In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Monday, 6 April 2020.
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Prayers for Saftu’s Zwelinzima Vavi as coronavirus lands him in hospital SowetanLive reports that well-known labour movement leader Zwelinzima Vavi has been admitted to hospital after contracting Covid-19. This was confirmed by Vavi's long-time trade union comrade Irvin Jim on social media on Sunday evening. Jim, who is general secretary of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), posted on Twitter: “Comrades, friends in the recent past all of us had to contend, in NUMSA, SAFTU, SRWP, UF with sad news that one of our own leader Zv (Vavi) tested positive with this notorious global epidemic (Covid--19). He is admitted we wish him victory and his family against these notorious virus [sic].” Vavi, who is the general secretary of SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), announced on Thursday that he had tested positive for the highly infectious coronavirus. On Saturday, the leader released a video of himself in which he was heavily sweating." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mpho Sibanyoni at SowetanLive Gauteng health department calls for donations of personal protective equipment SABC News reports that the Gauteng health department has called for donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators. The department’s Kwara Kekana indicated: “These donations will supplement government resources and will be used at special sites that are being put in place to house Covid-19 patients.” PPEs such as gloves and masks play an important role in minimizing exposure to the virus, while ventilators assist in the breathing process when the virus has caused damage to the lungs. Meantime, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) will be in court on Tuesday because national and provincial health ministries have allegedly failed to provide PPE to health workers. There have been reported shortages of gloves, masks and ventilators, which Nehawu maintains puts the lives of health workers at risk. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at SABC News. Read too, Port Elizabeth healthcare workers fearful due to lack of protective equipment, at SABC News Gauteng transport department launches programme to sanitise taxi ranks SABC News reports that the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport was scheduled on Monday to launch a programme to support taxi ranks and transport modes with sanitisation of commuters and vehicles to curb the spread of Covid-19. The department partnered in this programme with Outsurance, SA Taxi Finance, AngloGold, Clinix Health Group, Amscor and other arms of the government. The aim of the programme is to augment work already done by public transport operators. It was scheduled to be launched at the Sangweni Taxi Rank in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at SABC News SA Military Health Service to call up civilian healthcare practitioners in fight against Covid-19 ANA reports that on Sunday the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) called up registered healthcare practitioners to join forces with serving members in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The SAMHS is working in conjunction with the national department of health in support of the nationwide operation to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The Service said it was reinforcing, regrouping and strengthening its medical capacity in the wake of the national state of disaster declared by the President Cyril Ramaphosa. It indicated that the following categories of registered healthcare practitioners were encouraged to apply: medical doctors, professional nurses, enrolled nurses and auxiliary nurses, clinical associates and operational emergency care practitioners (OECPs). Interested candidates should contact the applicable SAMHS director for enlistment with contact details, ID number and registration number (contact details in report). Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Independent News Wine industry in bittersweet situation with harvesting allowed during lockdown, but exports denied Engineering News reports that 2020 wine grape crop will still yield exceptional wines despite uncertainty at first considering SA’s lockdown practices, according to industry body Vinpro. The industry is harvesting the last few thousand tonnes of crops across ten wine regions in the country, owing to a last-minute concession from government for the industry to continue harvesting and winemaking activities during the lockdown. When the government published its Covid-19 lockdown regulations on 25 March, at first all wine industry activities were prohibited, including the production, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages for the duration of the lockdown. Through advocacy by various industry bodies, government then made a concession just hours before midnight on 26 March, when the lockdown started, that harvesting and storage activities could continue so as to prevent the wastage of primary agricultural goods. Yet with local sales, exports and distribution of alcoholic beverages still being prohibited, it will have a significant effect on the survival of the SA wine industry and, therefore, the livelihoods of the nearly 300,000 people employed by the value chain. Around half of SA’s wine production is exported. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News SMMEs outraged over exclusion from Covid-19-related business rescue funds The Sunday Independent reports that Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) have accused the government of excluding them from the Covid-19-related business rescue funds in favour of politically-connected entrepreneurs. Describing the 21-day national lockdown as a “massacre” for their businesses, three of the country’s leading SMMEs associations said their members were battling to access the SMME Fund announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa two weeks ago due to bureaucratic red tape, nepotism and bad credit records caused by the government’s failure to pay them on time. The SMME Forum, SMME Council and the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) advised that the government failed to consult them before imposing a lockdown. According to the SMME Council chairperson, Musawenkosi Zulu, more than 1.5 million of their members won’t recover from the lockdown because they live hand to mouth. He added that the intervention announced by Small Business Development Minister Khumbuzo Ntshavheni would not help out. “After this lockdown, I’m sure, of the 3.8 million SMMEs we have, we will only be left with 1.5 million. To us, this lockdown was a massacre,” Zulu said. Tebogo Khaas, president of SMMEs Forum, said the organisation’s 1,500-members had yet to access the R150 million SMME Fund set aside because the system was “chaotic”. Nafcoc president Gilbert Mosena said while his organisation supported the lockdown, it was unhappy with the government for imposing decisions on its five million members without consultation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mzilikazi Wa AFrika, Karabo Ngoepe and Roland Mpofu at Sunday Independent. Read too, More than R2bn donated to Solidarity Fund in two weeks, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Salaries of PSL players safe for now Sunday Times reports that the Premier Soccer League (PSL) has not considered the issue of salary pay cuts for players yet. In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, major leagues around the world have been suspended and leading clubs have announced various salary cuts. PSL chair Irvin Khoza indicated on Saturday that clubs had not taken measures that would see players’ salaries slashed during the suspension. He said: “At the moment, we don’t want to cloud the space in these 21 days of lockdown. For now, it’s all about the messaging ... that adherence to the basic health issues. On April 21 we’ll have discussions with the president of Safa (Danny Jordaan) and all other issues will be discussed there.” Khoza also advised that all PSL clubs paid their players full salaries at the end of March. However, he said the R2.5m monthly grants that each PSL team received were not guaranteed and commented as follows: “Well there’s no guarantee. Our revenues are affected by playing, the clubs’ revenue streams are linked to playing. If you’re not playing, it gives to other issues, but for now we’ve managed to pay players. We’re evaluating the situation as it moves on.” The SA Players’ Union president Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe confirmed all PSL clubs were paid their March salaries with the exception of Royal Eagles (in the National First Division), which has been battling financially since the start of the season. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sazi Hadebe and Bareng-Batho Kortjaas on page 24 of The Sunday Times of 5 April 2020 RCL executives in line for early share incentive scheme payouts despite underperformance BL Premium reports that RCL’s decision to help top executives cash out of a supposed long-term share incentive scheme has infuriated shareholder activists and embarrassed parent company Remgro. In short, RCL Foods — a perennial underperformer — is set to fork out R149m to buy executives out of a conditional share plan after just three years, during which time the company’s share price has fallen by more than a third. The 14.5-million shares were due to be transferred to the relevant RCL executives last week. RCL argued that the company’s "extremely limited free float, low trading volumes and lack of tradability severely restrict the ability of the participants to trade in these shares". But shareholder activists have slammed the scheme as unfair for affording executives special treatment not extended to other shareholders. Supposedly, RCL’s conditional share plan (CSP) is meant to attract individuals or retain employees with an award of shares in the company and encourage their continued service. But activist Theo Botha asked: "How do we encourage continued service by these top employees if we are facilitating a payout? This defies logic." Remgro CEO and RCL chair Jannie Durand said the CSP had become an administrative nightmare. Durand conceded that in retrospect RCL’s CSP should have offered a cash option. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marc Hasenfuss at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, Underperforming RCL execs in line for generous payout, at Moneyweb Woolworths to continue to pay staff during lockdown, while executives take pay cut BusinessLive reports that retailer Woolworths will continue to pay staff during the Covid-19 shutdown, while senior management will forgo up to 30% of their fees and salaries over the next three months to provide additional support to employees. The group also said in a trading update that those who were part of the essential workforce would receive an additional appreciation payment. Woolworths advised it was cutting back on capital expenditure and prioritising online sales. It expects profits to fall by more than a fifth in its year to end-June. “The majority of our food stores currently remain open. Our strong supplier partnerships are ensuring a consistent supply of product during this critical time,” the group said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karl Gernetzky at BusinessLive IT group EOH set to cut staff salaries by up to 20% amid Covid-19 economic shock TechCentral reports that EOH Holdings is poised to slash employee salaries by as much as 20% in an effort to stave off a potential Covid-19 lockdown-induced crisis at the IT services group. CEO Stephen van Coller said on Saturday the plan, which could include putting some staff on four-day workweeks, will be finalised by Monday. The lockdown comes at a bad time for EOH, which is still recovering from corruption involving public sector contracts that spurred a major organisational and governance overhaul. The intention of the drastic measures was to try to save jobs, to prepare the group for what could be a severe shock to the economy and to ensure EOH could continue delivering IT services to corporate SA, Van Coller said. He predicted that GDP growth could crash by between 5% and 10% in the coming months and severe economic pain could last for between six and nine months. The current lockdown could be extended to as long as six to eight weeks, he added. Van Coller said EOH had a responsibility to protect its business to shield its clients, including banks, social grants agency Sassa, retailers, government departments and municipalities, which relied on its services to keep the economy functioning. EOH’s salary bill is about 50% of its costs. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Duncan McLeod at TechCentral
Aspen Pharmacare pauses retrenchment process until after lockdown DispatchLive reports that the coronavirus has given more than 100 Aspen Pharmacare workers a temporary reprieve as the giant pharmaceutical company has halted its retrenchment process. While workers at the East London and Port Elizabeth plants welcomed the decision to freeze the process, they described it as a bittersweet victory as they still did not know whether they would have jobs when the lockdown ends. However in a letter to staff members dated 26 March, Aspen executive Grant Swart was clear that the workers would still lose their jobs after the national lockdown. He said the pause was “important to provide affected employees with stability and social security during this challenging period.” In the meantime, said Swart, “we are accelerating the process of filling critical positions necessary to sustain our operations during this rapidly changing period, so that we can supply the medicines needed to mitigate the pandemic”. He also indicated that the company's employee wellness programme was active and accessible to employees and their dependents during the lockdown period. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sandiso Phaliso at DispatchLive Workers at Independent Development Trust (IDT) given three-month lifeline Mail & Guardian reports that in a last-minute reprieve, 90 employees of the ailing Independent Development Trust (IDT) were given a three-month extension of their contracts, despite plans by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPW&I) to dissolve the state-owned company. The employees were due to join the unemployment queue at the end of March, but the plan to terminate their contracts was suspended after last-minute negotiations between the DPW&I minister, Patricia de Lille, and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) were concluded. The decision to terminate the contracts by 31 March came after De Lille’s decision to dissolve the IDT, which is responsible for social infrastructure and development programme management, within the next financial year. In her letter to the IDT’s board regarding her decision, De Lille cited, among other things, poor project management and performance. The IDT’s management has accused De Lille of making a unilateral decision to dissolve the company, a position which is supported by Nehawu. The union says the decision to establish the IDT was done through a parliamentary process and that the decision to dissolve it must be conducted through the same process. Nehawu has proposed that the IDT be turned into a directorate within the DPW&I instead of a separate state-owned entity. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at Mail & Guardian
‘Criticism of Sizakele Mzimela’s appointment as CEO of Transnet Freight Rail uninformed’ ANA writes that Bonang Mohale, chancellor of the University of the Free State, said on Friday that criticism of Sizakele Mzimela’s ability to head Transnet Freight Rail was uninformed. The former chief executive of Business Leadership SA said: “Any criticism of her ability to head Transnet Freight Rail is therefore not only unwarranted – it is completely disingenuous and uninformed. The combination of her experience in the private sector, entrepreneurship and state-owned companies is unchallenged and only an ill-informed or malicious person would say she does not have the requisite skills and experience to run the Transnet business.” He was responding to a DA statement that Mzimela’s appointment was a classic example of ANC “cadre deployment, where ineffective executives hop from one state owned enterprise (SOE) to another”. DA public enterprise spokesperson Ghaleb Cachalia said on Thursday: “Mzimela’s track record at the helm of an SOE is dismal, as is evident by the fact that her previous employer, SA Express, now faces liquidation.” He added that her appointment at such a critical state-owned enterprise was “bizarre, considering that she only has aviation experience and lacks the requisite experience in the freight and rail sector.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard on page 10 of Business Report of 6 April 2020. Read too, Former SA Express CEO Siza Mzimela appointed new Transnet Freight Rail boss, at BusinessLive
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