In our early morning roundup, see summaries
of our selection of recent South African labour-
labour-related reports.
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Gauteng not through Covid-19 third wave yet, with unrest having hindered vaccination drive TimesLIVE reports that Gauteng's Covid-19 vaccination rollout and testing procedures were dealt a blow last week when protests, violence and looting rocked the province. Testing and vaccinations were also hard hit in KwaZulu-Natal, where the riots first started in the wake of former president Jacob Zuma's incarceration. Prof Bruce Mellado, a member of the Gauteng premier’s coronavirus advisory committee (PAC), said the province was not yet safe as they would only be able to fully understand the effect of the protests in a few days' time. He said that although the province as a whole was past the peak of infections, it was still high-risk. “So if we are still at high risk, the numbers are still too high. We cannot relax, we cannot tell people to relax because we are not in that situation. We are on the downward trajectory but the numbers are still too high to say that the third wave is over. The third wave is not over, unfortunately the number of hospitalisations still remain very high,” Mellado warned. The Gauteng health department confirmed that the provincial vaccination programme had been affected by the violent protests, with a number of sites having been forced to close. Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the number of people presenting for vaccination was low across the province. The Gauteng government will soon be unveiling a programme that will see the vaccination drive being upscaled across the province in concert with multiple stakeholders in the public and private sectors, including faith-based organisations and NGOs. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at TimesLIVE Limpopo education department exceeds Covid-19 vaccination target by over 12,000 News24 reports that the Limpopo Department of Education has exceeded the target it set for vaccinating its staff against Covid-19 infections by more than 12,000. On Wednesday, the department said that it had vaccinated 73,609 staff members, which was 12,037 more than the initial target. "The number of staff added to the set target was catered for by additional doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that were offered by the Department of Health following a strong demand for the vaccine in days towards the end of the basic education sector's vaccination drive. Those vaccinated now include food handlers, janitors and support staff from independent schools," spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene reported. The vaccination programme for the sector was extended when additional Johnson & Johnson doses become available for the sector. Limpopo Education MEC Polly Boshielo said she was elated by the positive response seen from their educators and support staff. To date, 517,000 out of the 582,000 members in the education sector have been vaccinated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lwandile Bhengu at News24 Covid-19 vaccination rate lags among non-medical scheme members BusinessLive reports that a higher proportion of medical scheme members have received a Covid-19 vaccine shot compared with non-medical scheme members under the government’s immunisation drive. The Department of Health’s deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, Nicholas Crisp, told MPs on Wednesday that this raised fairness concerns. By Tuesday evening, 4.7-million people had received at least one shot. A total of 1.6-million recipients were medical scheme members, representing 17.8% of the 8.99-million medical scheme market, while 3.1-million were non-medical scheme members, representing 6% of the 50-million uninsured market. Crisp conceded the government’s strategy of prioritising sectors such as health-care workers and teachers, most of whom are public servants who belong to medical schemes, had tipped the scales towards the insured market, but said the location of private sector vaccination sites have also played a role. The uninsured population is proving hardest to reach in urban areas, particularly in townships, where it is difficult to motivate people to be vaccinated. Crisp said the vaccination rate among public servants was highest among health-care workers, who were the first group to be offered vaccines. So far 76% of public sector health-care workers have been vaccinated, with 68.6% fully covered. The vaccine rollout was dealt a blow by the violence that racked KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng last week, with 250,000 doses forgone, Crisp reported. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
KwaZulu-Natal on high alert with three days of rolling mass action planned BL Premium reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is on high alert as three days of rolling mass action kicked into gear on Wednesday calling for justice and peace in hotspot Phoenix. Security has been increased, and metro police and members of the SA Police Service (SAPS) are monitoring the situation with the army close by. Phoenix, a former apartheid settlement developed to separate black townships from white areas, and now largely occupied by Indian residents, has made headlines as a hotbed of racial tension between black and Indian residents. On Wednesday, a “walk for justice”, organised by church leaders from Mt Moriah, gathered outside the Phoenix police station and made an impassioned plea for peace in the area. ANC branches from Durban and surrounding townships as well as towns further afield have said they would embark on “the mother of all motorcades” protest on Thursday, making their way to the ANC provincial office in central Durban. On Friday, a “Black Friday” protest is planned against the alleged “Phoenix massacre” and “racist attacks”. Posters that are being widely circulated across social media call on protesters to meet at the Durban city hall. The eThekwini Metro Police have given permission for the events to go ahead. The Friday protests are organised by former President Jacob Zuma's supporters, but the ANC says it is not part of the protests. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mary Papayya at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Police stations on high alert following intelligence that 'instigators' may attack with intention of stealing guns, ammunition News24 reports that police stations across the country, especially those with arms storage facilities, have been placed on high alert following intelligence that "instigators" may be planning to attack, with the intention of stealing guns, ammunition and other weapons. On Sunday, as the country was beginning to count the cost and extent of the damage in the wake of last week's looting and unrest which swept across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, police top brass warned police stations to step up their security. The warning followed intelligence that people suspected of instigating and triggering the unrest, which claimed more than 270 lives, may be planning to disarm police stations across KwaZulu-Natal. A memorandum, authored by policing deputy national commissioner Fannie Masemola, warned that, while the threat may be specific to KwaZulu-Natal, it could spread to other provinces. The memorandum indicated that the police received the intelligence from the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC) on Sunday. The intelligence was apparently gathered by a team set up by the NICOC to investigate the unrest, comprising members of the police and its Crime Intelligence (CI) unit, the military's Defence Intelligence (DI), and the State Security Agency (SSA). While the sources refused to divulge names, the list of possible instigators include senior ANC politicians believed to be members of the party's Radical Economic Transformation (RET) faction, former Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) veterans, and rogue intelligence agents. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipho Masondo at News24 (paywall access only) Netstar reports that large trucking operators lost out on 30,000 trips due to unrest BL Premium reports that vehicle-tracking and fleet management company Netstar says more than three quarters of trucks in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) were unable to travel last week due to violent protests, with large operators delaying or cancelling nearly 30,000 trips. Three large Netstar clients lost more than 613,000km of travel in just five days, equivalent to circumnavigating the globe 15 times, although the average number of trips returned to near normal levels towards the end of the week in most provinces. According to the telematics company, between 10 and 16 July its clients’ ability to deliver goods across the country fell by more than 74% when compared with data from the previous three months. KZN was most affected, with more than 78% of transport vehicles being unable to travel during the protests. Gauteng was severely hit initially, with nearly half of all trucks standing still, but Netstar’s clients in the province were able to recover faster and lost only 15% of their delivery capacity. The industry started to show signs of recovery towards the end of the week with the average number of trips returning to near normal levels, except in KZN. Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West were the least affected provinces. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karl Gernetzky at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Sapref’s operations restarted on Wednesday, but process could take up to 10 days to complete BusinessLive reports that Southern Africa’s largest refinery restarted operations on Wednesday, so easing pressure on SA’s fuel supply after a week-long shutdown prompted by riots and looting across KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and parts of Gauteng. The refinery, which is jointly owned by Shell and BP and accounts for up to a third of SA’s fuel supply, said the start-up process was expected to take between seven and 10 days to complete. Sapref declared force majeure to its customers on Tuesday last week, shutting its doors amid the unrest that had prevented suppliers from delivering critical materials for the continued operation of the refinery. While the petroleum industry and the government advised motorists that there were sufficient stocks to supply fuel to the market, many motorists still engaged in panic buying of fuel to fill their tanks in case fuel ran out. “At Sapref, safety is our number one priority. We have plans in place to ensure a safe start-up with little impact to our neighbouring communities,” said Sapref MD Victor Bester. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive
As conciliation is extended, Samwu warns of collapse of local government wage talks Fin24 reports that as local government wage talks continue with no clear end in sight, the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) has urged local government to take wage talks seriously, while expressing concern over a potential collapse in negotiations. This came as the parties in the wage talks at the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (Salgbc) agreed that the conciliation process should be extended to 3 and 4 August. The SA Local Government Association (Salga), which represents the country’s municipalities, has invited the two recognised unions to partake in bilateral engagements in the hopes of ending the impasse in negotiations. Samwu said it would attend, but added that this intervention came "very late in the process". The union stressed that its meetings with Salga's political leadership should not be confused with the union "cozying up to the employer". Samwu explained in a statement: "We are only meeting them out of courtesy and to hear what it is that they want to do to ensure that municipal workers get decent salary increases. We will meet them carrying the mandate that we have been given by our members." Samwu also indicated: "We will also tell them municipal workers will this month not be receiving salary increases because of the stubbornness of their negotiation team." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at News24
Consumer inflation edges lower in June to 4.9% Moneyweb reports that data from Statistics SA (Stats SA) on Wednesday indicated that annual consumer inflation eased to 4.9% in June, after it reached a 30-month high of 5.2% in May. According to Nedbank’s Group Economic Unit, core inflation increased marginally, up to 3.2% year-on-year (May: 3.1%), as economic activity gradually resumed relative to the strict lockdown in the same month last year. Fuel prices increased by 27.5% in June year-on-year (May: 37.4% and April: 21.4%), according to Stats SA. But, these relatively high rates come off a low base recorded during the second quarter 2020 when fuel prices were depressed. Noting that the cost of living remained high, Uasa spokesperson Abigail Moyo said the trade union was concerned about the effect of inflation on workers. “The main contributors to the 4.9% annual inflation rate were in the basic necessities category such as food and non-alcoholic beverages (NAB), housing and utilities, transport, and miscellaneous goods and services – all inflation drivers that make it hard for workers to make ends meet. The rising cost of basic necessities has many households struggling to cover their household costs,” Moyo noted. Uasa urged government and business owners to consider affordable pricing for basic needs and services. “Thousands of jobs were shed due to the pandemic and the unrest of the past two weeks, which means many are still struggling to make ends meet,” Moyo pointed out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Moneyweb. Read too, Consumer inflation slows to 4.9% in June, at BusinessLive (paywall access only) Outrage on social media over dramatic increase in food prices The Citizen reports that consumers were alarmed in recent weeks when they noticed there had been a dramatic increase in food prices, and many took to social media to express their anger. Food and nonalcoholic beverages have increased in price by 6.7% yearly, housing utilities have increased by 2.6%, transport services by 12.3% and miscellaneous goods by 4.1%. The annual consumer price inflation was 4.9% in June, down from 5.2% in May. Meanwhile, merchandise executive at Spar, Mike Prentice, cleared up confusion after a tweet went viral about Albany bread costing R19.99. “That is not accurate. Brown and white bread should be selling at between R13 and R14 and then the Albany speciality breads, which include wholewheat and gluten free, should sell for between R18 and R19,” said Prentice. National Consumer Commission (NCC) communications officer Phetho Ntaba commented: “The NCC did not receive complaints about the price of bread in general and Albany bread in particular. We are, however, proactively following up on allegations of price hikes posted on different social media platforms by many consumers.” Ntaba added that a supplier could not increase a price of essential goods and services solely because of riots. “While the NCC does not regulate prices, regulation 350 prohibits an inflation of prices where a supplier’s price increase of the price of the goods does not correspond to the costs of procuring those goods,” she indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Asanda Matlhare at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Pay our salaries and pension contributions or we’ll take criminal action, ANC staff warn Sunday Times Daily reports that ANC employees have threatened the party’s top six officials, who include President Cyril Ramaphosa, with criminal action over the failure to pay their pension contributions to fund administrators despite making deductions from their salaries for over two years. The disgruntled staff members made the threat of opening fraud and theft cases against the ANC and its leaders at their meeting with the top six officials on Monday. The workers also registered their unhappiness with the delay in payment and at times nonpayment of their salaries, which has deteriorated in the past few months. By midday on Wednesday, staff had not received their salaries for June and it was likely the same would happen with salaries this month as the party barely has enough money to fund its operations. It was reported in May that the SA Revenue Service had garnisheed the ANC's bank account over a tax debt of R80m and that families of its deceased staff members were left in the lurch as they were yet to receive pension and death benefit payouts, months after burying loved ones. Those who attended Monday’s meeting were told to take up their labour-related grievances with the management at Luthuli House. They were also told to meet management this week to hear a presentation on a plan the party is proposing to resolve the pay standoff. Staff responded by giving the top six until the end of July to pay their outstanding salaries, make sure medical payments were up to date and, most importantly, clear all the pension and provident fund arrear contributions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgothatso Madisa and Andisiwe Makinana at Sunday Times Daily
SAPS had ‘a fair reason’ to dismiss Khomotso Phahlane, bargaining council rules News24 reports that former acting national police commissioner General Khomotso Phahlane has lost another bid challenging his dismissal in July 2020 from the SA Police Service (SAPS) . The Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC) said Phahlane had a responsibility to ensure that SAPS' finances and assets were protected, but he failed to do so. Commissioner Joyce Nkopane ruled: “Having considered the evidence in this matter and all other factors, I find that dismissal was an appropriate sanction in the circumstances. Accordingly, the respondent had a fair reason to dismiss the applicant.” Phahlane was dismissed over a 2014 contract with Ethemba Forensic Group for the purchase of 360-degree panoramic cameras. In her ruling, Nkopane found that SAPS had proven that Phahlane intentionally caused non-compliance in respect of the contract for the purchase of the cameras. "The applicant refused to place orders as per the said agreement. He failed and or refused to provide and take any steps to mitigate and assist the other departments in ensuring that steps are taken to avoid litigation in this matter," she pointed out. Nkopane noted that the failure to act appropriately had resulted in an award being made against the SAPS to pay R24,494,080, in respect of which expenditure it derived no benefit. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeanette Chabalala at News24
Western Cape commuters fear pay cuts and job losses due absences from work as a result of ongoing taxi strike News24 reports that Western Cape commuters have raised concerns of pay cuts and threats of possible job losses after missing several days of work due to the lack of public transport caused by the ongoing taxi violence gripping Cape Town. Angry Capetonians say the impact of the ongoing taxi war between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA) associations will have a negative impact on their livelihoods because of warnings they've been receiving at work. Deputy Minister of State Security Zizi Kodwa met with members of the Khayelitsha Development Forum on Tuesday where together they denounced the taxi violence that has left many commuters in the Western Cape without transport. According to Western Cape chief director for transport, Yasir Ahmed, the war between the two mother body associations, CATA and CODETA dates back to 2018. Following a transport meeting on Wednesday, Premier Alan Winde said Golden Arrow had indicated it was willing to maximise its resources to assist commuters despite the challenging conditions the bus service was working under. A Golden Arrow bus driver was shot in the mouth on Monday during yet another taxi-related shooting. Metro Rail spokesperson Riana Scott said that uncertainty around staff attendance to open stations and operate trains made it very difficult to plan services. She added that they were still recovering from a Covid-19 incident that led to a suspension of services last Friday, with more than 20 train crew and operations staff still in isolation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa and Lisalee Solomons at News24
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