objective of which is to create awareness on compliance with the Employment Equity Act. It wants to use information from companies to establish norms and benchmarks to reduce the remuneration gap between the highest paid and lowest paid employees, DEL deputy director Masilo Lefika told the Kimberly meeting. “In the previous years we were speaking about equal pay for work of equal value and now is the time for implementation and reporting,” he indicated. The workshops are aimed at employers or heads of organisations, academics, assigned senior managers, consultative forum members, human resource practitioners, trade unions representatives and employees. The next workshops will be held in Rustenburg on Wednesday and Witbank on Thursday. Read the original of the above report at Engineering News
Private practitioners association says no evidence of racial profiling of its members by medical schemes BusinessLive reports that the SA Private Practitioners Forum (SAPPF) says it has no evidence medical schemes are using racial profiling to determine which of its members to investigate for fraud. The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is conducting an investigation into allegations from the National Healthcare Practitioners Association (NHCPA) that medical schemes and administrators are targeting black and Indian doctors for fraud investigations and unfairly withholding payments. The CMS regulates the medical schemes industry, and is conducting its second round of public hearings into the matter this week. In its submission on Tuesday, the SAPPF, which represents specialists, raised concerns about the methods used by medical schemes to flag potentially crooked doctors among its membership base, but was adamant there was no racial dimension to it. “We’ve not picked up that there’s one race group [targeted] more than another,” SAPPF president Adri Kok told the investigating panel. She said many doctors, particularly the more junior ones, billed incorrectly out of ignorance rather than because they intended to commit fraud. But she conceded there were doctors who deliberately sought to defraud medical schemes. Yet, the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA) told the inquiry that there was evidence of racial profiling. Read the full original of the above report by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive. Read too, Inquiry medical aid race scandal hears about 'focused investigation on Africans', at The Star
Contract cleaners at Curro school claim they were fired after being called 'three little monkeys' The Star reports that an outsourced cleaner claims a teacher at Curro Castle Oakdene in Johannesburg called her and a colleague “three little monkeys” while they were having lunch in the staff room on 2 July. The other person sitting with the cleaners was an assistant teacher employed by the school. She has declined to comment. The cleaners have since been fired from their jobs at Afriboom – a company that supplies cleaning services for hospitality, retail and healthcare clients – which provided cleaning services at Curro Castle Oakdene. One of the cleaners indicated: “We were having lunch when the teacher said ‘three little monkeys sitting on a table’. When we asked what she meant, she said she was singing the children’s rhyme. When we questioned her, she immediately tried to turn it into a joke.” The cleaners reported the matter to the principal and the teacher was off school for a week, but she was not dismissed. She was found not guilty and returned to school. The cleaners were fired by their firm last week. “They told us Curro found the teacher not guilty and we should treat her with respect. They also said that in the future, if something like this happens we should inform the company first,” the one cleaner said. A criminal case has been opened. This is the latest in a string of racism allegations levelled against the private school group. Read the full original of the above report by Tebogo Monama at The Star
Stanlib joins calls by investors for Old Mutual to end public battle against CEO Peter Moyo BL Premium reports that Stanlib, one of SA’s largest asset managers, has joined other investors in calling for an end to the public battle between Old Mutual and its axed CEO Peter Moyo. Old Mutual’s image has taken a hit as a result of the dispute, causing its share price to slump 17% in the three months since the insurer first announced the suspension of Moyo. Stanlib said: "The uncertainty created by the legal dispute between Mr Peter Moyo and Old Mutual is having a negative impact on the company’s share price. We have discussed the matter with the board and support them in their endeavours to find an appropriate resolution to this matter." Asset manager Allan Gray has also vocalised its unhappiness over the protracted dispute. In July, the high court in Johannesburg ruled that Old Mutual should temporarily reinstate Moyo after firing him without a disciplinary hearing in June over alleged conflict of interest. The insurer is appealing against the order. Moyo has accused Old Mutual chair Trevor Manuel of "gunning for him". Read the full original of the above report by Londiwe Buthelezi at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Suspended KZN prisons boss Mnikelwa Nxele dismissed, but not over Agrizzi’s revelations SowetanLive reports that suspended KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) prisons head Mnikelwa Nxele, implicated at the state capture commission for allegedly accepting bribes from Bosasa, has been dismissed. Department of Correctional Services (DCS) spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said Nxele’s axing was not related to the allegations placed before the commission by former Bosasa executive Angelo Agrizzi in January this year. Nxele was fingered by Agrizzi in an alleged plot to "place undue pressure" on former DCS national commissioner Vernie Petersen in 2007 and allegedly accepted bribes of about R57,500 a month from the firm. "It (the dismissal) was an internal disciplinary matter," Nxumalo said, adding that Nxele had been "duly informed". James Smalberger will continue to act as regional commissioner Read the original of the above report by Suthentira Govender at SowetanLive Nomgcobo Jiba seeks interdict to halt parliamentary process to review her removal from NPA position BusinessLive reports that former deputy national director of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Nomgcobo Jiba has sought an urgent interdict in the Western Cape High Court to halt the parliamentary process to consider her removal from office by President Cyril Ramaphosa. This is pending the outcome of a separate court challenge to the decision to remove her from the NPA. Parliament’s two justice committees were due to separately commence deliberations on Tuesday on Ramaphosa’s decision in April to remove Jiba and another senior NPA official, Lawrence Mrwebi. Instead, they both decided to await the outcome of the application for an urgent interdict, which Jiba lodged on Monday afternoon. In terms of the NPA Act, parliament has to confirm or revoke the president’s decision to remove the national director of public prosecutions, deputy national director or special director. Ramaphosa would have had no choice but to send Jiba and Mrwebi back to the NPA if parliament resolved that they had to remain in office. In seeking to set aside Ramaphosa’s decision, Jiba has argued that the NPA Act is unconstitutional in only requiring a simple parliamentary majority for the removal of a NPA director as this did not provide the institution with adequate protection. Read the full original of the above report by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Vandals and cable thieves derail Metrorail operations in Cape Town on Monday and Tuesday Sowetan reports that cable thieves and vandals caused major disruptions to Cape Town’s railway network, forcing the cancellation of 27 passenger train routes and causing peak-hour commuter delays. Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said on Tuesday that “extraordinary measures” had had to be adopted to ensure the safety of passengers after cables and infrastructure were stolen and damaged on Sunday and Monday at Salt River. She indicated: “Cancellations are done to create capacity for the stop-and-go sections, otherwise the system will be congested. Twenty-seven trains had to be cancelled on Monday afternoon as well as this (Tuesday) morning’s peak.” Metrorail had to resort to “manual authorisations” for the movement of trains, impose additional speed restrictions, route deviations, platform changes and “train cancellations to create capacity on affected lines”. Metrorail explained further: “These alternative working methods are safe but inevitably extend running times by 90 to 120-plus minutes.” Full recovery of all services could take up to 48 hours. Read the full original of the above report by Philani Nombembe on page 8 of Sowetan of 21 August 2019 Poor Cape Town households spend 43% of income on transport, says Mayco member Fin24 reports that according to the City of Cape Town’s Mayco member for urban development, Felicity Purchase, poor households in Cape Town spend about 43% of their income on transport. That was why the City planned to spend a total of R2.9bn over the next three financial years on extending the MyCiti bus service in the south-eastern part of the Metro, thus linking Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain with, among others, Claremont and surrounding suburbs. At the same time, the City also needed to ensure better management of the informal minibus taxi service in the city, Purchase said on Wednesday at a ‘City Meets Business’ event. "We have to revitalise the rail system in Cape Town. It must form the backbone of transport in the City," said Purchase, adding that it was government’s job to run the trains, and in this regard the City was having studies done on how the rail system could be fixed. Two years ago about 650,000 people commuted by train each day compared to about 250,000 today, while two years ago there were 88 trains compared to 56 currently. Read the full original of the above report by Carin Smith at Fin24
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