In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Wednesday, 15 April 2020.
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Business and labour in agreement that social grants be temporarily topped up during Covid-19 crisis BL Premium reports that both business and labour have endorsed the idea that government should temporarily top up welfare grants as a response to the Covid-19 economic crisis. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will be taking a firm proposal to cabinet on Wednesday. He indicated on Tuesday that the Treasury would present the cabinet with a package of fiscal measures for consideration. The Treasury is reprioritising the budget to shift resources into health care and will need to revise its revenue projections and debt consolidation timetable in line with the new reality of the lockdown. Mboweni will present a consolidated budget statement to the country soon. Of the proposals going to cabinet, the two most significant are the topping up of welfare grants and a proposal for a credit guarantee scheme through which the government would act as a backstop to credit extension to the private sector. The full economic consequences of the lockdown are not yet clear, but a large contraction in the economy and large-scale business failures and job losses are expected. "We are looking at adjusting the child support grant and the old age pension temporarily. We need to think strategically about each one and how they can provide support to the broader community. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will have a firm position," Mboweni indicated. Labour federation Cosatu has also put forward a proposal to top up social grants as "the quickest way to get immediate relief to the poorest households". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Survey launched by HSRC and UKZN to investigate impact of Covid-19 on health-care workers Engineering News reports that the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), together with the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN's) School of Medicine, is conducting a survey into how Covid-19 is impacting health-care workers. Health workers are on the frontlines of the global fight against Covid-19 and across the world including SA, they have been infected by the virus. The researchers want to understand how the virus is affecting SA health workers – both physically and emotionally. The survey is being conducted on an online platform. It includes expanded professional designations – nurses, medical practitioners, medical students, support staff as well as allied healthcare workers. Among other issues, it is looking at whether health-care workers received training on dealing with Covid-19. It will also look at the use and access to personal protective equipment in the workplace; perceptions of risk in the workplace; concerns in relation to Covid-19; and the health and psychosocial wellbeing of the respondent. To participate in the study, health workers can click on the following link: www.hsrc.ac.za/heroes. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read too, Survey launched to find out Covid-19's effect on health workers, at TimesLIVE PSA slams KZN health after eight EMS workers charged for refusing to treat Covid-19 patient without PPE TimesLIVE reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) has criticised disciplinary action launched against eight emergency medical services (EMS) employees who refused to transport a Covid-19 patient. The employees are based at Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. The union claimed that the employees were informed by the night-shift supervisor that a Covid-19 positive patient had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. “They then raised serious concerns with the supervisor as there was no personal protective equipment [PPE] supplied. They also raised concern about the fact that they never received training on handling Covid-19 patients,” the PSA stated. Allegedly, the supervisor failed to provide the employees with answers or the protective gear required to treat the Covid-19 patient and instead called in a district manager. The manager arrived and deliberated with employees, but still did not provide the required gear. Instead, the decision was taken to charge all eight employees for failing to take a lawful instruction. The KZN health department said this account was untrue and an exaggeration. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgaugelo Masweneng at TimesLIVE As warder tests positive at St Albans prison, inmates say failure to test them could see virus ‘explode’ TimesLIVE reports that as a warder at St Albans Correctional Centre in Port Elizabeth tested positive for Covid-19, prisoners are fuming that they were only asked simple questions about their health despite some showing symptoms for the coronavirus. The total number of infections in the Eastern Cape was 175 on Tuesday afternoon. Of these, 53 inmates and 24 Department of Correctional Services (DCS) officials in the province have tested positive for the virus. The East London Correctional Centre, where the virus has spread rapidly, has the bulk of the DCS cases, namely 76. Additionally, an official at the DCS’s head office in Pretoria has also tested positive. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said 34 officials at St Albans had already been placed in quarantine and tests have been done on them, with the results expected within 48 hours. Tracing processes are underway in St Albans, while the DCS’s disaster management response strategy has also been activated. While the department’s swift move to quarantine officials was applauded by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), prisoners at St Albans feel they have been left in the lurch. “They have done nothing to check if we were infected by this warder,” an awaiting-trial prisoner in the section where the infected warder worked claimed. He also asserted that all the new inmates were not tested or kept separately when they arrived. Meanwhile, Nxumalo said the disinfection of the East London Correctional Centre was under way. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Michael Kimberley and Kathryn Kimberley at TimesLIVE. Read too, Number of inmates in East London prison with Covid-19 jumps to 53, at TimesLIVE. And also, Police officers, prison officials and inmates in isolation as Covid-19 hits correctional services, at Mail & Guardian Coronavirus has slipped into the military community, but no soldiers enforcing lockdown have tested positive TimesLIVE reports that four people in the military community have tested positive for the coronavirus, the surgeon-general of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) advised on Wednesday. Those who have tested positive are not soldiers deployed to help in the coronavirus lockdown operations, but they have links to the defence force. The defence force explained further: “None (of the positive cases) are uniformed members nor members deployed in support of the SAPS. It is imperative to note that the military community is bigger than the SANDF. The military community is inclusive of dependants of serving and retired soldiers, and others eligible for care by the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS). All Covid-19 cases are treated and managed as per Covid-19 prescribed protocol.” Three of the positive cases were recorded in the Western Cape, while one was in Gauteng. The four patients will be treated in SANDF facilities. The SANDF has also identified quarantine and isolation facilities for the military community in preparation for the envisaged overflow in military hospitals and sickbays. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Naledi Shange at TimesLIVE Netcare hospital in Amanzimtoti temporarily shut down after staff test positive for Covid-19 News24 reports that following the exposure of staff to and subsequent contraction of Covid-19, Netcare’s Kingsway Hospital in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban, has this week been closed for new admissions, while its trauma unit has been shut down. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) health department spokesperson Noluthando Nkosi said the provincial head of department (HOD) Dr Sandile Tshabalala was looking into the matter. “The HOD has sent teams to the hospital. We will institute an urgent investigation as was done with St Augustine’s,” Nkosi said, referring to the Durban hospital that also closed its doors to new patients after suffering a novel coronavirus outbreak. Regional director for Netcare, Craig Murphy, said the origin of the exposure was traced to a patient who was admitted to hospital via the emergency department on 4 April with a suspected stroke. Healthcare and other workers who were exposed to the patient have been asked to home-quarantine and self-monitor. Most of the identified contacts have been tested, while the remainder of the exposed persons will be tested in the next few days. All potentially exposed patients have also been tested. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Court dismisses application to have waste-pickers recognised as essential workers GroundUp reports that the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has dismissed an urgent application by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) on behalf of reclaimers and waste-pickers demanding recognition as essential service workers. Between 60,000 and 90,000 waste-pickers are responsible for collecting 80 to 90% of used packaging and paper recycled in SA, according to a study. During the lockdown, reclaimers had hoped for permission to continue working. Louise du Plessis, from LHR, said they wanted limited movement for reclaimers on days that rubbish was usually collected in the areas where they operated. The organisation said in a statement that, although the fight against Covid-19 was important, care must be taken to ensure that the most vulnerable members of society did not suffer disproportionately. In her answering affidavit in court, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said: "The applicants' contention that they should be regarded as an essential service … is opportunistic." She added: "Presently the law prohibits that which the applicants want to do, i.e. the roaming of the streets freely with the risk of spreading the coronavirus" and that, regardless of protective measures, "not only will the applicants, but many other South Africans … be exposed to unnecessary risk. In some instances, the risk may involve the death of other South Africans.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jamaine Krige at News24 Hawks bust Pretoria man for selling fake essential services permits to informal traders TimesLIVE reports that the Hawks on Tuesday arrested a 22-year-old Pretoria man alleged to be behind a scam that saw fake essential services permits being sold to informal traders. Hawks spokesperson Capt Ndivhuwo Mulamu said officers from the serious corruption investigation unit were tipped off, setting in motion plans to execute a sting. “The team made contact with the suspect under the pretext of wanting to buy the permits. The suspect met with a team member and was immediately placed under arrest after he produced a permit for a R300 payment,” she reported. Police searched the man's home and seized a laptop and other documents. He is scheduled to appear at the Pretoria magistrate's court on Wednesday. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Jeff Wicks at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
No April salary hikes for public servants BusinessLive reports that the government has failed to honour a wage agreement to increase the salaries of public sector workers, despite public service and administration minister Senzo Mchunu saying in March that it was committed to doing so. While the government did put a revised offer of a 4.4% pay increase for some levels of workers, unions previously rejected this as it reneged on a multi-term agreement signed in 2018. April salaries were paid to a first batch of public servants on Wednesday, but “sadly there are no adjustments”, said Riefdah Ajam of the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa). Godfrey Selematsela, Fedusa president, added: “Indeed, there are no salary increases as per the agreement. I’m preparing to have a virtual meeting with our public sector unions for a way forward.” In the 2018 deal, the government agreed to increase the pay of level 1-8 employees by CPI plus 1% and level 9-16 employees by CPI plus 0.5%. In February, the government announced its plans to cut the public sector wage bill by more than R160bn over the next three years. Renegotiating the third year of the wage agreement is projected to cut R37.8bn from the wage bill, or just 1.5% in real terms, in 2020. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
Implats mine employees heeding call to return to work turned away at police roadblocks TimesLIVE reports that the request by Impala Platinum (Implats) for some employees to return to work on Tuesday was disrupted by police roadblocks preventing workers reaching the mine. Indicating it had been granted an exemption by the Department of Mineral Resources & Energy, the company issued a notice to some employees on Sunday to return to work during the lockdown. But "many" workers could not get to work after being turned back at roadblocks, Implats spokesperson Johan Theron said on Tuesday. "Regrettably, many of our employees, including essential services people, have not been able to report to work today [Tuesday] as they were stopped by the police who blocked off the mine with extensive roadblocks," Theron reported. He could not say how many staff were requested to return to work, where they were travelling from or if they were returning from outside SA's borders. Theron emphasised that the company’s request did not involve all employees or mean production would resume immediately as the company was focused on the safety of workers more than profit. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zingisa Mvumvu at TimesLIVE NUM urges Impala Platinum workers not to return to work as requested EWN reports that according to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), it was not consulted by Impala Platinum (Implats) of the company’s plans to resume operations this week. The company sent SMSes to certain of its workers on Sunday requesting them to return to work on Tuesday. However, the police reportedly turned some of the employees back home. The platinum producer announced in March that it intended applying for permission to continue with operations outside of the essential care and maintenance allowed during the national lockdown. NUM president Joseph Montisetse indicated: “We want to tell workers that they should not go to work because first and foremost, the company should consult with the union because we have to talk about the safety of workers, amongst other things.” Montisetse also said the union had sought clarity from the mining group. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Clement Manyathela at EWN
Motor industry needs government support to avoid being a Covid-19 casualty BusinessLive reports that according to Prof Justin Barnes, one of the chief architects of the long-term strategy for the SA motor industry, the government must amend its support for the industry if SA is to avoid being marginalised in a post-Covid-19 global motor industry. In a policy brief to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Department of Trade and Industry, Barnes says years of progress in turning the SA industry into an effective global competitor may be undone if the industry is unable to respond to changing conditions caused by the pandemic. The urgency is particularly acute now — less than nine months before the launch of a new industry policy that aims to double employment and production, increase local content by 50% and create a new generation of black automotive industrialists. The SA Automotive Masterplan, starting in January 2021, will run to 2035. The immediate priority, says Barnes, is to provide clarity on restarting vehicle assembly. In his view, local motor companies should be allowed to restart the manufacture of export vehicles as soon as possible. Without a return to work, industry bodies have warned in recent days of the potential wholesale collapse of small and medium companies, mainly in the components supply industry. The biggest threat could come from job losses. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David Furlonger at BusinessLive
Government denial of further funding leaves SAA in sight of its final resting place BusinessLive reports that the government has told the South African Airways (SAA) business rescue practitioners (BRPs) that it is unable to provide the airline with further funding. It also refused a request to raise funding for the airline in foreign capital markets. This portends the national carrier’s imminent death or at best an orderly winding down. SAA is unable to raise further funding in domestic markets and owes significant debt to a consortium of local banks. The BRPs, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, advised creditors of the development on Tuesday, saying that they were “assessing the impact of this development on the business rescue process and will communicate any developments in due course.” They had advised the government that a minimum of a further R7.7bn would be required to fund SAA into the next phase. In a statement completely at odds with the BRPs letter to creditors, the Department of Public Enterprises said on Tuesday that SAA, like all airlines, had been affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, but that the government remained committed to saving the company. To that end it the said that it continued “to engage the Business Rescue Practitioners and other stakeholders, including unions, to explore options going forward with the necessary urgency.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton and Warren Thompson at BusinessLive
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