In our early morning roundup, see summaries
of our selection of recent South African labour-
labour-related reports.
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Education sector gears up for huge vaccination drive as August expiry date on J&J jab looms BL Premium reports that the race to inoculate more than 500,000 people in the education sector before the August expiry of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines begins on Wednesday. Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape will kick off the programme on Wednesday, while the Western Cape will start on Friday. Schools will stay open during the next two weeks. As the Department of Basic Education (DBE) will facilitate the registration of recipients, education staff are not required to register on the Covid-19 electronic vaccination data system. In a circular sent to schools countrywide on Tuesday, the DBE said each school district would be allocated vaccination sites. Schools would be expected to arrange for staff to reach the sites. About 582,000 educators, support staff and other officials are expected to receive the first of the 300,000 doses of the J&J vaccines, which arrived in the country earlier in June. An additional 280,000 doses are expected to arrive this week. All teachers and support staff in private and public schools, regardless of age, will receive jabs. Though participating in the vaccination programme is not mandatory, once schools reopen on 26 July all staff, including those who have been permitted to remain at home due to comorbidities, will be required to return to school regardless of their vaccination status. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Ekurhuleni metro cop gunned down during shoot-out in Germiston with 'illegal miners' TimesLIVE reports that an Ekurhuleni metro police officer has been shot dead in a shoot-out with “illegal miners” in Germiston. The incident happened in Primrose on Tuesday morning between 6am and 6.30am after officers received information about illegal mining in the area. EMPD spokesperson Chief Supt Kelebogile Thepa said when the officer and his colleagues arrived at the scene, the miners opened fire on them. "[At that point] everyone took cover [and the officer] was shot while also taking cover,” she reported. Thepa confirmed that three suspects were arrested — one of whom was found to have a firearm. She indicated that the three faced illegal mining and murder charges. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Khanyisile Ngcobo at TimesLIVE. See too, Metropolisiebeampte in Ekurhuleni doodgeskiet, at Maroela Media Mom to appear in court for allegedly hitting teacher at North West school near Mahikeng ews24 reports that a North West parent will appear in court this week after allegedly hitting a teacher. The mom believed her children had been turned away for being late and in the heat of a confrontation with the teacher, allegedly hit her. The children are in Grade 4 and Grade R. Police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh said the 14 June incident was reported to the police, and the mother accused of hitting the teacher was warned to appear in court on 24 June. The teacher was not seriously physically injured, but the psychological impact was said to be significant. North West education department spokesperson Elias Malindi said an investigation showed that the children did not arrive at school that day. North West Education MEC Mmaphefo Matsemela condemned the incident inside the Grade 6 classroom at Phera Primary School in Tsetse Village near Mahikeng. "I am perturbed by the incident and the actions of this specific parent. Our teachers are beacons of hope and should be treated as such for their huge revolutionary role they play in educating our society. As a department, we plead with parents to protect teachers and not to cause any harm on them. Teachers should be treated as a scarce commodity which needs to be protected by the entire society," said Matsemela. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jenni Evans at News24
Bodies of 10 of the 20 illegal miners found in Orkney identified News24 reports that North West Premier Job Mokgoro advised on Monday that only 10 of the illegal miners found dead near Orkney last week had been identified. Mokgoro and Lesotho Consul General Selimo Thabane accompanied family members of the miners to the Tshepisong Mortuary in Klerksdorp for the grim task of identifying the bodies. Twenty bodies were found near an unused shaft near Lawrence Park and along a public road. It is not clear yet what happened to them. Some of the bodies had name tags on them or the name of a village. "What happened here is quite unfortunate. We have already identified some of the bodies, and they are those of bona fide citizens of the Mountain Kingdom," Thabane stated. At a press briefing, Mokgoro welcomed the Lesotho government's commitment to help solve illegal mining activities in the area. "We are dealing with a massive international challenge but we are committed to the challenge. As responsible leaders, we must not be too quick to blame. We should rather intensify our effort to understand the problem at hand and be able to break its back," he said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jenni Evans at News24 Lesotho Consul General says there are 'many issues at play' in Orkney tragedy News24 reports that Lesotho's Consul General Selimo Thabane on Monday said there were many issues at play regarding the Orkney tragedy, which saw the bodies of 20 miners discovered near a disused mine shaft last week. The issues he referred to included unemployment and socio-economic factors. Thabane and North West Premier Job Mokgoro addressed the media before proceeding to assist the families of the dead miners. Mokgoro and Thabane were asked who was to blame for the tragedy, namely the miners who were allegedly mining illegally, the mining companies, or law enforcement. “In today's world, together with its complexities and challenges, as responsible leaders, we should not be too quick to blame. We should rather intensify our efforts to understand the issue at hand," Mokgoro said. Thabane said: “We are going to have meetings, and ... we will definitely peel the onion in these meetings. We will get to the bottom and, eventually, we will have an amicable position. Now, I honestly don't know (who’s to blame).” Mokgoro echoed similar sentiments and said: "I would also align ourselves with peeling the onion. We will never be able to break its back if we do not understand the layers of this onion and where we should really invest heavily - and [make a] serious effort at understanding the onion." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Canny Maphanga at News24. Read too, Discovered bodies brings up Orkney's sitting resentment of illegal miners, at EWN
Sale of SAA stake to Takatso consortium not a done deal as due diligence still being conducted BusinessLive reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that the plan to sell the government’s majority stake in SA Airways (SAA) is not a done deal. “Only after [the due diligence is completed] will the rubber hit the road,” Ramaphosa said at a news conference on Tuesday. Last week, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that Takatso, a consortium consisting of Harith General Partners, which manages two private equity infrastructure funds, and Global Aviation, an airline leasing company, was to acquire 51% of SAA, while the government would retain 49%. Takatso has undertaken to invest R3bn in SAA over three years. Ramaphosa said the deal was still going through a due diligence phase, and “this does not mean the deal is done”. He added: “During a due diligence, a whole number of things can [happen] ... We are in preliminary stages and their own [Takatso’s] ability to raise the money will also depend on what they find in SAA. Afterwards a decision will be made by both sides.” Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Bekezela Phakathi at BusinessLive. Read too, Due diligence process under way, no turnaround time provided in SAA sale to Takatso Consortium, at Business Report PSA worried that workers may lose pension monies due to PIC’s involvement in SAA’s new ownership The Star reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) has expressed concern at the involvement of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) in the new ownership of SAA. The union said it was concerned that public servants’ pension monies could be lost once more – as in the case of Steinhoff – should the new owners fail to make the airline profitable. Spokesperson Reuben Maleka said the union would be meeting the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) to demand an explanation regarding the PIC’s involvement in the deal. The PIC, which manages public servant pensions, has confirmed that it owns 30% of Harith General Partners, an infrastructure investment group that is part of a consortium that will now own the majority stake in SAA. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced a few days ago that the Takatso consortium of Harith General Partners and Global Aviation would have a 51% stake in SAA, with the state retaining 49%. “They should not be funding SOEs (state-owned entities) where they know that there will not be returns on their investment. Most of the time we complain as public servants that we do not have access to housing; we are upset because we really don’t know how the PIC makes decisions,” Maleka complained. The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) is another union that has raised concerns about the Takatso deal. The union’s spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union was consulting its attorneys about the next step in deciphering the mystery behind the SAA sale. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Itumeleng Mafisa at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Solidarity demands that private sector hospitals be accredited to fill gap with placements of medical interns Solidarity has demanded that in future private hospitals should be accredited to accommodate internships for graduate medical staff. According to the trade union, these students, as in the case of other medical professions, must be able to receive training at private hospitals. Solidarity’s response came after it had received several complaints from its members who must report for internships in less than two weeks, but who have not yet been placed by the state. Paul Maritz, manager of Youth and Career Development at Solidarity, said: “It is clear that the state does not have the capacity or the ability to manage the placement of graduate medical personnel. Neither does the state realise the seriousness of the situation the country currently finds itself in amid the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Our country is already suffering from a shortage of trained medical staff.” Henru Krüger, sector head of the Health Guild at Solidarity, indicated: “The time is ripe for private hospitals to be allowed to take in young doctors as interns. The state’s monopoly on such internships is clearly unsustainable. The solution is actually less state and less centralisation. It is also clear to us that young doctors are not sufficiently taken care of by the state and therefore could be accommodated better and more effectively by the private sector.” Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News. Read too, Jong dokters dae voor internskap nog nie geplaas, at Maroela Media
Denel once again too cash-strapped to pay its workers their salaries Business Report writes that state-owned arms manufacturer Denel has told its staff it would be unable once again to pay their salaries, this time for June, as its liquidity position remained dire on competing priorities and declining sales. The company indicated to employees last weekend that it did not have sufficient cash as various plans slowly taking shape have yet to improve sales and cash inflows. It said it anticipated positive results in the next three to six months. Denel said that at present “we do not have sufficient cash in our coffers and we do not foresee being able to honour our financial obligations for the month of June. Unfortunately, this includes employee salaries, related statutory and third party payments.” Various divisions of the state-owned enterprise have not been able to meet salary obligations for over a year, with the amounts of remuneration owed running over R500 million. Denel has a court date for later this month to clarify its liquidity position against attachment orders obtained by trade union Uasa and other creditors. Early this month, SAAB Grintek Defence approached the high court in Pretoria for the winding-up of the company. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Banele Ginindza at Business Report ANC staff audit under way, but party denies it’s to sniff out ‘ghost workers’ Independent Media reports that the African National Congress (ANC) has dismissed claims that its current staff audit is an effort to sniff out ‘ghost workers’. The party’s general manager Fébé Potgieter on Monday indicated that the party was in the process of completing its fourth audit. She said the audit process was something that was done every seven to 10 years. ANC staff had until Monday to submit their job titles to Luthuli House. The process for the submission of the current titles apparently commenced in 2019, but was disrupted by Covid-19. “We are in the process, as per 54th conference resolutions, of reviewing the ANC administrative structures and policies, with a view to modernise and sustainability. This process started in 2019 … Our deadline was Monday, so we will know by the end of the week what the status of the staff audits are. Our office will update which have been received and those which have not been received,” Potgieter indicated. ANC employees held a picket on 15 June following repeated late salary payments as a result of cash flow problems. “There were specific issues that staff raised so what we, as the administration, will do is sit down with the staff representative committee to go through the issues because some are straightforward, while others need negotiations,” said Potgieter. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tarryn-Leigh Solomons at Independent Media
Sanlam poll shows Covid-19 pandemic took a bite out of retirement savings BL Premium reports that the Sanlam Benchmark Survey, a yearly analysis of the local retirement fund industry, shows that retirement fund members suspended their contributions across all fund types for an average of four-and-a-half months in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey, which was released on Tuesday, also shows that 27% of stand-alone retirement funds and 41% of participating employers in umbrella funds suspended contributions to their retirement funds as the pandemic and consequent lockdowns resulted in mass retrenchments and severely constrained consumer finances. But, by opting to suspend retirement fund contributions, investors may have missed out on the extraordinary market rally in 2020. The survey, in which data was collected between 17 March and 28 April, covered 90 stand-alone funds, 10 stand-alone trade union funds and 100 participating employers in commercial umbrella funds. “The ultimate financial effect of Covid-19 was the reduced contribution level due to contribution suspensions,” said Sanlam’s Kanyisa Mkhize, adding that the pandemic had been a big setback for SA retirement fund members. The industry also recorded an increase in the number of employees cashing in a significant proportion of their withdrawal benefits. Almost one in three funds surveyed experienced a reduction in workforce due to retrenchments and liquidations up to the end of April 2020. Almost 80% of funds surveyed said their members experienced either a reduction in pay, a reduction in their expected annual increase, or were forced to take unpaid leave or experienced retrenchments or liquidations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at BusinessLive (paywall access only)
Eastern Cape school principal fired for forcing pupil to retrieve phone from pit latrine News24 reports that an Eastern Cape school principal, who was arrested for allegedly forcing a child to retrieve his cellphone from a pit toilet, has been fired. On Tuesday, the provincial education department confirmed that the Luthuthu Junior Secondary School principal, Lubeko Mgandela, had been found guilty and sacked, following a disciplinary hearing. The dismissal comes three months after Mgandela was placed on precautionary suspension to allow the department to investigate the incident. It is alleged that he accidentally dropped his cellphone into a staff pit latrine on 1 March while he was relieving himself. He then allegedly instructed pupils to use a rope to lower an 11-year-old pupil into the pit toilet to recover the device. The child apparently left the school after the incident covered in faeces and highly embarrassed. Mgandela is expected to appear in the Tsolo Magistrate's Court on 21 July for the start of a child abuse trial. Eastern Cape police initially arrested him for attempted murder, but the charge was later changed to child abuse. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24 OTHER HEADLINES OF INTEREST
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