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 roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 15 November 2019.
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Numsa moves to extend its strike at SAA to the entire aviation industry BL Premium reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) plans to bring SA’s aviation sector to its knees as it moves to extend its strike at South African Airways (SAA) to the entire aviation industry. More than 3,000 workers launched a strike at the national carrier on Friday, demanding an 8% increase against the state-owned airline’s offer of 5.9%. SAA is losing R52m a day as a result of the strike but a secondary strike as threatened by Numsa would have a significantly more detrimental effect on SA’s aviation industry and the economy as a whole. After wage talks between Numsa, the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) and SAA collapsed at the weekend, the union on Sunday called on its members to join in a secondary strike across the aviation sector. Consultations on this process were apparently under way with various entities including Mango Airlines, SA Express, FlySafair, Comair, the Airports Company SA, the SA Civil Aviation Authority and other suppliers and service providers to the industry. Numsa also called for the ministers of finance and public enterprises to intervene in its dispute with SAA. Meantime, SAA announced it would reinstate international flights to seven destinations as of Sunday night. . Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Executive salaries at SAA slammed as airline struggles with financial woes Sunday Independent reports that according to insiders, South African Airways’ (SAA’s) nightmarish financial predicament could be attributed in part to the exorbitant salaries of some of its senior executives. Insisting that the proposed retrenchments could have been avoided, the sources claimed that the cash-strapped airline recruited some senior managers at double the salaries of their predecessors. Apparently, at SAA Technical (SAAT) alone, the salaries of chief executive Adam Voss and general managers under him have doubled since the New Zealand national took over in June. “The salary of the previous CEO of SAAT was R3.2million a year but the new CEO Adam Voss is earning R6million per year. General managers of the different units are earning R4million per year, double what the previous ones were earning. Now they want to say SAA doesn’t have money and they have to retrench workers while people have exorbitant packages at the expense of taxpayers,” a source said. SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali defended the managers’ remunerations. He said the salaries were deserved and those in the positions were working to turn things around within the organisation. “We remunerate our employees based on their experience, skills and track record, in accordance with industry standards and subject to the affordability. The SAAT organisational structure has been significantly enhanced with the sole focus on capability and capacity to transform and align SAAT to the expected outcome as per SAA’s Long-term Turnaround Strategy. If the expertise does not exist within the country then the relevant skills will be sought from outside South Africa,” Tlali stated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mzilikazi wa Afrika and Karabo Ngoepe at Sunday Independent SAA insists its planes are safe amid union claims Fin24 reports that South African Airways (SAA) acting CEO Zukisa Ramasia said on Sunday evening that the national carrier would never jeopardise the safety of its passengers or staff, after striking unions claimed that flying with the airline would be a safety risk. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) urged South Africans on Sunday afternoon not to fly with SAA, following the national carrier’s announcement that international flights would be reinstated. At the briefing Ramasia said an SAA flight from OR Tambo International Airport to São Paulo, Brazil, was en route and that security would be available to ensure safe operations for passengers and working staff. Ramasia urged the unions to retract the statements about safety at SAA's operations being compromised. She reminded reporters that pilots were on duty and called for an end to intimidation of working staff. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola claimed on Sunday afternoon that learners in the technical support environment were being used to give SAA capacity to operate flights while the strike continued. Numsa chair at SAA Technical, Areheng Ndlovu, said aircraft must not be allowed to fly an aircraft without the sign-off of a technician like himself. Read the original of the above report by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24. Read too, SAA flight en route to Brazil, as SAA vows safe operations, at Fin24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
City of Tshwane’s A Re Yeng bus operations set to be suspended on Monday ahead of looming strike action News24 reports that the City of Tshwane has urged residents to exercise patience as its A Re Yeng Bus Rapid Transport operations are set to be suspended ahead of a looming strike on Monday. On Sunday, MMC for Roads and Transport, Sheila Senkubuge, said the city had issued an alert in respect of the possible suspension to bus services following a notice to strike issued to Tshwane Rapid Transport (TRT) by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa). The strike notice specified a request by Mamelodi Bus Operations drivers for equal salaries between themselves and A Re Yeng bus drivers. The city indicated that A Re Yeng drivers had not indicated their intention to strike, but were under a directive from Numsa to participate in the strike action in solidarity. The anticipated strike was expected to affect operations from 04:00 on Monday. The City added that the suspension of operations would be a move to ensure the safety of commuters, and to safeguard the City’s assets. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sesona Ngqakamba at News24
Platinum miners, unions sign wage agreements Mining Weekly reports that platinum group metals (PGMs) miners, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Sibanye-Stillwater on Friday signed three-year wage agreements with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the United Association of SA (Uasa). Amcu described the conclusion of the "progressive wage agreements" as a "monumental victory" for the union and its members. Amplats said its agreement included an increase of R1,000 a month in basic pay, or 5.5%, whichever was greatest, for each year of the agreement. In addition, Amplats employees will receive an ex-gratia payment of R1,000 in July 2020 and R1,500 in July 2021. Implats said its Rustenburg operations and Marula Platinum had agreed to a wage settlement that assured employees of increases to all major components of remuneration, including basic salaries, living-out and home ownership allowances and medical aid and pension fund contributions. "The agreement is in line with current mining inflation of about 7% and takes into consideration the reality of inflationary pressures faced by our employees,” the company indicated. Sibanye, meanwhile, agreed to increases to the basic wage of Category 4 to 9 surface and underground employees at both its Marikana and Rustenburg operations of R1,000 a month or 5%, (whichever is the higher) for each of the three years of the agreement. Sibanye stated that the total guaranteed monthly income for an entry-level, Category 4 underground employee would be between R18,400 and R18,500 in year one, between R19,500 and R19,600 in year two and between R20,700 and R20,800 in year three. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. Read too, Platinum sector wage deal with Amcu is finally inked, at BusinessLive. And also, Platinum sector seals pay deal, at Bloomberg News Current regulations inadequate to ensure ‘social transitioning’ after mine closure Mining Weekly reports that mining consultancy SRK Consulting SA says that to ensure a level playing field across the mining sector, better general guidelines need to be developed to ensure the implementation of sustainable ‘social transitioning’ after mine closure. These would be in addition to the requirements of social and labour plans (SLPs) and Mining Charter III. “These guidelines could hopefully stimulate dialogue on the principles of the social transition process and enable stakeholders, such as government, communities and developers, to contribute to a more holistic understanding of the resource and capacity requirements,” said SRK’s Jessica Edwards. She delivered a paper, coauthored by SRK’s senior environmental scientist Ashleigh Maritz, in September, at the thirteenth International Mine Closure Conference in Australia. A national framework would enable individual mining companies to develop their own specific social transition plans that addressed the specific needs of their project and associated communities, Edwards stated. She went on to indicate that: “General guidelines could require mining companies to develop a good understanding of their host communities in terms of their needs, vulnerabilities and assets. A solid grasp of these baseline factors is critical in developing strategies towards social transition.” The regulator could also support social aspects of closure by driving the development of indicators and insisting on evidence of sustainable social transition arrangements before a closure certificate was issued. Edwards highlighted good examples of international social transition projects in the UK, the US and Germany. Read the full original of the informative report in the above regard at Mining Weekly Community protests in SA’s restive Mpumalanga coal district far from finished, warns South32 Miningmx reports that according to Mike Fraser of South32, protests in Mpumalanga province were likely to remain a feature of the coal industry for the foreseeable future. “It’s still very fractious. We do expect the protests to continue,” said Fraser, who was commenting following the announcement that South32 had agreed a binding, conditional offer to sell its thermal coal unit to Seriti Resources. The Minerals Council SA (previously known as the Chamber of Mines) said earlier this year that coal miners had lost millions of rands in revenue as a result of mine stoppages following community-related protests. The lack of support from the police has also been criticised by the Council. Fraser said this remained a problem, specifically with another consequence of community disaffection which manifested in illegal mining of coal dumps. On 11 October, several hundred demonstrators marched on South32’s Johannesburg corporate office wearing tee-shirts bearing the words ‘Seriti is the new Guptas’. The controversial Gupta family has been accused of mismanaging the Optimum and Koornfontein coal mines, which are now in business rescue. Fraser said protests of that type were typical of the different interests competing for air time in the country’s coal sector. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David McKay at Miningmx Cosatu’s attempts to bring Ramaphosa to Marikana rally fails News24 reports that the latest attempt to get President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit the community of Marikana has failed. The attempt came via a commitment by trade union federation Cosatu three months ago. Cosatu and its affiliate, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), convened a rally in the mining area on Sunday, in the Marikana West community hall. Three months ago, Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi had said the federation was committed to ensuring that Ramaphosa would get to visit the North West informal settlement and surrounding communities and that talks at that time were at an advanced stage. While on the campaign trail in the Eastern Cape in 2017, Ramaphosa indicated his desire to visit the mining town where 34 people died in unrest following a mining strike in 2012. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lizeka Tandwa at News24. See too, NUM holds first rally in Marikana since 2012 massacre, at EWN. And also, Cosatu condemns violence among Lonmin miners after 15 deaths since Marikana massacre, at EWN Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Performance bonuses paid to national and provincial government employees rise sharply BusinessLive reports that national and provincial departments have paid out 70% more than the previous year on performance bonuses to employees, despite SA battling worsening levels of debt, low growth and downgrades by two major ratings agencies over that period. Of the R2.6bn paid out in the 2018/2019 financial year, R629m was spent by national departments and about R2bn by provincial governments. A total of R1.5bn was spent in the previous year. Finance minister Tito Mboweni has highlighted the need for a reduction in the growth of the wage bill — which consumes about 35% of the national budget — to achieve the government’s fiscal consolidation targets of reducing the budget deficit and debt. Details of the bonus payments were revealed by public service & administration minister Senzo Mchunu in a written reply to a parliamentary question. The minister said performance bonuses were awarded to eligible employees “who receive a performance rating of significantly above expectation”. They are granted by the minister or the director-general of the department concerned. The DA’s Leon Schreiber criticised the fact that among those receiving performance bonuses were government officials in management positions who received an average annual salary of R1.4m. But Tahir Maepa of the Public Servants Association dismissed the DA’s objections and said the amount paid on performance bonuses to high performers among all public servants, from cleaners to senior managers, was so small compared with the total public sector wage bill of about R627bn that it was not worth talking about. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Eleven candidates vie for Transnet CEO job City Press reports that eleven persons, among them three Transnet executives, are on the list of candidates being considered to replace the state-owned logistics company’s fired chief executive officer (CEO) Siyabonga Gama. Three sources privy to the CEO search process said interviews were conducted on 13 August by the Transnet board – with the assistance of independent and external experts professor Nick Binedell from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) and Nosipho Damasane, former CEO of Richards Bay Coal Terminal. “The process included a competency-based interview process and personality assessment to identify leadership strengths and developmental areas. As matters stand, one of them is expected to be announced as the CEO of Transnet,” one source indicated. The two other sources said Patrick Dlamini of the Development Bank of SA and former Transnet executive Simo Lushaba were leading candidates to replace Gama. The others on the list include acting Transnet CEO Mohammed Mahomedy, acting chief operating officer Richard Vallihu and chief customer officer Mike Fanucchi. External candidates are Dlamini, Lushaba, Dolly Mokgatle, Nompumelelo Mpofu, Karl Socikwa, Billy Mawasha, Tobias Becker and Devan Pillay. Gama was fired in October following a protracted legal battle with the Transnet board after he was implicated in the irregular procurement of the 1 064 locomotives. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Abram Mashego on page 6 of City Press of 17 November 2019 Harsh action in store for KZN education officials after Grade 1 pupils go without teacher since May News24 reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) education department officials at circuit and district level, along with management staff at a Pinetown school, will face the music after failing to sort out the issue of Grade 1 pupils being without a teacher since May. Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu said it was revealed to him during a meeting with department management, the school governing board and the principal of Shayamoya Primary School, that 19 Grade 1 pupils had been without a teacher since 1 May 2019. Mshengu had convened the meeting to address several challenges faced by the school. He indicated that the revelation bordered on the infringement of pupils' constitutional right to access basic education and confirmed in a statement on Sunday that “harsh action will be taken against those who dropped the ball." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sesona Ngqakamba at News24
Low-cost cellphone supplier Mint Connect has failed to pay staff since August, issues retrenchment notices City Press reports that low-cost cellphone supplier Mint Connect appears to be on the verge of collapse after its holding company CZ Technologies disinvested from the joint venture. The company, which supplies cheap cellphones to several retailers including Pep, Mr Price, MTN and Telkom stores, has failed to pay its employees since the company missed the August pay day. In letters in August, the company promised but failed to pay its 34 employees that month. Instead in a notice of retrenchment dated 15 October, Mint Connect informed its workers that, based on operational requirements, their services would be terminated immediately. However, the financial woes appear to run deeper, with the company writing another letter on 21 October informing the employees that their outstanding salaries would only be paid once it had received funding from CZ Technologies. The letter went on to indicate that “we will send further communication to advise on the new date once all paperwork is in place with CZ, which should be before the end of this week.” However, three employees said they had not been paid for the past three months and were being given endless empty promises. “They [Mint] keep on lying to us and we don’t believe them,” said one employee. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Abram Mashego at City Press
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