COVID-19 VACCINE ROLL-OUT

Government ‘admits’ to Solidarity and AfriForum that private sector not prevented from purchasing Covid-19 vaccines

TimesLIVE reports that Solidarity and AfriForum on Tuesday said there were no legal restrictions on the purchasing of Covid-19 vaccines and called on the private sector to start buying and distributing them in SA. They announced at a media briefing that the government had admitted in an affidavit — responding to their legal challenge on the procurement of vaccines — that there were no restrictions preventing the private sector from purchasing vaccines.   COO of Solidarity, Dirk Hermann, charged that the government did not have the ability to manage the vaccine rollout process alone. “This includes the purchasing of vaccines. The private sector must be involved with the full vaccine value chain, from procurement to the administering of the vaccine. To ensure this, Solidarity and AfriForum approached the court to prevent the nationalisation of the vaccine process,” he stated. In the affidavit filed in the North Gauteng High Court, health department director-general Sandile Buthelezi claimed that the case brought by Solidarity and AfriForum and was “entirely hypothetical and speculative”. Yet, AfriForum’s Ernst van Zyl said they went to court to “finally get a response from government — whereas a simple response to our initial letter would have cost the government almost no time at all”.   “There is now legal certainty that the private sector may purchase and distribute vaccines — a huge setback for looters,” Hermann pointed out. Solidarity and AfriForum called on large employers, medical distributors, medical aid funds and other role players to start buying, distributing and administering vaccines on a large scale.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Iavan Pijoos at TimesLIVE. Read Solidarity’s press statement on this matter at Polity

SA mining firms face tricky ‘anti-vaxxer’ dilemma as they gear up for Covid-19 vaccination plan

Miningmx writes that SA’s mining sector believes it can vaccinate between 2.5 and three million people against Covid-19 infections.   Using its extensive healthcare facilities, digital database, and outreach into mining-related communities, there’s no reason to suppose this won’t be achieved. The impending vaccination programme, however, is beset by complications. Firstly, to effectively vaccinate millions of people, the mining sector will have to replicate the public-private cooperation with unions and the government that typified the return to work post the hard lockdown of March last year.   Framing this cooperation, however, will be the question of occupational law, specifically the issue of anti-vax opposition. Amid the thousands of employees who will take a jab, especially following a successful programme of popular education, there may be the vocal minority that will not. ENSAfrica, a firm of attorneys, is trying to figure out how mining firms can roll out vaccination policies in the workplace when SA doesn’t have a bespoke vaccination rollout law, unlike other jurisdictions. Unfair discrimination raises its head as a potential danger in the event a mining company takes action – redeployment or even dismissal – against an anti-vaxxer. “If the company can establish that it’s part of the job to have a vaccination, then it’s something a company could defend. If not, a company would have to defend whether its policy (on Covid-19 vaccinations) was rational. If not, it could be open to an unfair dismissal claim,” said ENSAfrica’s Balindile Shezi. “It really is a balancing exercise. The over-riding principle will be the overall safety of the business or if the business was threatened,” Shezi added.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David McKay at Miningmx

COVID BUSINESS CONDITIONS

Bleak season with 50,000 tourism businesses having temporarily or permanently shut doors

Weekend Argus reports that the Covid-19 pandemic has had such a severe impact on tourism that authorities say visitor numbers dwindled to something like 30 years ago when SA barely registered on the international travel map. Meanwhile, SA Tourism indicated that 50,000 tourism businesses have either temporarily or permanently closed. Domestic and international tourist numbers are down significantly in SA as a result of the strict lockdown measures and economists say there is no quick fix.   The latest report released by Statistics SA into traveller movements showed that for December, when compared to the previous year’s figures, arrivals for foreign travellers dropped by a staggering 82.1% from more than 1.5 million in 2019 to about 280,000.   Numbers of South Africans travelling in and out of the country also declined, with arrivals of locals dropping by 76.3% and departures decreasing by 78.3%. StatsSA’s report showed that the tourist accommodation industry decreased by 57.7% in December compared to the previous year. Speaking at the launch of a new project to entice travellers to visit South Africa this week, SA Tourism chief executive Sisa Ntshona said a lot needed to be done to revive the industry.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshego Lepule at Weekend Argus

PANDEMIC RELIEF FUNDS

Struggling actors hit by the pandemic feel abandoned by government

GroundUp reports that when the first Covid-19 lockdown was announced in March last year, theatres across the country went dark and a number of them haven’t reopened. Even before lockdown, theatres were struggling for audiences and now their fate hangs in the balance. “Gatherings – in the case of theatre audiences – are deemed to be super spreaders of the virus, so festivals have been cancelled, theatres shut and curfews have restricted people going out at night, making theatre unviable,” Mike van Graan, who is part of the Sustaining Theatre and Dance (STAND) Foundation that started in September to raise funds for projects that will provide some form of income for people in the sector, pointed out. Unemployed theatre practitioners are struggling to cover basic expenses like rent, school fees and food, while there is also the psychological impact of the closures. Van Graan explained: “Artists are independent contractors rather than ‘employees’ so they are excluded from the benefits made available through the UIF, for example. I think there is a general realisation that we are on our own and we need to take care of ourselves.” Screenwriter, actor and composer Charl-Johan Lingenfelder commented:  “Even though no-one is to blame for our current predicament, many theatre people are blaming themselves for their struggles; feeling abandoned by our government and thus feeling that they are not worthy of support. They doubt their choice of career and many are actually contemplating leaving the theatre industry.” And although the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture has launched the third phase of the Covid-19 Relief Fund to help stabilise the sector, many theatre practitioners feel inadequately supported by the department.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Masego Mafata at GroundUp <https://www.groundup.org.za/article/struggling-theatre-practitioners-feel-abandoned-government/>

Opera singer Sibongile Mngoma stages sit-in at National Arts Council demanding answers about employment stimulus package

SowetanLive reports that opera singer Sibongile Mngoma has been staging a sit-in at the offices of the National Arts Council (NAC) in Newtown, Johannesburg, demanding answers about the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP). The commencement of the sit-in on Monday morning by Mngoma came just a day after the NAC council suspended CEO Rosemary Mangope and CFO Clifton Changfoot pending an investigation relating to the management of the R300m PESP.   In her mission, Mngoma is being supported by people’s poet Mzwakhe Mbuli. In a video that Mngoma posted earlier on Monday, she can be heard speaking to someone at the NAC saying: “They are telling me to send the an e-mail … Why do you ask me to send an e-mail when I am here at this office? What I’m looking for are simple things, I’m looking for the list of people who signed the contract for the PESP, and the people who have gotten their letters but still not signed a contract.”   The sit-in was not without drama on Monday as the NAC called the police on Mngoma, who was also seen in videos being harassed by security personnel. The main NAC entrance was locked without anyone going in. Even the organisation’s employee were stuck inside the building. Indicating that she was prepared to spend the whole week at NAC if she was not provided with the required information, Mngoma said “I want to know when payments will be finalised…”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Patience Bambalele at SowetanLive. Read too, Mbgoma demands answers on funds from NAC, on page 4 of Sowetan of 2 March 2021

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING / WAGE NEGOTIATIONS

Above-inflation wage demand by public sector unions tests credibility of budget and sets up tough talks between ANC allies

BL Premium reports that public sector unions have set themselves up for a big battle with the state, asking for a wage increase well above inflation less than a week after finance minister Tito Mboweni staked the credibility of the government’s fiscal framework on keeping a lid on compensation costs. According to the demands tabled at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council on Monday, unions have asked for an across-the-board increase equivalent to the consumer price index (CPI) plus 4%. Having started negotiations in previous years by demanding double-digit settlements, union representatives said this was not excessive.   Moreover, the proposed settlement is far in excess of what has been seen in the private sector, where workers have faced wage cuts and retrenchments in the wake of the Covid-19-induced economic shock since early 2020. But, asking for an increase across the board may be a tactical move by the unions, as it leaves space to move over to a sliding scale as negotiations progress in earnest.   Mugwena Maluleke, chief negotiator for the Cosatu public sector unions, said unions were not asking for double-digit increases, which showed they were "acknowledging that the economy was not well”. The Treasury is predicting that CPI will average 3.9% in 2021.   The negotiations are set to be tough and will further test relations between the governing ANC and its allies months before the country holds local elections. Cutting the wage bill is critical in terms of SA’s fiscal framework, and Mboweni last week unveiled a budget that proposed what amounted to a wage freeze for the next three years.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Claudi Mailovich at BusinessLive

Public sector unions demand Covid-19 risk allowance equal to 12% of basic salary

Reuters reports that public sector unions want a general salary rise of consumer price inflation plus 4% for all workers, a document they presented to the government showed on Monday. The list of 16 demands, which includes better housing payments and a Covid-19 risk allowance of 12% of basic salary, comes amid a court fight between the unions representing more than 1 million teachers, nurses and police and the state over salaries. The unions have approached the Constitutional Court to try to force the National Treasury to pay the final tranche – which had been due in April 2020 – of the preceding three-year wage settlement struck in 2018.   Meantime, Finance minister Tito Mboweni pledged in October to freeze public sector wages for the next three years to help contain a gaping budget deficit weighing on the economy, with civil servants' salaries making up around a third of consolidated state spending. A spokesperson for the Department of Public Service & Administration refrained from commenting on the latest wage demands, saying that the negotiations had only just begun.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by TimesLIVE

MINING LABOUR

Eleven apprehended for torching offices at Palabora mine in Limpopo

News24 Wire reports that eleven people have appeared in court following an attack at the Palabora Mining Company in Phalaborwa, Limpopo. They were apprehended on Friday night following violent protests in the area.   Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said: "Community members went on the rampage and torched the offices of the mine and a motor vehicle. Afterwards, the suspects continued to vandalise the main gate and took some valuable items, such as computers. It is alleged that the protestors were complaining about existing employment and business opportunities that are being given to 'outsiders' instead of the Ba-Phalaborwa residents." The police and members of the Public Order Policing unit managed to disperse the crowd and arrested 11 people. The suspects, aged 25 to 40, appeared in the Phalaborwa Magistrate's Court on Monday.   They were denied bail and their cases were postponed to 9 March 2021 for bail applications and further police investigations. More arrests may be made during the investigations.

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

STAFF SEPARATIONS

City of Joburg and municipal manager Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni ‘separate’ amid increasing unhappiness at state of service delivery

BL Premium reports that the City of Johannesburg has parted ways with its accounting officer, Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni, over issues of service delivery. Mayor Geoff Makhubo said on Tuesday that they had decided to go into “mutual separation” at the end of February. He indicated that the “separation” was preceded by an engagement with Lukhwareni over the city executive's unhappiness with the level of service delivery. There has been increasing unhappiness from the city's residents and from its political leadership about the state of service delivery in the city. As municipal manager, Lukhwareni was responsible to ensure that service delivery took place and improved. “We agreed we must part ways as to give the city an opportunity to relook at the way we offer services to our residents,” Makhubo said. Lukhwareni was appointed in October 2016 and his term was set to expire in a few months. He was appointed as city manager by the DA-led coalition, which took over the running of the city following the 2016 local government elections. The city is now being governed by an ANC-led coalition government. Upping the state of service delivery in the metro has been an issue for years, but it is particularly important in 2021 as local government elections loom.

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

REMUNERATION / OVERTIME

With almost R2bn spent on overtime in past two years, Limpopo health department accuses employees of manipulating rosters

SowetanLive reports that the Limpopo department of health has accused thousands of its health workers of milking the state of nearly R2bn in the past two years by allegedly manipulating rosters to create the need for overtime pay. On Monday, the department said it would not back down on its plan to introduce new rosters in public health facilities, cut overtime and allow employees to work 40 hours a week. But, labour unions representing doctors and nurses are fiercely opposing the implementation of the new measures and have threatened strike action over what they call a "unilateral decision to change the conditions of employment".   The department head, Dr Thokozani Mhlongo, said they had commissioned a study to establish where the money was going and said it revealed “patterns of poor use of human resources as well as abuse of overtime and sick leave that we had to confront.” She claimed the level of spending on personnel was unacceptable and left the department with only 30% to spend on medical supplies, equipment, medicine, blood, oxygen. But, in a letter of notice dated 26 February, seven labour unions informed the department about their intention to strike due to unilateral changes to the terms and conditions of employment. The unions were scheduled to announce their way forward at a joint press briefing on Tuesday.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Peter Ramothwala at SowetanLive

WORKPLACE CRIME

Eight Crime Intelligence officers arrested for allegedly torturing and killing a suspect at Protea police station

News24 reports that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has arrested eight Crime Intelligence (CI) officers for allegedly torturing and murdering a suspect in a police station. The suspect was being interrogated for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and dagga. IPID spokesperson Ndileka Cola confirmed that the suspect died in the Protea police station. The officers claimed the suspect had a seizure and collapsed. Cola indicated that on 23 February at around 21:00, officers from Soweto's Crime Intelligence Gathering Unit booked out three suspects from Lenasia police station to Protea police station “It is alleged that officers interrogated the first suspect, while they were busy interviewing him, he collapsed due to seizure. Paramedics were called and certified him dead. Officers then took the two remaining suspects back to Lenasia police cells in the early hours of 24 February," Cola reported. IPID later reconstructed the crime scene to establish the facts. Cola said IPID had yet to appoint a private pathologist to get a second opinion on the cause of death.

Read the original of the report in the above regard by Ntwaagae Seleka at News24

COMMUTING / TRANSPORT

Transport unions want new Prasa CEO to stop vandalism and theft of rail infrastructure

BusinessLive reports that trade unions have called on new Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) group CEO Zolani Kgosie Matthews to ensure, as part of his priorities at the embattled rail operator, that the theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure is stopped. Prasa, which has not had a permanent CEO since the departure of Lucky Montana in 2015, has been crippled by widespread vandalism estimated to have cost R4bn in the past few years. This prompted transport minister Fikile Mbalula to launch an intelligence-driven protection plan in September 2020, which included the insourcing of 3,100 security officers to beef up Prasa’s security unit.   Mbalula introduced Matthews as the new group CEO at Langa in Cape Town on Saturday. The United National Transport Union’s (Untu’s) Steve Harris said the first thing Matthews needed to do was to “stop the theft” of rail infrastructure and that the only way to do that was by “collaboration between the SA Police Service, SA National Defence Force (SANDF), Prasa security and the department of transport.” He opined that the “dire straits” Prasa was in required that “you bring in the SANDF because you repair today and tomorrow it’s stolen”. Nontembeko Luzipho of the Democratised Transport Logistics and Allied Workers’ Union (Detawu) commented:  “Prasa is on the verge of collapse. He (Matthews) has a huge task to ensure that the cracks that are showing in the walls do not lead to a collapse”. Lubabalo Tinzi of the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) also expressed concern that almost all Prasa’s systems were “on the brink of collapse” and called on Matthews to engage all strategic stakeholders including organised labour to ensure that commuters across SA had access to train services.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• Cabinet approves new National Transport Policy, at Engineering News