Today's Labour News

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY

One reportedly injured, six treated for smoke inhalation after Engen refinery explosion on Friday

Engineering News reports that one person was injured and taken to hospital, while six were treated for smoke inhalation, following Friday morning's explosion at an oil refinery in Wentworth, Durban.  According to Engen spokesperson Gavin Smith, the fire on its site was extinguished during the morning.  The company is still investigating the cause of the fire at the refinery.  Meanwhile, environmental organisation Greenpeace Africa pointed out that the Engen refinery explosion was the third environmental disaster to hit KwaZulu-Natal within the last three months.  The prior incidents were a crude oil spill on Transnet’s watch into the Umbilo river, as well as a motor vehicle accident caused by a fuel tanker, which claimed 12 lives.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News

Investigation launched into inferno on Friday at Engen refinery in Durban

News24 reports that all refinery process units have been shut down at Engen's Wentworth refinery, while the company investigates the cause of a massive fire which broke out on Friday morning.  The fire did not cause any injuries, the company said in a statement on Saturday.  An explosion took place at the refinery shortly after 07:00 on Friday.  Fire and smoke could be seen billowing from the site and a block of flats on Beach Road, opposite the refinery, also caught fire.  "With regards to the fire incident at the Engen refinery on Friday … Engen wishes to confirm that no injuries were recorded.  All refinery personnel have been accounted for," said Engen spokesperson Gavin Smith.  The fire was extinguished at 08:45.  "All refinery process units have been safely shut down in order to ensure that the plant remains completely safe while investigation into the root cause of the incident is underway," Smith indicated.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24. Read too, Energy department hits panic button after explosion at Durban refinery, at TimesLIVE

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• Residents to pursue civil claim over Engen Refinery explosion, at Sunday Tribune

PUBLIC SECTOR WAGE INCREASES

Mchunu denies committing ‘fiscal treason’ in making R27bn wage settlement to public sector trade unions

BL Premium reports that Department of Public Service & Administration (DPSA) Minister Senzo Mchunu has rejected suggestions that he committed “fiscal treason” by proposing a R27bn wage settlement to public sector trade unions.  The minister was speaking in parliament on Friday.  Leon Schreiber of the Democratic Alliance (DA) noted that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni had for more than a year promised that the state would not increase wages and had in fact imposed a wage freeze for the next three years.  Yet Mchunu, Schreiber said, had last week offered the public sector workers a R27bn wage increase.  He asked Mchunu why he was committing this “fiscal treason” against the country.  In an earlier statement, Schreiber said the government’s bid to settle with the trade unions “signals the beginning of the end of the government’s halfhearted effort to reduce the out-of-control wage bill.  Mchunu said he did not know anything about the offer that was mentioned.  “What I know is that we had discussions with the unions based on four fixed principles — the first one was that whatever was agreed outside court had to be in line with the principle of not affecting in any way the budget baseline which is in line with the current fiscal framework.  Second, any agreement could not expand in any way government’s borrowing margin; third, it must maintain stability; and, fourth, it should enable government to sit down with labour to discuss the new dispensation in the public service.”  Mchunu insisted this was what was discussed with labour.

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

MINING LABOUR

Vedanta's Gamsberg zinc mine stays shut as search continues for trapped worker

Reuters reported on Friday that SA’s Gamsberg zinc mine remained shut while owner Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) continued to search for a worker trapped underground following a rockfall on 17 November.  The zinc unit of India's Vedanta said on Friday:  "The rescue and recovery team are working hard on ensuring the operation is expedited, but with the utmost measures being taken to ensure the safety of the teams."  Eight workers were rescued after the accident, and one died.

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

Bodies of seven unknown persons believed to be illegal miners discovered in Free State mineshaft

News24 reports that Free State police have opened an inquest after seven bodies of unknown people were discovered inside a shaft at Kopanang Mine in Vierfontein, Free State.  Police said the identities, ages, genders and countries of origin of the deceased persons were unknown.  They were discovered at 07:50 on Thursday, said police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele, who added that it was believed the bodies were those of illegal miners.  "According to Kopanang Mine management, all their employees are accounted for and are still present,” said Makhele.  The bodies were brought to the surface by a mine rescue team and were handed over to the Kroonstad state mortuary.  Post-mortem examinations will be conducted in Bloemfontein to establish the identities of the victims.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24

Four soldiers rearrested in conspiracy case linked to illegal mining in Welkom

TimesLIVE reports that a colonel, a warrant officer and two corporals are expected to appear in the Welkom Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of conspiracy to commit crime.  Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovha indicated that the inspectorate rounded the four soldiers up on Friday.  He said they were “initially detained and released in August for conspiracy to commit crime, fraud and trespassing at an illegal mining hotspot at Kudu Shaft, Welkom”.  The soldiers were found on the premises of the privately-owned mine on 6 July.  But, the court subsequently released them because of insufficient evidence.  Ramovha reported further:  “The Hawks serious organised crime investigation unit persisted despite the initial hiccup.  The unyielding probe has since revealed that at the time of the alleged offence the group, that was clad in full military uniform, was supposed to be on duty at their bases in Pretoria and Kroonstad respectively.  Primarily what raised suspicion was that one of them had his private firearm with him and they were using a private vehicle affixed with SANDF plates with its licence disc removed.”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Philani Nombembe at TimesLIVE

Ivan Glasenberg to hand over reins at Glencore to Gary Nagle in mid-2021

Mining Weekly reports that Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg announced on Friday that he would be handing over the reins of the global mining and marketing company in mid-2021 to top Glencore executive Gary Nagle.  Nagle has served the company for more than two decades and is well-known in SA, where he ran Glencore’s ferroalloys business.  Glencore chairperson Tony Hayward said that the board had been working with Glasenberg over the past two years to oversee a seamless transition.  Glasenberg regards 65 was the right age for him to hand over to a new generation and younger leader and will be working with Nagle during the first half of 2021.  Nagle, 45, started with Glasenberg in the coal division 21 years ago, and has had considerable global experience.  Nagle has commerce and accounting degrees from Wits University and qualified as a chartered accountant in SA in 1999.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. See too, Ivan Glasenberg to leave Glencore within six months, at BusinessLive

Other general posting(s) relating to mining

• Despite lockdown slump, diamonds to remain precious post-Covid-19, says De Beers, at Mining Weekly

LABOUR MARKET / JOB CUTS

Jobs bloodbath far from over, warns Alexander Forbes CEO

Fin24 reports that SA’s largest pension funds administrator, Alexander Forbes (AF), says between 3,500 to 4,000 retirement fund members are losing their jobs every month.  According to AF CEO Dawie de Villiers, many companies are still working on retrenchments and the job market bloodbath may not be over yet.  "Retrenchments, liquidations and people exiting employment will have a big impact on our business; on revenue and on assets under management and it is definitely a concern. It is almost a guarantee that it will happen," De Villiers warned.  While he has to maintain an optimistic tone as the leader of a big administrator, he does not mind painting a picture of how bad things are, "because it's a fact".  He indicated that the company, which only administers some of the country's retirement funds, recorded 20,000 people leaving their employment because of retrenchments or their employers going into liquidation.  This resulted in the total number of active members which Alexander Forbes administers decreasing to 895,595, a 2% reduction since March 2020.  This was in the six months between March and September, and only looked at AF’s retrenchments, and not those of other pension fund administrators, which include big life insurers and some smaller players.  De Villiers said, looking at how the jobs situation got progressively worse as months went by, he expected the job market bloodbath to continue, even if it was at a slower rate as retrenchments began flattening after September.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Londiwe Buthelezi at Fin24

SALARY PAYMENTS

Contempt of court case brought against Denel by Solidarity and Uasa postponed to 28 January

BL Premium reports that the contempt of court case brought by two trade unions against the Denel board was on Thursday postponed to 28 January.  Solidarity and Uasa want 15 directors of the state arms manufacturer to be found in contempt of court for failing to implement an earlier labour court ruling ordering the company to pay staff all their outstanding salaries from May to July.  The order also covered unpaid retirement and medical aid deductions.  According to the unions, the directors are getting full salaries while their members are earning partial pay.  Denel has told the court it has liquidity challenges and its shareholder, the government, has not responded to multiple requests for additional funding.  After the postponement, Uasa said in a press statement:  “We are now approaching the festive season and many Denel workers won't have any money to enjoy the December holidays with their families. In fact, some of them lost their houses, cars and some even committed suicide.”

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

Government urges SAA employees to be patient while it resolves unpaid salaries

ANA reports that the Department of Public Enterprises said on Friday it was sympathetic to the plight of employees of SA Airways (SAA) who have not received salaries for several months.  It urged them to be patient while it worked to find a solution.  The state-owned carrier has been under business rescue since December last year and in October Finance Minister Tito Mboweni allocated R10.5-billion in his medium term budget policy statement towards funding its rescue plan.  On Friday, the DPE said the key to solving the difficulties facing SAA was the finalisation of the business rescue process and that it was working with the rescue practitioners to find the best restructuring solutions for the airline, including payment of salaries.  It also said it had in the past worked with SAA management to restore good corporate governance and combat corruption at the carrier.  “As one of the key focus areas, SAA has looked into major contracts relating to logistics, Information Technology, transactional advisory services, ground handling and security,” the DPE indicated.  It noted that the airline had taken disciplinary steps against the employees implicated, resulting in the termination of employment for some senior and executive managers.  Thirteen other employees were found guilty of misconduct and were served with final written warnings, while nine were dismissed and another four resigned.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News

As trade unions turn up the pressure, state moves to solve woes of SAA’s unpaid workers

Business Report writes that the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on Friday said it was working with stakeholders to find solutions for national carrier SA Airways (SAA)  This came after agitated employees who have not been paid in eight months demanded their salaries.  The department said that it was sympathetic to the worker’s plight and called on them to be patient adding the government believed the key to solving the difficulties facing the beleaguered national carrier was the finalisation of the business rescue plan.  Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Saccca) picketed outside SAA’s Kempton Park head office on Thursday to demand payment of outstanding salaries.  Numsa and Sacca also opened a criminal case against the carrier’s board and executives due to their failure to execute their fiduciary duties and for allowing corruption to mushroom through white collar crimes at the group.

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

BASIC EDUCATION / TEACHING

Education department will fight exams interdict brought by teachers union Sadtu

BusinessLive reports that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) says it will defend any attempt in court by the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) to halt the rewriting of leaked matric exam papers.  The union said in a sternly worded statement on Saturday that it was considering legal action against the department and Umalusi — the examinations quality assurer — over a decision to have all pupils who wrote the national senior certificate mathematics and physical science papers rewrite them because the question papers were leaked.  According to DBE Minister Angie Motshekga, the mathematics paper two will be written on 15 December and the physical science paper two will be written on 17 December.  “Sadtu will, on Monday, file an urgent court application to interdict the department’s decision,” said the union.  It added:  “Sadtu believes the decision to have all learners doing mathematics and physical science rewrites is unfair and premature because the investigation [into the leaks] has not been concluded.  Based on the initial investigation which has shown that the number of learners who may have seen the paper [is] less than 200 out of the 390,000 who wrote the paper, there is no basis for a national rewrite.”  Mugwena Maluleke, the union’s general secretary, said the decision had left many learners and teachers distraught and frustrated.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Philane Nombembe at BusinessLive

TRAINING / QUALIFICATIONS

JMPD trainees who were recalled because of training shortfalls finally graduate

Southern Courier reports that the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) trainees who were recalled from duty earlier this year because of training discrepancies have finally graduated.  This was announced during the launch of the City’s Johannesburg 10+ programme in Orange Farm last week.  City mayor Geoffrey Makhubo indicated:  “We are happy that the 1,097 JMPD trainees have finally completed their training as required by law and with the concurrence of the relevant regulatory authorities for metro police qualifications.  These officers and are now fully qualified, metro police officers.  Another 415 trainees are finalising their training and will graduate in June 2021.”  The trainees were recalled for omitting to complete key and compulsory modules in their training, which included firearms training.  An investigation found the officers had incomplete portfolios of evidence, had written backdated exams and some did not have verifiable proof of their training.  The new officers were welcomed into active service as part of the City’s 10+ programme, a ward-based community policing programme where at least 10 metro police officers will be assigned to each of the City’s 135 wards.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT / ASSAULT

Pietermaritzburg drama teacher loses appeal against dismissal for sexually assaulting pupil in a taxi

TimesLIVE reports that a teacher has lost an appeal to overturn his axing for allegedly sexually assaulting a pupil.  The Education Labour Relations Council issued its finding against Wonderboy Ngwane last week.  Ngwane, who taught dramatic arts at Northbury Park Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, allegedly sexually assaulted the 18-year-old girl in July.  He appealed to the council against his dismissal by the provincial education department, which he deemed unfair.  The incident in the taxi in which the pupil said Ngwane touched “her hair, then her neck, her breast and her private part” and then took her “hand and placed it on his private part” was reported to the school, the pupil’s parent, the child protection unit and the education department.  Ngwane failed to appear at his disciplinary hearing despite being notified.  Humphrey Ndaba, who chaired the appeal, said even though the assault happened outside school premises, “it falls within the category of offences that will attract discipline from the employer”.  He added that a dismissal sanction was “an appropriate measure to ensure that learners are protected from potential acts of sexual assaults.”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Philani Nombembe at TimesLIVE