Today's Labour News

TOP STORY – NEW SAA

State to fork out R26bn for a new SAA employing 1,000 of the existing staffers, with the rest to be laid-off

BL Premium reports that the business rescue plan for SA Airways (SAA), which was published on Tuesday night, envisages a restructured airline that will begin flying in the near future due to a new bailout from the government.  It is envisaged that the new company will employ 1,000 of the existing staff members, with the remainder retrenched.  While SAA has about 5,000 employees in the airline company, its subsidiaries employ about another 5,000 people.  The plan will cost the government at least R26bn, with R16.4bn of that for repayment of funders.  Other costs, working capital, retrenchment costs and other debts will amount to about another R10bn.  The government has committed to “fund or raise funding” of R2.8bn for working capital to restart operations.  Creditors will by next week vote on the plan, which is likely to be accepted.  The plan envisages that by January 2021, SAA will operate a full domestic schedule, with regional and international flights after that, depending on demand.  

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, SAA rescue plan to cost the state more than R10 billion, at Fin24

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• Court rules that provisional liquidators for SA Express can sell, transfer property, at News24

HEALTH & SAFETY

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize warns of spike in Covid-19 infections and deaths in coming days

News24 reports that according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, SA would in coming days see a rise in Covid-19 infections, more people would be hospitalised, and many would lose their lives.  During a briefing on Tuesday, he and Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu launched a new multi-sectoral ministerial advisory committee (MAC) on social behavioural change, in an effort to expand the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  The committee will be chaired by Malusi Mpumlwana of the SA Council of Churches.  The MAC team comes from diversity of various stakeholders representing various civil society organisations, including non-governmental organisation, youth organisations, church leaders and traditional leaders amongst others.  Mkhize said that, while the work of MAC would be to facilitate diverse stakeholder cooperation in the country’s Covid-19 response, it would also facilitate action for fair access to quality health care.  "Behavioural change needs constant reinforcement and affirmation.  It needs the entire buy-in of individuals, communities, societies, cultures and various social groupings," Mkhize pointed out.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeanette Chabalala at News24

Eastern Cape healthcare workers wait up to a month for Covid-19 test results

News24 reports that Eastern Cape healthcare workers are waiting nearly a month for their coronavirus test results from public sector laboratories and they fear that they may be exposing patients and colleagues to the infection.  Earlier this month, testing backlogs prompted the Western Cape health department to announce that it would restrict testing for the virus to those with symptoms who were over the age of 55 or had underlying health conditions, as well as healthcare workers or patients in hospital or old-age homes.  A backlog of more than 21,000 tests for the new virus in the Eastern Cape has led to calls for the province to adopt a similarly restrictive criteria for coronavirus testing.  As of 9 June, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) had about 70,000 unprocessed tests for the infection, CEO Kamy Chetty told MPs 10 June.  Chetty explained that international shortages in testing kits and supplies meant SA received fewer kits than it needed, fuelling backlogs.  The NHLS will start prioritising processing tests for healthcare workers as well as those who are at a high risk of dying from Covid-19 as part of a new system, Chetty indicated.  Such tests such will be done before those coming in as part of community screening efforts.  In Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the NHLS has added additional workers, equipment and testing sites, Chetty advised.  Both provinces have struck deals with private sector laboratories to deal with almost 40,000 unprocessed tests between the two provinces.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Joan van Dyk at News24

Re-testing people previously diagnosed with Covid-19 before they return to work is 'nonsense', says expert

News24 reports that according to a top professor, testing of people previously diagnosed for Covid-19 to ensure they were no longer infectious before returning to work was "nonsense and must stop".  Professor Wolfgang Preiser, head of medical virology at Stellenbosch University, stated that henceforth people who did not meet a strict criteria for targeted testing should not be tested.  Preiser is also a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) advising the government on Covid-19.  His comments came amid a heated debate between the Department of Health, Minister Zweli Mkhize and top scientists over the future of the country's Covid-19 strategy.  SA faces an acute shortage of Covid-19 tests and has a backlog of about 63,000.  Professor Preiser said:  "Testing of people previously diagnosed as infected, for example before they are allowed back to work, is nonsense and must stop; in uncomplicated cases, two weeks after [the] onset of illness and, in more severe cases, two weeks after coming off oxygen support is sufficient waiting time to make sure the individual is no longer infectious.”  Mkhize indicated last week that the country would move towards a more targeted regime, focusing on infection hotspots, hospitalised patients and healthcare workers.  But with a prioritised, targeted testing strategy comes the question of what to do about the backlog of tests in laboratories.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sarah Evans at News24

Expert wants clearer guidelines to justify refusal of health workers to treat Covid-19 patients

EWN reports that according to a medical law and ethics expert, clearer guidelines for healthcare workers were needed when it came to the treatment of Covid-19 patients.  Doctors, nurses and hospital support staff are exposed to the disease daily, but it is unclear whether they can refuse to treat patients if they feel their own lives are at risk.  Five nurses in the Eastern Cape were suspended last month, after they refused to treat a patient suspected of having Covid-19, citing a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).  In a recent webinar hosted by the SA Society of Cardiovascular Intervention, clinicians and others highlighted grey areas between workers having to treat patients and the right to protect their own lives.  Deputy chair of the SA Medico-Legal Association, Dr Henry Lerm, said that healthcare practitioners’ refusal to treat a patient on the basis of their health status amounted to unethical conduct.  In terms of the guidelines of the Health Professions Council of SA and the Critical Care Society of SA, which have been endorsed by the medical association, such refusal would amount to unethical conduct and would be against professional rules, Lerm asserted.  But, he highlighted that a doctor’s duty to provide medical treatment as taken from the Hippocratic Oath needed to be reviewed:  Lerm suggested that a summit should be hosted to resolve such issues.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kevin Brandt at EWN

Two security guards escorting Eskom technicians shot dead in Cape Town on Monday

News24 reports that two security guards were shot dead in Philippi East, Cape Town, on Monday afternoon while escorting Eskom technicians out of the area.  The technicians had been in the area attending to an electricity supply fault.  "The security guards were employed by VusaIsizwe Security and were contracted to Eskom to provide armed escorting services for technicians working in high-risk areas known for incidents of robberies, gun-pointing and violence," the power utility reported on Monday.  Preliminary investigations indicate the team had completed their work and were leaving the area in their vehicles when the attack on the guards took place.  The two guards died on the scene, while the Eskom employees managed to escape.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Canny Maphanga at News24

LOCKDOWN RELIEF BENEFITS

Auditors appointed to probe claims of some employers having stolen UIF Covid-19 payouts for workers

Business Insider SA reports that amid reports of companies stealing Covid-19 payouts meant for workers, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has appointed auditors to “follow the money trail”.  Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi advised in a statement:  "It is alleged that there are companies that have not paid the workers what is due to them.  We are aware of some companies allegedly loaning employees the money and that is not legal.  We are also aware of other companies that are allegedly paying part of the money and not the full amount, as well as companies using the money for something else other than the intended purpose.”  Employees who are put on leave, have been laid off temporarily, or whose employers can’t afford to pay their full salaries due to the coronavirus crisis are entitled to Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) payouts.  Companies have to apply for the Ters payouts on behalf of their workers, and then distribute the payouts to them.  While employees can also apply directly to the UIF for the benefit if their employer has not applied, typically the money is paid via the employer.  Nxesi also urged companies to provide more details for more than 725,000 workers who have not yet been paid out because their applications are still missing information.  An amount of R3.2 billion is still due to those workers.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessInsider

INDUSTRIAL ACTION / STRIKES

As Covid-19 cases spike, Nehawu members create chaos at Eastern Cape’s Livingstone Hospital over non-payment of overtime allowances

Financial Mail reports that as Covid-19 cases began to spike in the Eastern Cape, the state-run Livingstone Hospital became the site of a trade union-led laundry war.  The academic hospital in Port Elizabeth is the designated primary site for provincial Covid-19 patients and by Monday had 26 coronavirus patients.  But last week the hospital was a mess, with litter strewn across the corridors.  The casualty ward had to be closed in the middle of the week, as blood remained uncleaned on the floor.  This was because of a protest by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), which represents hospital cleaners, kitchen staff and porters, about the non-payment of overtime allowances.  They refused to wash laundry and on Saturday tensions ratcheted up when strikers blocked the entrance to the hospital.  Effectively, the action amounted to shutting down the hospital, since patients could not be operated on or treated without clean sheets or surgical gowns.  Doctors spoke of their concern at the lack of intervention by authorities to address the dispute.  However, Nehawu’s Miki Jaceni advised on Saturday that the provincial authorities had promised in writing to pay the overtime allowances.  As a result, the union members began to clean up blood and litter, which allowed the casualty ward to reopen.  On Sunday, the hospital appeared calm as the union members went back to work.  But, provincial government spokesman Sizwe Kupelo downplayed the strike, saying there had been “sporadic” labour disputes and that the “linen issues” was being addressed.  Kupelo also denied the claim that there was a shortage of personal protective equipment.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Katharine Child at BusinessLive

PUBLIC SECTOR WAGE INCREASE DISPUTE

Public sector unions adamant that their fight for wage hikes is not unpatriotic

BL Premium reports that two days before finance minister Tito Mboweni tables his special adjustments budget on 24 June, the state will begin pre-arbitration hearings with Cosatu-affiliated unions relating to the dispute over the government’s failure to pay the last leg of wage increases agreed to in the 2018 multiyear wage agreement.  The hearings will take place at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC).  The government must also meet Fedusa affiliates in court after they dispensed with the PSCBC internal resolution mechanisms, opting to take the state to court for reneging on the agreement.  The court date has not yet been set.  Meantime, private sector workers face retrenchments and salary cuts.  According to labour economist Andrew Levy, wage settlements in the private sector “have fallen off a cliff” since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.  “People are actually being paid less; they are facing wage cuts,” Levy noted, a situation not mirrored in the public sector.  But the public sector unions argue that they have good reasons to press on with their fight.  “The unions are not trying to be unpatriotic.  The unions are doing this because there is a signed agreement,” said Lufuno Mulaudzi of the Public Servants Association.  He added that the state’s ailing financial position preceding the crisis was a result of corruption that has gone on “unabated” and the state’s own “lack of planning”  Also, promises to reduce the size of SA’s bloated cabinet have not been met.  These sentiments are largely shared by Cosatu affiliates.  According to Cosatu’s chief negotiator Mugwena Maluleke, the inequality between the executive and the ordinary worker “is compelling”.  The principle of protecting the collective bargaining regime in SA was another reason to fight the state’s failure to implement the wage increase, said Maluleke.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lynley Donnelly at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

EXECUTIVE PAY

Vodacom CE and CFO receive double-digit increases in year to March

Business Report writes that Vodacom increased the pay packages of its chief executive, Shameel Joosub, and chief financial officer, Till Streichert, by 13.5% and 11.5%, respectively, in the year ended March.  This as the company's international markets recorded double-digit growth in revenue.  Vodacom indicated in its 2020 annual report released on Friday that Joosub had earned R43.4m pre-tax, from R38.2m, in 2020, and R23.8m post-tax compared to R21m a year earlier.  Streichert had received a pay packet of £1.23m (R26.22m), up from £1.1m a year earlier, the company said.  Vodacom said Joosub had received guaranteed pay of R12m, including retirement fund contributions, medical aid and a company car, which was 6.5% higher than the R11.5m in 2019.  In terms of short-term incentive (STI), Joosub had received a bonus of R11.68m derived from performance for the year ended 31 March, which was 19.4% higher than the R9.7m he received last year.  Streichert’s guaranteed pay had increased by 21.4% to £452,799 from £373,033 previously, to ensure that his guaranteed pay was aligned with market benchmarks.  All employees received an average guaranteed pay increase of 5.5% in SA and market-related increases in international operations.  The company said it had paid R6.4bn in wages and benefits for its 7,641 employees in the year to the end of March.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku at Business Report

MINING LABOUR

Minerals Council wants more border openings for returning foreign workers

Mining Weekly reports that more border openings are wanted by the mining industry for returning foreign mineworkers.  As of Thursday last week, not a single foreign mineworker had re-entered SA from neighbouring foreign countries.  Nikisi Lesufi of the Minerals Council SA (MCSA) advised that only a limited number of border posts were open and that the volume of returning mineworkers was such that the opening of more border posts was wanted.  Four thousand workers are needing to re-enter South Africa from Mozambique through one border post, and 12,000 from Lesotho, also through one border post.  “If the numbers are spread equitably among the border posts, then we’ll have a faster process of the workers going through.  That’s why we’re discussing the possibility of further ports of entry being opened to prevent congestion and allow greater numbers of workers to go through the borders at any one time," Lesufi said.  The MCSA had been expecting the first mineworkers to come through during last week, but that proved not to be possible because of the complexity of the issues, or too few border posts being opened. The council hopes to see “the first couple of mineworkers coming through during the course of this week.”  Training of teams in neighbouring countries is being undertaken to prepare the foreign mineworkers for their return.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly

Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining

• Pilanesberg Platinum Mines ends six-year legal tussle with North West community with an agreement, at Miningmx

Other general posting(s) relating to mining

• SA’s mining sector took a huge production hit due to the Covid-19 lockdown, at BusinessLive
• Implats pulls plug on further investment in Waterberg JV as Covid-19 changes risk appetite, at Miningmx

DISMISSALS

Clive Eksteen, who was fired on Sunday, takes Cricket SA to CCMA for unfair dismissal

BusinessLive reports that Cricket SA’s former head of sales and sponsor relations Clive Eksteen is taking the governing body to the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for unfair dismissal just days after his sacking.  Eksteen was fired with immediate effect on Sunday after he was found “guilty of transgressions of a serious nature” after a lengthy disciplinary process.  The 53-year-old former player was suspended in October 2019 with CFO Naasei Appiah and then acting director of cricket Corrie van Zyl in a matter involving players and player contracts through the players’ union the SA Cricketers’ Association (Saca).  The trio’s suspension was related to their dereliction of duty after non-payment of player fees stemming from the 2018 Mzansi Super League (MSL).  Appiah is also appealing, while Van Zyl has since been reinstated.  Eksteen said he faced five counts of misconduct.  Three concerned the Saca issue, a fourth was about the sponsorship deal — to which CSA was not a party — and the fifth was the sponsorship agreement for an amount less than had been approved by CSA executive committee.  He was acquitted on the three charges relating to Saca‚ and was also exonerated in the fourth charge.  Eksteen believes the fifth charge was a “lesser charge” and therefore he “should not have been dismissed at all‚ let alone found guilty”.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tiisetso Malepa and Khanyiso Tshwaku at BusinessLive

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• Opinion: Intolerable employment relationship pivotal to justify dismissal, at BusinessLive