In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 16 October 2020.
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Health Minister Zweli Mkhize in quarantine after he and his wife tested positive for Covid-19 BusinessLive reports that Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced in a statement on Sunday night that he and his wife have tested positive for Covid-19 and were in quarantine at home. Mkhize has been at the forefront of SA’s efforts to manage the coronavirus pandemic, and is the fifth cabinet minister to have tested positive for Covid-19. “I wish to inform the public that this afternoon my wife, Dr May Mkhize, and I have tested positive for Covid-19. We decided to go test yesterday when I started showing mild symptoms. I was feeling abnormally exhausted and as the day progressed, I started losing appetite. My wife had a cough, was dizzy and extremely exhausted. Given her symptoms, the doctors advised that she must be admitted for observation and rehydration,” said the minister. He went on to advise as follows: “Our close contacts in the past week have been a few of our family members and some of my health ministry team. We have informed them and advised them to immediately isolate in their homes and be tested.” He did not say how many people were affected. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive
As state of disaster continues, discussions underway at Nedlac to extend Ters relief scheme BL Premium reports that discussions are underway about extending the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF’s) Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters). The UIF on Friday confirmed that the government and social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) were looking at extending the scheme after the state of disaster was extended for another month until 15 November. This news came amid concerns over the ability of the UIF to meet the growing demand for benefits amid escalating retrenchments as a result of a rapid contraction of the economy. Meantime, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last week as part of his economic recovery plan that the government would extend the temporary R350 grant for the unemployed who receive no other form of relief money for three months beyond the end of October. The Ters scheme was introduced in March to help employers in distress provide wage benefits to employees via the UIF. It was initially to cover three months and was then extended. But with the national state of disaster continuing, many workers have still not been able to return to work or have had to work less hours. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Genevieve Quintal at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Hotline to report Covid-19 Ters fraud launched The Citizen reports that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has launched a fraud hotline for Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) benefits. In a statement last week, UIF acting commissioner Marsha Bronkhorst said the launch of fraud hotline platforms were for the public to report all suspicious criminal activity related to Ters and any other UIF fraud related matters. “Since the inception of the Covid-19 Ters relief scheme, the UIF has been beset with a plethora of fraud allegations and complaints from clients and companies. I am, therefore, urging anyone with information regarding any Covid-19 Ters fraud or any other UIF fraud related matter to report this to us without any delay,” said Bronkhorst. She added that each case would be treated on its own merits and the turnaround time to finalise the allegation would vary depending on the complexity of the matter. The reporting platforms are available 24 hours per day, 365 days a year and in all 11 official languages. The public can use the following platforms to report Ters related fraud: Toll free number 0800-212-799 or SMS call-back on 30916, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fax to email to 0867-261-681. Meanwhile, UIF spokesperson Makhosonke Buthelezi confirmed that the UIF has recovered R3.2 billion in Ters funds that were paid in error. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
Ramaphosa’s economic stimulus plan aims to create 800,000 job opportunities BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa last week announced an ambitious employment stimulus programme requiring the expenditure of R100bn over the next three years. This fiscal year alone, just more than R14bn will be spent on creating about 800,000 employment and economic opportunities in a programme that will build on existing public works programmes and create new ones. Fifteen departments, all the metros and all the provinces have been drawn into the mass public employment programme, which aims to address SA’s chronic unemployment rate. The wage rate for the public employment programmes will be R11 an hour against a national minimum wage of R20 an hour. The major part of the programme will be support for more than 300,000 young assistants to help teachers with basic routine tasks and extra-curricular activities at about 26,000 schools. More than 100,000 early childhood practitioners who were affected by the Covid-19 lockdown will be supported with grants. About 6,000 community health and nursing assistance workers will be supported as the national health insurance scheme is rolled out. More than 60,000 jobs will be created for the labour-intensive maintenance and construction of municipal infrastructure, including roads. In addition, more than 40,000 vulnerable teaching posts at schools which have suffered a loss of fees will be supported. The programme will provide support for about 75,000 small-scale farmers who will receive a grant payment. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, Ramaphosa promises 800,000 employment opportunities in the medium term, at Business Report Ramaphosa’s short-term jobs plan 'ignores private sector' Business Times writes that economists and business leaders have cautioned that President Cyril Ramaphosa's economic recovery and reconstruction plan is overly focused on short-term public employment creation, with not enough to stimulate job creation by the private sector. Critics also say that the long-awaited plan provides few clues on how the government plans to deliver on its commitment to curb soaring public debt levels – or to turn around its poor record on implementation. The plan reiterated several reform promises and initiatives previously announced, such as a huge infrastructure investment drive, and set ambitious new targets to achieve energy security within two years. It also extended the Covid special social grants by three months, affirmed a "buy local" plan that had already been agreed at Nedlac to re-industrialise SA, and provided some detail on the first year of a R100bn three-year public employment package. The job opportunities, many of which will apparently last for no more than four or five months, include an expansion of existing public works programmes and new programmes that Ramaphosa said would respond to local community priorities. Absa economist Peter Worthington commented: "There was virtually nothing said on what the government would do to help the private sector create jobs, nor any clarity on how an expanded public employment programme would dovetail with the need to sharply cut overall public spending." Ramaphosa's plan comes just two weeks before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni presents his medium-term budget on 28 October, which was postponed last week from 21 October. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Hilary Joffe at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Labour Appeal Court, as court of first instance, to hear public-sector wage increase matter on 2 December BL Premium reports that the legal battle relating to wage increases for public-sector workers will be heard directly by the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) on 2 December. The matter is critical to resolving a major dispute between the government and its employees, after the state refused to implement a salary increase agreement it signed in 2018 for this financial year, saying it simply did not have the money to do so. The increases were provided for in a multi-term wage agreement, which was in its final leg in this financial year. The decision to renege on this agreement came after finance minister Tito Mboweni in February pencilled in major budget cuts to the public-sector wage bill. After that, the state did not implement the agreement, and public-sector unions then brought an application to the Labour Court. They are seeking to enforce their contractual rights, while the state has brought a counter-application to have the enforcement of the final leg of the agreement declared unconstitutional. Both the government and public-sector unions all agreed that the matter was urgent and thus requested that the LAC should become the court of first instance to speed up the process. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Claudi Mailovich at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Unions say ‘lives on the line’ as SAA employees who took VSPs are still waiting for retrenchment packages Business Times reports that while the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for South African Airways (SAA) wait for the government to source the more than R10bn needed to get the state-owned airline up and running again, unions say the human cost is high. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the SA South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) and SAA Pilots' Association (Saapa) all report that their members are in dire financial straits, having in most cases not received salaries for five months. They say that those who took voluntary severance have not received their retrenchment packages. SAA staff have, however, received payments from the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) and the Unemployment Insurance Fund. "People's lives are on the line here. People have lost houses, they've lost cars, their kids are getting kicked out of school and they don't know where their next meal is going to come from," said Numsa's Phakamile Hlubi-Majola. The joint BRPs, Siviwe Dongwana and Les Matuson, confirmed that more than 3,000 of the just under 5,000 SAA employees took voluntary severance packages (VSPs). The carrier now has about 1,800 staff. Hlubi-Majola said these issues have been "raised sharply" with SAA management, the Department of Public Enterprises and the BRPs, whom she said have been "earning their exorbitant fees". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nick Wilson at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Telkom’s IT subsidiary BCX contemplating 284 job cuts Business Report writes that Telkom IT subsidiary BCX is contemplating the dismissal of employees as part of its new organisational structure. BCX claims that lockdown regulations implemented to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic have added pressure on its margins and its ability to generate revenue. The group served Section 189 (retrenchment) notices on Thursday, warning that 284 employees in various categories would be impacted. “Regrettably the rapid acceleration in the decline of economic activity, failure of some businesses, and a generally gloomy economic outlook have not resulted in a marked improvement in the company’s performance and outlook to a point where the contemplated dismissals are avoidable,” said BCX in its notice. BCX, which currently employs 4,905 employees, expects the process to be finalised by the end of January next year. The first consultation meeting facilitated by the CCMA is expected on Thursday subject to availability of parties. SA Communications Union (Sacu) organiser Keith Aimes pointed out that BCX was part of essential services in lockdown and benefited financially in the form of data as a subsidiary of Telkom. Aimes added: “Maseko and his team are enriching themselves from gainsharing if financial targets are met where Maseko gets the likes of R23 million and his team totalling R63m.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku on page 15 of Sunday Independent Business Report of 18 October 2020
Displaced Mpumalanga school principal finally reinstated after having been chased away by unruly Sadtu members Sowetan reports that a Mpumalanga principal who had been chased away from his school by unruly members of a teachers’ union will be returning to his position almost one year later. The provincial department of education has since made an about-turn and brought back Patrick Sehoole, a principal of Wolvenkop Special School, whom the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) had kicked out at the end of October. Sehoole had fallen out of favour with Sadtu last year after the union questioned his appointment, claiming proper processes had not been followed. A new principal, apparently preferred by Sadtu, was brought to the school last month after Sehoole had been sent back to his previous school, Sindawonye Primary School. But, in a letter dated 9 October, the Nkangala district’s director called for Sehoole to report back at the Wolvenkop Special School from last week. A parent, Matshidiso Motaung, who had gone to the Mpumalanga High Court in August in an effort to force the department to protect Sehoole, said his return was a victory. Motaung’s lawyer said: “I cannot really say I am happy. I will, however, be observing the situation closely and should anything happen we will rush to court for an interdict.” Department of education spokesperson Jasper Zwane said: “The standoff between the principal in question and the stakeholders has since been resolved by the department.” He said the department would be monitoring developments very closely. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Isaac Mahlangu on page 10 of Sowetan of 16 October 2020 Deputy principal’s 33-year teaching career ends after insulting remark to pupil about his squint eye The Star reports that a deputy principal’s teaching career of 33 years has ended, after she was fired for insulting a learner about his squinted eye. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) declared Western Cape teacher Gaye Raubenheimer guilty of verbal abuse. Arbitrator Jacobus du Plessis ruled that evidence before him indicated that Raubenheimer told a learner in 2018: “Jy is a skeelgat en dis hoekom jy so dom is (You’re squinted, that’s why you’re so dumb).” The learner, whose one eye is skewed, found the utterances so hurtful that Raubenheimer ended up being charged. Raubenheimer, a master’s degree holder who earned R42,277 a month as a deputy principal at Pacaltsdorp Senior Secondary, denied insulting the learner. But a variety of contradictions in her testimony and that of her witnesses did not serve her defence well. Raubenheimer was an Afrikaans expert who achieved a pass rate of 100% over the past 10 years. The dismissal of teachers in cases similar to Raubenheimer did not sit well with the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu). Spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said. “Teachers suffer a lot of verbal abuse from learners and they have no avenue to report the matter. Even if they report, the worst learners get are suspensions. We can never approve of teachers verbally abusing learners. However, it’s sad that they lose their livelihoods while sentences to learners (for the same offence) do little.” Data from the SA Council for Educators (Sace) showed that verbal abuse, victimisation and harassment made up the second-highest instances of unprofessional conduct reported against teachers over the last financial year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Nkosi at The Star
Deputy police commissioner Bonang Mgwenya suspended after arrest TimesLIVE reports that deputy national police commissioner for human resource management, Lt-Gen Bonang Mgwenya, is contesting a suspension notice after her arrest on corruption, fraud and money laundering charges. The high-ranking officer was allegedly involved in fraud relating to a multimillion-rand tender for emergency warning equipment. She is “Accused Number 15” in the so-called ‘blue lights fraud’ case, which also involves former acting national commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and former Gauteng provincial commissioner Deliwe de Lange, among other generals and senior officers. National police commissioner General Khehla Sitole confirmed that Mgwenya had been suspended “following damning allegations of her alleged involvement in crimes”. In her challenge to her suspension, Mgwenya submitted that it would have serious reputation implications for her. “It is respectfully submitted that there is no legal basis to suspend me at this point in time as a precautionary measure, but rather to expedite the departmental processes in order for the matter to be brought to finality as soon as possible. Alternatively, a consideration can be given to temporarily transfer me to an alternative post, pending the finalisation of any departmental processes, she submitted. Meanwhile, national police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said that, in an unrelated matter, Sitole had dismissed another lieutenant-general “for her alleged involvement in corruption dating back to 2015". Details of this case will be provided at a later stage. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgaugelo Masweneng at TimesLIVE. Read too, Top cop Mgwenya suspended, at News24
Human Rights Commission’s investigation into ‘period inspection’ sexual assault case underway The Citizen reports that the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has visited a Pretoria East company hit by allegations of sexual assault after a female supervisor allegedly forced 30 women to take off their pants so she could “inspect” them after a used sanitary pad was found in the women’s bathroom. According to the women, the supervisor then bent down to look at their private parts to determine if they were on their menstrual cycle and whether or not they were wearing a sanitary pad. One claimed that she was touched on her private parts. The recent visit by the SAHRC aimed at investigating possible violations, to establish the circumstances that led to the incident and look into any remedial steps taken by the employer. SAHRC spokesperson, Buang Jones said: “It was a preliminary investigation, fact-finding exercise. The perpetrator was subjected to a disciplinary inquiry and employees were offered counselling. The employer is to share its policies with the commission for review and continue providing counselling to employees.” Jones said the commission would also provide human rights sensitisation training to management and employees. The company had previously indicated that a disciplinary process against the supervisor had been initiated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Sibiya on page 9 of The Citizen of 16 October 2020
CCMA decision over UIF benefits for Port Elizabeth horse grooms delayed GroundUp reports that former Dippin Blu Racing horse grooms in Port Elizabeth will have to wait another week for the outcome of a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) hearing to determine whether they can claim unemployment benefits. The CCMA proceedings were meant to have taken place on Friday, but were postponed for the CCMA to make a decision about a preliminary technical legal point argued in the case. The group took their dismissals to the CCMA in March. However, they decided to drop the complaint so they could apply for payments from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), which they could not do if the case was pending at the CCMA. In September, they discovered the Department of Labour’s system showed they had absconded from work, making them ineligible for UIF payments. On 17 September, a violent protest broke out at the stables where the grooms had been employed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mkhuseli Sizani at TimesLIVE
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