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 Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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SA’s gender pay gap not getting any better, PwC research shows BL Premium reports that SA’s gender wage gap shows little sign of abating, with the Covid-19 pandemic entrenching pay and representation disparities between men and women in top jobs across the country’s JSE-listed boardrooms and businesses. According to research from advisory firm PwC released on Thursday, women in top leadership roles at SA’s largest firms earn 72c for every R1 earned by their male counterparts, constituting a median gender pay gap of 28%. Though this is an improvement on 2020’s 45% gap at the JSE’s top 40 companies, gender pay disparities at medium-sized and small-cap companies worsened in 2021 to 46% and 27% respectively. “It’s evident that the pay gap has remained stagnant and it’s not showing any rapid improvement over the last few years,” said PwC’s Andreas Horak. Gender pay disparities were identified across all sectors except one. Basic materials — which includes SA largest mining houses — was the only sector where female employees earned a 4% premium on their male peers. The worst performers were in the consumer services and real-estate sectors, where the pay gap stood at 41% and 35% respectively. Meanwhile, representation of women at the top levels of business has stagnated, with only 13% of executive directors, including CEOs and CFOs, being women. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lynley Donnelly at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, PwC report highlights need for increased focus on diversity, inclusion and ESG, at Engineering News Report shows investment in early childhood development would increase work opportunities for women The Star reports that the 2021 Women’s Report indicates that greater investment in early childhood care and education would increase employment opportunities for women in SA. The report, which focuses on the life and work of women in SA, was released on Monday. It was sponsored by the University of Stellenbosch Business School and distributed in partnership with the SA Board for People Practices. “While the benefits to children of early childhood development (ECD) centres are clear and widely accepted, the associated opportunity to achieve another key developmental imperative of enabling women to participate meaningfully in the labour force, is seldom considered – yet this too would aid in addressing persistent inequality,” economist and report contributor Laura Brooks indicated. The report estimates that more than 300,000 people are employed in ECD centres, 95% of them women, serving approximately 2.5 million children and mostly operating in the informal and non-profit sector. Brooks said providing more widely available and affordable ECD centres would have an exponential impact on enabling more women to participate in the labour force. “For each woman who works in caring for children, whether as a child minder or day mother in a private home or community facility, or working in a formal ECD centre, another six to 10 women are able to take up full-time employment,” she said. Brooks pointed out that the government needed to move away from the paradigm of ECD as a social welfare service and see it as a socio-economic development opportunity to grow a sustainable, community-based sector that generated employment and supports better education outcomes. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chulumanco Mahamba at The Star
Requesting Covid-19 vaccination cards without getting a jab is fraud, Western Cape health department warns News24 reports that the Western Cape Department of Health has received reports of people approaching Covid-19 vaccination sites to request vaccination cards without having got their gabs. Apparently, the motivation behind the requests is to allow for travel, without receiving a vaccine. In a briefing on Thursday, department head Dr Keith Cloete confirmed the practice had taken place at both private and public vaccination sites. He said requesting a vaccination card without receiving a vaccine constituted fraud. “Those should be managed as any fraudulent cases - they should be reported, investigated and followed up, and the might of the law should be visited upon on people like that. If that becomes a practice that is allowed to flourish, it will have untold damage on the reputation of the vaccination programme," said Cloete. Premier Alan Winde echoed the sentiment, saying fraud in the vaccine programme was "absolutely unacceptable". As of Wednesday, the province had administered 1,254,490 vaccines, with 455,359 people fully vaccinated. The Western Cape is currently in the peak of the third wave, and the vaccination programme is a key arm of the province's response. However, a supply constraint has hindered the rollout over the past two weeks. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 More than 68,500 prison inmates and 12,000 correctional services staff have received Covid-19 jabs News24 reports that according to the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), more than 68,500 prison inmates have been vaccinated against Covid-19. The department estimates all inmates will be vaccinated by mid-August. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the vaccination of inmates would go a long way towards reducing mortality and preventing institutional outbreaks. DCS officials have not been left behind and those who have been vaccinated thus far stands at 12,328. "Vaccines are not mandatory, but inmates and officials are encouraged to get vaccinated. Awareness campaigns targeting both inmates and officials are continually rolled out to demystify some of the myths around vaccines," Nxumalo indicated. There have been 15,052 cases of Covid-19 at correctional facilities, made up of 9,342 officials and 5,710 inmates. The recovery rate has been 92.23% (13,882), while 221 officials and 90 inmates have died of Covid-19 complications. In addition to the vaccination drive, newly admitted inmates were being placed in isolation sites to protect the general inmate population, Nxumalo reported. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by NIcole McCain at News24. See too, Close to 70,000 prison inmates jabbed, DCS reveals, at The Citizen Unions oppose Sasol’s attempt to make Covid-19 jabs mandatory for staff EWN reports that trade unions have indicated opposition to Sasol's attempts to make vaccinations mandatory among workers. Staff who choose not to be vaccinated will reportedly have to pay for their own weekly Covid tests, which would amount to about R850 (see report below that Sasol has since reversed its position). The Federation of Unions of South Africa's Riefdah Ajam on Thursday said this was absolutely disgusting and that they would oppose any such move to victimise workers: “It is disturbing to say the least that employees face the risk of dismissal and secondly, if they exercise their constitutional and democratic right that means they are continuously going to be left out of pocket.” Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla was of the view that employers did not own employees and that they only had contractual arrangements. “Like all other meetings, it’s going to be a dialogue with workers to find a common position and convince them about our Constitution and under our Constitution, you cannot coerce people,” he commented. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Kaylynn Palm at EWN Sasol staff won’t be forced to pay for Covid-19 testing, says Solidarity Solidarity announced on Thursday that staff at Sasol’s Secunda plant would no longer be forced to pay for Covid-19 tests themselves. This came after the trade union and Sasol held a meeting earlier in the day about the matter. “We are pleased that after robust negotiations Sasol agreed to carry the costs of all Sasol staff members’ Covid-19 testing,” Riaan Visser, Solidarity’s deputy general secretary for mining, agriculture and the chemical industry said. According to Solidarity, many people were still unsure about vaccination and this uncertainty had to be respected. “Although some people are still not sure about their decision regarding vaccination, there are also many who would like to be vaccinated, but simply cannot do so because of the slow progress of the government’s vaccination programme. Obviously, they should not pay the price for a government that has dragged its feet with the vaccination process,” Visser said. Solidarity also emphasised its support for vaccinations and explained that, although it should be every person’s own decision, the union recommended that those who could be vaccinated should do so. “Research, including that of Solidarity’s Research Institute, shows that vaccinations are effective and safe.” Visser pointed out. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News. Lees ook, Covid-19: Werkers toets nou op Sasol se rekening, by Maroela Media Basic education department not deterred by crowded classrooms The Citizen reports that concerns about crowded classrooms will not stop the Department of Basic Education (DBE) from finishing the curriculum while observing Covid-19 protocols. On Thursday, DBE Minister Angie Motshekga visited a school in Mangaung, Free State, that taught with full capacity classrooms. “It was indeed working. We would assess the issues and difficulties that came up,” she said. Motshekga added that she was aware that teacher unions had written a letter to the department regarding grievances about the social distancing rule of 1m in schools. She commented: “We will be meeting them and give them a report because initially we all agreed on the 1m-rule. We always consider all measures which help to have as many pupils as possible at in schools. We would explore different measures such as using a school hall as we had to ensure pupils were back to school but must also keep them safe.” The SA Democratic Teacher’s Union (Sadtu) Nomusa Cembi said the union was monitoring situations at primary schools and was unhappy. “Going back to using their rotational timetable was a better option, because the full-capacity option was not a good idea. Schools should follow the deviation provisions contained in the Gazette as it explained other possibilities that could be explored,” she indicated. Other unions were not consulted about the proposed reduced social distance of 0.5m in primary schools, Cembi claimed. These included the National Teachers’ Organisation of SA, the National Teachers Union South Africa and the Professional Educators Union. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Truck driver wounded after kidnap, robbery ordeal in Gqeberha News24 reports that an Eastern Cape truck driver who was on his way to buy vegetables at a local market was assaulted and robbed in Gqeberha on Thursday. The 57-year-old was dragged from his delivery truck at the R335 turn-off from the N2 freeway after robbers forced him to stop when they fired shots at his truck. They kidnapped the driver, drove to a secluded area in Wells Estate, where he was assaulted and robbed of his cash and cellphone. The truck, used to transport vegetables, was left at the scene and nothing else was taken. The driver sustained head injuries during the assault. Asked about the state of the driver, police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said the traumatised driver had sustained a lot of bleeding from lacerations to his head and face. He reported that a gun had been used to repeatedly hit the driver on the head. Noting that the driver had been on his way to a market to buy vegetables, Beetge said the assailants had known where he was going and had anticipated that he possessed money. Police are investigating a case of armed robbery, attempted murder, kidnapping and assault. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at Newsw24
Trade union Amcu reports fatality at Impala mine Mining Weekly writes that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has reported that a mineworker died in an accident at Impala Platinum's (Implats') Impala mine, in Rustenburg, on 4 August. According to the trade union, that brought the current fatalities in the mining sector for the year to date to 34. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at Mining Weekly Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Solidarity to ‘strongly oppose’ regulations on ‘certificate of need’ for healthcare practitioners Trade union Solidarity warned on Thursday that it would “strongly oppose” proposed regulations intended to pave the way for the implementation of a so-called “Certificate of Need” for healthcare practitioners. This followed publication of the regulations in the Government Gazette for comment. In terms of the draft regulations, all healthcare practitioners would apparently have to apply for a certificate to enable them to practice. Accordingly, there would be prescriptions on where and how healthcare practitioners may practice. Solidarity argued that such prescriptive regulations would infringe on both the rights of practitioners and patients and were therefore unconstitutional. Furthermore, they would severely restrict the provision of healthcare services. “This certificate is nothing less than the effective takeover of healthcare practitioners’ practices. By subjecting healthcare practitioners to these regulations, it forces them to surrender themselves to the state and to only practice as pawns, as and where prescribed by the state. These regulations are a blatant exploitation of knowledge and skills to drive the state’s own agenda. This is detrimental to healthcare practitioners and patients whose constitutional rights of freedom of profession and freedom of association are not acknowledged,” said Henru Krüger, Sector Head of the Professional Guild at Solidarity. According to Solidarity, the government was trying to pave the way for the eventual implementation of the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) through these regulations. “We must do everything in our power to stop further takeover of the entire medical industry by the state,” Krüger said. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News
Omnia Holdings launches broad-based employee share scheme Moneyweb reports that on Tuesday, Omnia Holdings announced the launch of a Broad-Based Employee Share Scheme, which will see all eligible permanent staff employed as of 1 July this year receiving an equal number of fully funded shares. There will be an initial three-year vesting period ending 30 June 2024. The diversified chemicals group said the objective of the scheme was “to allow all employees to participate in the group’s growth on a sustainable basis by becoming outright shareholders, irrespective of their geographical location”. It also said the initiative sought to promote employee engagement, commitment and retention while aligning with the company’s shared goal of improving performance through enhanced individual and team productivity. The shares will be held in a trust with all eligible employees becoming its beneficiaries and allocated an equal number of trust units linked to Omnia shares. The group pointed out that employees who were recipients of performance forfeitable shares, including executives and the management, would not be eligible to participate in the Broad-Based Share Scheme. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Palesa Mofokeng at Moneyweb. See too, Omnia launches new broad-based share scheme for employees, at Business Report
Head of HPCSA placed on precautionary suspension over corruption allegations News24 reports that the chief executive officer of the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), David Boikhutso Motau, has been placed on precautionary suspension for corruption and fraud he allegedly committed between 2011 and 2015 when he was the head of the Free State health department. His suspension, effective immediately, was announced by acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi on Thursday. It came three days after Motau appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court alongside 11 others for allegedly orchestrating a R8.7 million tender fraud. Motau resigned as HOD of health in the Free State before he finished his tenure. Among his co-accused are two senior officials employed by the department and four retired employees of the department. The case was postponed to 22 September for a high court date. Motau was appointed CEO and registrar of the HPCSA in June. In a brief statement, Kubayi said Motau's precautionary suspension was necessitated by the seriousness of the allegations and its ramification for ethical dynamics in the health fraternity. The statement did not announce a stand in as acting CEO. Kubayi also did not say whether there were plans to scrutinise the suspended CEO's financial behaviour at the HPCSA in light of the allegations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24. See too, Health Professions Council head David Boikhutso Motau suspended, at BusinessLive
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