In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Wednesday, 27 May 2020.
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Workers not registered for UIF can now claim Ters benefit BusinessLive reports that Employment & Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi on Monday amended a directive pertaining to the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) to now allow workers to claim even where their employers did not register them for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), provide the required details, or pay the necessary contributions. Ters, which is administered by the UIF, is a special benefit created by the minister to provide relief to those in formal employment anticipated to lose income as a result of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. The amendments, which were signed off by the minister on Monday and were due to be gazetted on Tuesday, come amid a legal challenge by three non-profit organisations (NGOs), namely the Casual Workers Advice Office, the Women on Farms Project and Izwi Domestic Workers. The matter was set down to be heard in court on Thursday but the three NGOs have undertaken to withdraw their application. The applicants had also wanted workers to be permitted to apply for Ters benefits directly because, initially, it was only employers who could apply for the benefit on behalf of employees. But, Nxesi amended the regulations earlier in May to allow employees to apply for the benefit themselves. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive Nedlac to discuss UIF’s financial capacity to continue paying Covid-19 relief funds beyond 2020 BusinessLive reports that the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) will on Thursday discuss the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF’s) financial capacity to continue paying Covid-19 temporary relief benefits in the long run. Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi said they needed to guarantee the sustainability of funds beyond June 2020. The UIF has disbursed more than R11.3bn in the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) to date. The scheme, administered by the UIF, was established by Nxesi in March to provide relief to those in formal employment expected to lose their income due to the Covid-19 lockdown. Nxesi said he would ask social partners at Nedlac to work with the government to collectively explore available opportunities to address challenges presented by the coronavirus. “We will encourage employers to consult broadly when it comes to major decisions with an impact on job security such as intentions to lay-off workers,” he added. The DEL also expects social partners at Nedlac to pledge their commitment and support for “return to work strategies that place the safety and welfare of workers above any other interest”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma warns of unemployment surging above 50% due to coronavirus epidemic Business Report writes that on Tuesday the government acknowledged that SA’s unemployment rate could surge to beyond 50% as a result of businesses taking strain from the coronavirus epidemic. Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said there was a high risk of closures in the tourism, entertainment, leisure and aviation sectors, as well as in respect of start-ups, and small and informal businesses. Dlamini Zuma said: “Our economy has declined, not only because of the lockdown. We know that our economy was declining and we had been downgraded. There are companies that are thinking of liquidation or retrenching some workers. Unemployment will rise, tax collection will be low, and the vulnerable households have lost income.” She went on to observe that the tourism industry alone could bleed between 555,000 and 600,000 jobs this year, as more than 50,000 tourism businesses could close temporarily or permanently. Dlamini Zuma was briefing the National Council of Provinces in a virtual presentation about the government’s measures to manage the spread of Covid-19 through the implementation of a risk-adjusted strategy. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siphelele Dludla at Business Report Lockdown causes ‘total devastation’ to tourism and hospitality sector Moneyweb writes that with SA gearing up to ease Covid-19 lockdown restrictions even further, one industry getting left behind is the tourism and hospitality sector, which directly employed 740,000 in 2018. In that year the sector contributed 2.8% to real GDP, while its indirect contribution accounted for 8.2%. When SA implemented a hard nationwide lockdown in March, the sector, which involves travel, accommodation, conference centres, restaurants, bars and other leisure activities, was brought to a standstill. Much of the industry will remain so as the country moves to Level 3 in June in order to “maintain social distancing” said President Cyril Ramaphosa in a national briefing on Sunday. A survey of 1,610 respondents which was released in April and which looked at the impact of Covid-19 on businesses in the sector, showed that in March 99% of the firms had been negatively affected, while 58% were unable to service their debts and 54% could not cover their fixed costs. When it comes to employees, 50% of the respondents had reduced staff wages, 32% had placed workers on a leave of absence and 11% had made their workers redundant. “A total devastation,” said Lee Zama of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa in describing how the virus has impacted the industry. Zama said the sector should be opened further because the extension of the restrictions beyond the current time would “result in an even bigger demise of the sector” requiring an even longer recovery period. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tebogo Tshwane at Moneyweb Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Western Cape correctional services official dies from coronavirus disease TimesLIVE reports that an official from the Western Cape Department of Correctional Services (DCS) official died from the coronavirus disease on Tuesday. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said: “It is with a heavy heart that we confirm the passing of a 58-year-old official in the Western Cape. He was diabetic and this comorbidity strained recovery efforts. Our condolences go to his family, friends and entire department of correctional services brigade.” The department has recorded 746 Covid-19 cases, with 264 of those being officials and 482 inmates. Another eight officials and six inmates in the Western Cape have tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries in DCS is 173. This report TimesLIVE goes on to give a breakdown of cases and outcomes by province. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nomahlubi Jordaan at TimesLIVE ‘Fake news’ that a SAA pilot involved in transporting South Africans from Wuhan in March died of Covid-19 virus The Citizen reports that social media posts that a SA Airways (SAA) pilot – who was part of the crew responsible for the repatriation of 112 South Africans from Wuhan in China to South Africa on 14 March – has died of Covid-19, are untrue. A Facebook post claimed that Nakedi Ntshane was a “female pilot from Atteridgeville who fetched S. Africans from China” and stated that that she has died of Covid-19. But, various sources have confirmed that Ntshane did not die of coronavirus-related causes, nor was she a pilot during the repatriation. SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali denied the claims: “We mourn the loss of life of our colleague, Nakedi Tebatso Ntshane, who passed on last Sunday morning after a short illness. She was employed at SAA as a cabin crew member and was training towards becoming a commercial pilot. We find it unfortunate and insensitive that some individuals made it their business to spread false information about the cause of Tebatso’s death. Claims that she died from Covid-19-related complications are untrue as they are not clinically and medically supported.” Tlali added that the SAA medical department had confirmed that the airline has had no Covid-19-related deaths. Read the full original of the report in the above regard on page 6 of The Citizen of 27 May 2020 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
SA’s deep-level mines grapple with thousands returning to work Bloomberg writes that when SA mining companies are allowed to recall all their workers as lockdown restrictions ease further on Monday, full production will remain elusive as the pandemic upends operating practices. Social distancing, screening and testing will hamper the country’s deep-level mines, which have been operating with half their workforce since a five-week shutdown ended at the beginning of May. Virus flare-ups are temporarily closing individual gold, platinum and chrome operations. This new normal could curb output and erode profitability. “We could see a reset in South African mine production capacity lower, even once government mandated employment capacity restrictions have been lifted,” RMB Morgan Stanley analysts noted. Johan Theron, spokesman for Impala Platinum, commented as follows: “Even in a perfect situation with all our workers safely back at work, given the precautionary measures under which we now operate, it is hard to see a return to full operational efficiency.” With transport to the mines beginning as early as 4am, it takes four to five hours to get tens of thousands of workers underground as screenings and other health protocols slow the start of the morning shift. Given the current operational challenges, the industry’s future may hinge on a global solution being found to neutralize the virus, commented Sibanye Stillwater spokesperson James Wellsted. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. Read too, SA’s underground mining embarks on extraordinary game of cat and mouse with Covid-19, at Miningmx IDC asks court to put Kalagadi Manganese into business rescue; application opposed BL Premium reports that Kalagadi Manganese’s major creditor and 20% shareholder, the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), has approached the court to put the mining company into business rescue. Daphne Mashile-Nkosi is the effective owner of 67% of Kalagadi, which has built a large manganese mine and sinter plant in the Northern Cape. But Kalagadi has had a troubled past and the IDC now appears to be at the end of its tether over R3bn of debt and what the lender says are potential defaults on other loans. The IDC said in court documents that there was a reasonable prospect of rescuing the company by affording it a much-needed debt moratorium, which would be of benefit to its 1,153 employees, creditors, shareholders and affected persons. In a replying affidavit, Kalagadi’s CEO Thulo Malumise hotly denied that defaults were imminent and said the IDC was acting in bad faith because the two parties were in talks on restructuring the debt. The African Development Bank and Absa are two other lenders heavily exposed to Kalagadi. The IDC repeatedly made the claim that Kalagadi was “financially distressed” and had failed to make repayments on debt. By the end of April the debt stood at R3bn. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Allan Seccombe at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, IDC’s Kalagadi Manganese business rescue application opposed, at Mining Weekly DMRE to fast-track capital projects, mining rights to help save jobs Mining Weekly reports that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) says that to help create jobs in what will remain a challenging macroeconomic environment for the foreseeable future, it will fast-track its capital expenditure (capex) projects planned for the next five years. If an allocated R25-billion can be spent on capex projects, including liquid petroleum gas, it could create 100,000 new jobs, contribute an additional R40-billion to the economy and contribute an additional R9-billion to government revenue. Additionally, the DMRE will bring forward medium- to long-term capital projects to be executed in the 2021/22 to 2023/24 financial years, which mostly involve energy programmes. In a presentation to MPs on Tuesday, DMRE director-general Thabo Mokoena also indicated that the department would fast-track complying Section 11 (mining right) applications to create additional jobs and save existing ones. DMRE Minister Gwede Mantashe advised that during the Level 5 coronavirus lockdown four companies had approached the department to issue Section 189 retrenchment notices. However, the department managed to stop those processes, partly owing to the limited movement of labour unions during present times. In the department’s response plan to Covid-19, Mokoena said they would support the health sector in diagnosing the virus and create new jobs by aiding the local manufacturing of the necessary goods – sanitisers, masks, test kits, antigens and antibodies. Read the full original of the informative report in the above regard at Mining Weekly Other general posting(s) relating to mining
SAA’s business rescue practitioners refute ‘incorrect’ company statement that SAA will resume domestic flights in mid-June BL Premium reports that the SA Airways (SAA) business rescue practitioners (BRPs) said on Wednesday that the state-owned airline would not resume domestic flights in mid-June. This was contrary to a statement issued by the company’s communications office on Tuesday. SAA is in severe financial distress and has been in business rescue since December. Business rescue places the BRPs in full authority over the company. Spokesperson for the BRPs, Louise Brugman, said on Wednesday that the statement had been issued without their knowledge and was incorrect. SAA was not ready to resume flights, she stated. Brugman went on to add: “The position around the cessation of flights remains as is until SAA has a better sense of what level 3 lockdown means in terms of domestic air travel.” The SAA statement is the latest in the saga over the future of the airline, which the BRPs say must be “wound down” as it has no funds to resume operations. Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan and trade unions at the company are determined to save the airline or start a new one. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (paywall access only). See too, Business rescue practitioners shoot down SAA plan to fly under lockdown, at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Retrenchments loom as DA moves to create a structure “more suited” to the party’s current needs City Press reports that the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) federal executive has decided to retrench some party employees, in a move described as creating “a structure that is more suited” to the party’s current needs. In an internal email, dated 26 May and circulated to party employees, the party’s federal council chairperson, Helen Zille, indicated that, following a review process by the federal executive, a decision, although “painful”, had been deemed “necessary” to restructure the organisation. DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi confirmed that the HR department would be sending letters to affected employees to invite them for consultations. He highlighted that the party was still at the consultation phase and the retrenchments had not as yet begun. The decision to restructure was initially communicated via a memorandum sent to party employees in February. Surprisingly, the latest decision comes just a week after DA interim leader John Steenhuisen said the party was in a much better position than it had been a year ago before the 2019 national elections. Nonetheless, this will the second time in the space of a year that the official opposition party finds itself having to axe employees. In September 2019, the party retrenched 51 employees following its poor election results. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Juniour Khumalo at City Press CCMA offices flooded over retrenchments, unfair dismissals City Press reports that the massive loss of jobs – brought about by the Covid-19 coronavirus – has resulted in hordes of people flocking into the offices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which began operations again last week for the first time since the nationwide lockdown began in March. When the CCMA’s doors opened last Wednesday, complainants rushed into its offices, hoping to get some sort of assistance. Phakamile Hlubi-Majola of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA warned employers not to take advantage of Covid-19 to unfairly dismiss employees. “Our members are experiencing extreme hardship at this time. Brutal employers have taken advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to vary conditions and restructure,” she claimed, adding that the union would defend its members facing retrenchments because of the Covid-19 lockdown. Sizwe Pamla, spokesperson for Cosatu, did not mince his words, saying the union federation would not accept any retrenchments caused by the lockdown. CCMA director Cameron Morajane said the commission witnessed a substantial number of cases on Wednesday in all its offices. “These were apart from enquiries on other labour matters. Our Johannesburg office alone received between 300 and 400 cases,” he reported. With the number of CCMA cases expected to increase, Morajane said: “Measures have been put in place to ensure that the CCMA has adequate capacity and resources to deal with the hike in referred matters.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Palesa Dlamini and Mandisa Nyathi at City Press
Struggling with cash-flow, Sascoc pays salaries one day late BusinessLive reports that the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) paid salaries to its 24 staff members on Tuesday according to acting CEO Ravi Govender. The body‚ under financial pressure for a few years‚ could not make the payments totalling nearly R1m in time for payday on Monday because of a cash-flow issue. Govender had told employees the organisation was waiting for a payment and promised them they would be paid by May 29 “or sooner”. Sascoc has increasingly been squeezed since the National Lotteries Commission redefined it as a national sports federation, which meant its funding cap was set at R5m a year, resulting in a revenue cut of R100m. Moreover, the government has not made all payments expected of it‚ such as covering the cost of sending a team to the 2019 African Games. Furthermore, Sascoc’s shares in Phumelela Gaming & Leisure, which were worth nearly R100m a few years ago‚ are all but worthless after the gaming company went into business rescue. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David Isaacson at BusinessLive
Brace for bigger-than-expected fuel price increases in June, says AA BusinessLive reports that SA motorists must brace for a bigger-than-expected petrol price increase in June after oil prices rebounded off their late-April crash. This will come after record fuel price drops in April and May. According to the AA, the price of 93 unleaded petrol will rise about R1.03/l at the beginning of June, with 95 unleaded to increase about R1.13. Further bad news is that diesel — of which there is currently a shortage in the country — is expected to go up by about 13c/l. Despite this, the AA said SA motorists now have some unusual capacity to absorb fuel price increases, with most grades of fuel still more than R3/l cheaper than at the start of 2020. Many motorists are also driving far less due to the coronavirus lockdown. But the AA added: “Our concern, of course, is that the financial situation of many South Africans has changed for the worse in the past two months, with huge job losses and talks of across-the-board salary cuts. This could make South Africans sensitive to even small fuel price increases.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denis Droppa at BusinessLive. Read too, SA is hit by a diesel shortage, says Sapia, at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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