This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 18 June 2021.
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Military medics to assist Gauteng in managing Covid-19 third-wave crisis BusinessLive reports that as Gauteng battles the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, military health practitioners have been brought in to help the province’s hospitals deal with the dramatic surge in cases. The military staff would also assist with mass testing, screening and contact tracing in the province, acting health minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said at a media briefing Friday. She said the minister of defence and military veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, had agreed on Thursday to the use of military health practitioners from Friday to ease the burden on Gauteng health professionals, who were under intense pressure. Kubayi-Ngubane said she was very concerned about the rate of infection in Gauteng, which had passed the numbers of the first and second waves. There has been a critical shortage of beds as the third Covid-19 wave hit the province. Health department director-general Sandile Buthelezi said Gauteng would not be using field hospitals because of their expense and the fact that they were not fully used during previous waves of the epidemic, but 1,100 extra beds had been made available to bring the total in the province to nearly 4,000. Deputy director-general Anban Pillay gave an assurance that there were would be significant quantities of vaccines — both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson — in the third quarter beginning July, which would see the national vaccination campaign being ramped up. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive. Read too, Gauteng reels under third wave of Covid-19 infections, at Sunday Independent. And also, Gauteng’s third wave health emergency: Desperate doctors appeal for more support, at Daily Maverick Motshekga affirms that schools will remain open amid third wave of Covid-19 infections News24 reports that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has advised that schools will remain open even though the number of Covid-19 infections continues to soar. During a briefing on Saturday, DBE Minister Angie Motshekga addressed the rollout of vaccines for the education sector and stressed that schools must remain open amid the third wave of infections. She said the DBE was not insensitive to the concerns raised about the rising infections, but believed schools must remain open. Motshekga went on to say: "The position is that we continue to handle Covid-19 cases according to the differentiated strategy, on a province-by-province, school-by-school basis. While there are disruptions in the sector, the majority of our schools remain fairly stable. Our social partners and key stakeholders expressed the same view in our engagement earlier today [Saturday]." Disruptions have been reported at approximately 100 schools due to the pandemic, but more than 25,400 others remain stable. Motshekga said schools should not shut down due to a single incident of Covid-19, however, they should isolate those who had been exposed. The vaccine rollout for teachers will begin on 23 June and continue until 8 July. A total of 582,000 teachers are expected to be vaccinated within this two-week period. All registered teachers will be vaccinated, regardless of age, as well as staff who transport children and feeding scheme staff. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24. Read too, Equal Education welcomes decision to keep schools open amid third wave, at News24. And also, Rotational classes could create ‘a lost generation’, on page 2 of The Sunday Times of 20 June 2021 Return to work on 26 July will be mandatory for staff in education sector BL Premium reports that all staff in the education sector will be required to return to work when schools open on 26 July whether they have been vaccinated for Covid-19 or not and even if they have been allowed to stay at home up until then due to comorbidities. This was advised by Department of Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga at a briefing on Saturday. She gave details of the vaccination programme for the sector, which will target 582,000 people over the next two weeks from 23 June to 8 July. Participating in the vaccination programme will not be mandatory, but Motshekga stressed that once schools reopened all staff would be required to return to work. Teachers in private and public schools regardless of age, as well as support staff including cleaners, security personnel, staff of teacher unions and staff who transported pupils to and from school, would be vaccinated, Motshekga indicated. Excluded from the programme would be those who have contracted Covid-19 in the past 30 days, have been vaccinated with a Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson vaccine under the Sisonke programme, or any person who has received a flu vaccine within the past 14 days. Those excluded from the education sector programme will have an opportunity to be vaccinated with the general population. Teachers will have to make their own transport arrangements to the vaccination sites. Over the two-week period, Motshekga said schools would remain open because “disruptions would be undesirable”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Teachers, security personnel next to be vaccinated against Covid-19 The Sunday Independent reports that the police, armed forces and prison staff will receive their Covid-19 vaccines this month, while teachers could expect their vaccines in the coming week. The three-phase national vaccination roll-out, expected to inoculate 67% of the population or about 40.2 million people by February 2022, prioritises citizens by their risk of infection. Front line health-care workers had the highest risk of exposure to Covid-19 and were vital for the public health response and thus received the country’s first jabs during the Sisonke Project of Phase one. Phase two of the roll-out began on 17 May and pinpointed about 5 million citizens over the age of 60 due to their increased rate of mortality. The second phase of the roll-out also included essential workers over the age of 40. The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed teachers were included in phase 2 and were due to be vaccinated with doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by the end of June. The DOH’s Nicholas Crisp said they planned to vaccinate 582,000 public, private and school governing body-appointed teachers. He also said upon the completion of vaccinating teachers, the DOH would prioritise the vaccination of the police. “In managing the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, we have identified 145,000 officials and 36,000 civilians working in the police service. Vaccination sites will be set up at police stations, in collaboration with licensed pharmacies,” he indicated. Crisp said another vaccination endeavour was aimed at the SANDF and Correctional Services. “The SANDF has its own military health services and will be vaccinating their own members. Inmates will be vaccinated through Correctional Services, while the department’s staff will get their vaccinations through the same programme run by the Department of Public Service and Administration with the Government Employees Medical Scheme,” he advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nathan Craig on page 6 of The Sunday Independent of 20 June 2021. Read too, ‘Vaccinate prison inmates to avoid crisis’, at Mail & Guardian Johannesburg Mayor Geoff Makhubo tests positive for Covid-19 EWN reports that Johannesburg Mayor Geoff Makhubo has tested positive for Covid-19. A statement from the mayor’s office said on Sunday that Makhubo was in self-quarantine. “Gauteng and indeed Johannesburg are officially in a third wave and residents are urged to take the necessary non-medical precautions seriously and to ensure they wear masks, maintain social distance and limit movement in compliance with the Level-3 regulations currently in place”, wrote Mlimandlela Ndamase. The Mayor will continue to monitor and provide guidance on work currently being carried out to contain and manage the spread of Covid-19 in the City whilst in self-quarantine. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Masechaba Sefularo at EWN. See too, Joburg Mayor Geoff Makhubo tests positive for Covid-19, at News24 Reduction in rate of retrenchments sparks hope of economic recovery Business Times reports that Alexander Forbes, SA's biggest pension fund administrator, says the rate of retrenchments across its client base has slowed significantly since the highs of last year. The group is a good bellwether for the economy because it has a wide range of about 4,000 corporate clients and believes there are finally some green shots. Speaking last week, CEO Dawie de Villiers said late last year there had been a peak of about 4,000 retrenchments a month among the company’s client base, but the rate had now slowed to about 1,000 or fewer, which was closer to the "more normal" 600 to 900 a month before the pandemic began. "The view is, and this has certainly been substantiated through our interactions with clients, that most of them, if not all, have stopped retrenching. We couldn't find one client that indicated they still have to do a retrenchment process. Most of them are back functioning, even the hotel groups and restaurants are back functioning and getting back to full capacity." De Villiers expressed optimism in general about SA's economic recovery prospects, saying the government had started taking the correct steps regarding state-owned enterprises such as SAA and Eskom. It also seemed to be taking action against corruption and the vaccine rollout seemed to be gaining traction. “There are green shoots showing, things are looking better for the business environment,” De Villiers noted. 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
Video footage shows shooting of Gauteng principal inside school premises was 'a hit', says MEC Panyaza Lesufi News24 reports that Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi says video footage, which shows a principal from Finetown gunned down, makes "it quite clear it was a hit". Lesufi visited the Buyani Primary School on Friday morning after reports that the principal, Lazarous Baloyi, 53, was shot and killed inside the premises. Police spokesperson Captain Kay Makhubele said several shots were fired at Baloyi's car as he entered the school. The police were alerted at around 07:00. A murder case has been opened for further investigation. The school has surveillance cameras and Lesufi indicated: "From the video footage, it's quite clear that this was a hit - that someone was assigned to do what they have done, and we want to condemn that and implore law enforcement agencies to go all out and hunt these perpetrators." He added that there was "someone, [or] some people behind that gunman". Baloyi had been the secretary of the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) in Ennerdale. Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said the union was outraged by the attack and called for a speedy investigation. Cembi said the union was calling on the department to strengthen security at schools. But, Lesufi advised that it was difficult to bring armed security into schools, which is why they relied on police for protection. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sesona Ngqakamba at News24. Read too, Principal feared for his life after receiving death threats, on page 2 of The Sunday Independent of 20 June 2021
Cosatu unions amend their demand in state wage talks, while PSA gears up to strike City Press reports that Cosatu-affiliated public sector unions have rejected government’s wage offer and have instead put forward a demand for a R1,500 monthly gratuity and a 2% salary adjustment. But, the updated demands would increase government’s “fiscally neutral” offer of R14.4 billion to R22.4 billion, thereby breaching its fiscal ceiling. A member of the joint mandating committee said on Friday: “We submitted this to the employer (the state) and the employer said they were still going to seek mandate … and after mandate-seeking, they would come back to us with the revised offer on the cash gratuity. We said that we want the R978 gratuity to be increased as part of the official mandate. The majority of the unions rejected the R978 gratuity. Our demand is that the employer [government] can push this thing [cash gratuity] to R1 500.” Finance Minister Tito Mboweni last week told an investment conference that National Treasury would not back down on its insistence that any wage agreement for state workers must not breach the government fiscal ceiling. Meanwhile, the Public Servants Association (PSA) on Friday called on its members to vote on strike action. The PSA represents over 235,000 public sector employees, while Cosatu-affiliated unions account for 57% of the 1.3 million public sector workers, namely about 741,000 members. The PSA’s Reuben Maleka said: “We are left with no choice but to embark on a route of industrial action once we receive the full support of our members.” But, the joint mandating committee member noted that the PSA had issued the threat to embark on industrial action more than twice already this year and commented: “We cannot be pushed by people who cannot pull off a strike when they say they’ll pull off a strike. We know that only Cosatu unions can pull off a big strike.” Regarding the updated wage demand sent to government, he said the Cosatu unions would convene on Tuesday to find out about the government’s mandate and take it from there. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at City Press (paywall access only). Read too, Turmoil looms in public sector wage dispute, says Terry Bell, at City Press (paywall access only) Municipal strike risk rises as local government unions vote on independent facilitator’s wage proposal BL Premium reports that the risk of local government workers going on strike has increased with the two unions involved in wage talks indicating that they would be rejecting a proposal by an independent facilitator to cut wages in real terms and freeze other perks over the next three years. “Early indication is that the majority of our members have rejected the proposal outright,” said Papikie Mohale of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in reference to the recommendation by Naledi Burwana-Bisiwe, who has been facilitating negotiations in the local government bargaining council. In her draft report, Burwana-Bisiwe proposed a three-year wage deal, with employees getting 4% in the first year, followed by projected consumer price index (CPI) minus 1% for the second and third years. The SA Local Government Association (Salga), which represents all of SA’s municipalities in the council, has offered the unions a 2.8% wage increase. Johan Koen of the Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union (Imatu) said its members also looked set to reject the proposals, though consultation was continuing, with a final meeting scheduled for 21 June. Salga will give its reaction once it has received a mandate from its members. In addition to souring relations between the ANC and unions in a local government election year, work stoppages threaten to further derail services across SA’s 257 municipalities. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
To root out “ghost workers”, ANC asks staff for details of job titles, who they report to, “work plans” and exactly where their offices are The Sunday Times reports that African National Congress (ANC) employees have until Monday to tell the party what their job titles are, who they report to, and where exactly their offices are in Luthuli House, as the party tries to sniff out "ghost workers". The employees were asked last week to fill in a form to satisfy the party that they added value to operations at its headquarters. The document asked employees to list the tasks they performed during the lockdown and how many times they went into the office. They also needed to state their qualifications and the skills they possessed. The move is part of an ANC plan to trim its salary bill by retrenching half of its workforce. One section of the form asked employees to outline their “work plan” for the period between June and August. The audit comes after a report that the cash-strapped ANC had discovered a significant number of “ghost workers” on its payroll. This discovery was made as the party tries to find money to pay salaries, which have been paid later than scheduled in the past few months. According to insiders, the party could do without about half its 387 staffers because they were many on the payroll who did no work. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgothatso Madisa on page 4 of The Sunday Times of 20 June 2021 ANC could resort to crowdfunding to pay wages City Press reports that the office of ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile is on a mission to find innovative ways to deal with the party’s financial woes, including the possibility of crowdfunding. ANC staffers last week embarked on a nationwide lunchtime picket as a way of raising awareness about how they had been affected by the decline in donations to the party. ANC staffers haven’t seen a salary increase since 2018. The Luthuli House staffing forum will be meeting with ANC national officials this week with the hope of finding a suitable resolution. Staff representative Mandla Qwane said it would be the first time staff representatives would be meeting with all members of the top five (suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule is not part of the usual top six) at the same time, adding that this was a step in the right direction. Qwane explained that the issue of not paying workers’ salaries dated back to 2018, and that various solutions to which management had previously agreed had never materialised. Frustrated ANC workers established an interim workers’ forum two months ago after realising that their demands were falling on deaf ears. Last month, their salaries were paid more than 10 days late. Late 2018 was also when the party stopped paying its portion of provident fund contributions. The head of the ANC’s treasurer-general’s office, Keith Khoza, said it was possible that the ANC would opt to ask its members and supporters to contribute towards keeping the party afloat. Khoza added that a staff audit and organisational development exercise were currently under way, and would determine whether there would be retrenchments. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Queenin Masuabi at City Press (paywall access only)
‘Top heavy’ management structure at Sassa could see staff cuts Mail & Guardian writes that the R2-billion in losses racked up by the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) over the 2019-22 financial period could lead to its “top heavy” management structure being culled. Sassa chief executive Totsie Memela-khambula did not mince her words recently when she said Sassa had to relook at its “cumbersome structure”, which has 22 people reporting to her. She said the agency’s nine provincial manager positions had already been reduced to three because six were “Hollywood acting roles”. She had decided to give the three permanent regional managers more responsibilities while Sassa underwent its “business re-engineering process”. In addition to the nine regional managers, 13 executives at Sassa’s Tshwane head office reported to Memela-khambula. She said the “re-engineering” of the agency would reveal how many regional managers Sassa required to operate efficiently, but it would definitely not be nine “because that is top heavy. Even at head office, the number of executives I have reporting to me, it’s just too many people.” Asked whether the restructuring would result in job losses, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said she did not want to pre-empt the outcome. She added: “What I know is that to have 50 general managers, which is like having 50 chief directors, even though we manage the amount of money that we do, I think that is a bit much. [This is why] I have not filled many vacant general manager roles … because I thought it important to go through a scientific process for us to make a decision in terms of what kind of structure we need. I don’t know who is going to lose their job and who is not going to lose their job, and I don’t want to preempt what the business process re-engineering is going to bring out. But what I know is that this work that we are doing now should have been done 15 years ago.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khaya Koko on page 11 of Mail & Guardian of 18 June 2021
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