In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Covid-19 pandemic is far from over, WHO warns AFP reports that the World Health Organisation's (WHO’s) emergency committee said on Tuesday that the Covid-19 crisis was far from over. It called for research into next-generation vaccines for long-term control of the pandemic. The 19-member committee meets every three months to discuss the pandemic and make recommendations. "While progress has been made through increased uptake of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics, analysis of the present situation and forecasting models indicate that the pandemic is far from finished," the WHO said in a statement on Friday. The committee called for further research into reusable masks and respirators, and next-generation vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics "for long-term control of the pandemic". "The use of masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and improving ventilation of indoor spaces remain key to reducing transmission of SARS CoV-2," the statement stressed. The committee said the protracted pandemic was making humanitarian emergencies, mass migration and other crises more complex. It also raised concerns about Africa's challenges in tackling the pandemic, including access to vaccines, tests and treatments, as well as collecting and analysing data to monitor the pandemic's evolution. Just 14 vaccine doses have been administered per 100 people in Africa, while that figure stands at 128 doses in the United States and Canada; 113 in Europe; 106 in Latin America and the Caribbean; 103 in Oceania; 102 in Asia; and 78 in the Middle East. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
| Protest by ‘fed up’ truck drivers caused back up of traffic on N3 highway near Harrismith on Tuesday News24 reports that a national protest by truck drivers on Tuesday saw the N3 highway near Harrismith closed, with back-ups for over a kilometre in both directions. Police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele reported that around 30 truck drivers had parked their trucks on the N3, "closing the road totally". "They are demanding to see [Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula]. Their main grievance is foreign truck drivers being allowed to drive trucks in the country. The drivers are peaceful and just standing around. No acts of violence have been reported," he indicated on Tuesday. Makhele could not confirm who was leading the protest. According to All Truck Drivers Foundation (ADTF) secretary-general Sifiso Nyathi, the nationwide shutdown by local truck drivers was aimed at forcing freight companies to stop employing foreign nationals. He said ATDF was not behind the protect action, which the truck drivers themselves had allegedly organised, but he added that the organisation supported the mass action. "South African drivers are being exploited. The [freight company] owners want to hire foreigners for less. It's a shame. Trucking is a scarce skill. The drivers are fed up. They don't even want to listen to us as leaders," he said. The protest began on Sunday in other provinces. In the Eastern Cape, truck drivers were prevented from travelling on the N10 highway outside Middelburg. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24. Read too, Protesting N3 truckers were trying to get minister Mbalula's attention, say police, at EWN All lanes reopened on Wednesday on N3 highway in KZN after truck drivers’ protest against foreign drivers on Tuesday IOL reports that traffic is flowing freely on the N3 Toll Route on Wednesday morning after a day of on-going disruptions on Tuesday. According to the N3 Toll Concession, the scene between Swinburne and Montrose where a load of manganese was dropped in the southbound lanes, was cleared in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Truck drivers were protesting against the hiring of foreign national drivers. However, the Road Freight Association called on drivers to address their grievances through the correct means and keep the roadway clear. “The continual attack on the logistics supply chain, and the willful disregard by sectors who continue to drive agendas outside the Collective Bargaining structure, or to further their grievances by attacking the law-abiding citizenry, must be brought to a stop,” said RFA CEO Gavin Kelly. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Se-Anne Rall at IOL. Read too, Ongoing truck strikes will damage future investor confidence in SA, warns economist, at IOL Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mandela Mining Precinct and five trade unions sign terms of reference to catalyse mining industry modernisation Mining Weekly reports that on Tuesday representatives of the Mandela Mining Precinct (MMP) and five labour unions signed an agreement on the terms of reference for the parties to collaborate on modernising the SA mining industry. was thereby formed. The agreement was signed by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA and Uasa. The MMP – Organised Labour Consultative (OLC) forum was formed to facilitate stakeholder participation in the research and development planning required for a modernised mining industry at a strategic and policy level. The Minerals Council SA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) said it regarded organised labour’s participation and input as critical to the success of future mining modernisation work. “It is critical to have unions meaningfully involved in the modernisation journey and it is vital that unions recognise that modernisation of mining is an imperative to extend the lives of mines, save current jobs in mining and create new opportunities in South Africa,” said Minerals Council president Nolitha Fakude. Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said progress, as well as the sustainability of the mining sector, was of the utmost importance, not only for the SA economy and job creation, but also for the creation of job security within the sector for those already employed in the sector. “For Solidarity, the latter is of particular importance as Solidarity has quite a number of members in the mining sector and is committed to working on solutions to ensure the survival of this sector,” he pointed out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. Read too, Unions will play a vital role in modernising the mining sector, at BusinessLive. En ook, Solidariteit wil myne moderniseer, by Maroela Media AngloGold defends its chair Maria Ramos against accusations made by former chair Sipho Pityana BL Premium reports that AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) has come out in defence of its chair, Maria Ramos, who has been accused by Absa non-executive director Sipho Pityana of improperly influencing the banking regulator to block his appointment as chair of the Absa board. AGA also said it had complete confidence in a report that it conducted in 2020 into allegations that Pityana had sexually harassed a senior member of staff, when he was the chair of the mining company. Pityana resigned from the company after an investigation into the matter made an adverse finding against him. However, he maintains that the investigation was not properly done as crucial witness evidence was not considered. Pityana is now suing the Prudential Authority (PA), which regulates the sector, for failing to follow the procedures outlined in the Banks Act for the approval of directors of lenders and allowing third parties, such as Ramos, to influence procedures. Pityana also maintains the long-standing friendship between Ramos and Kuben Naidoo, head of the PA, enabled her to have “unfettered access” to the regulator. On Tuesday AGA said: “AngloGold’s board emphatically rejects the allegations being made by Mr Pityana against its chairman, Maria Ramos, and against AngloGold Ashanti, which are baseless. The matter of Absa’s chairmanship is one between Mr Pityana and the board of that company.” In his affidavit to the Gauteng High Court, Pityana pointed out that a review of the investigation commissioned by Absa had found the 2020 AGA report to be fundamentally flawed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Don't let coal mining go extinct, 'fossil fuel dinosaur' Mantashe tells NUM policy conference TimesLIVE reports that Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe has urged the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) to discuss ways to save coal mining from extinction. Addressing the first day of a two-day NUM policy conference in East London on Tuesday, Mantashe warned that shutting down coal mining would destroy the economy, especially in Mpumalanga. “I would imagine that in this policy conference, the delegates from coal mining regions will raise issues on how you confront the question of mining being on the back foot. Coal mining is on the back foot; everyone regards it as a dirty product. I would imagine the delegates from coal mining regions will raise that debate and say, 'How do we save coal mining from extinction?',” said Mantashe. He told delegates that he had been labelled “a coal fundamentalist” and “a fossil fuel dinosaur” by lobbyists, but had accepted those titles because “I think the position we are taking on energy is a correct one”. Mantashe lamented the debate on energy, saying it was about an argument of switching off coal and moving to renewables immediately, and not necessarily about moving from high carbon emissions to low carbon emissions — something everyone agreed on. He warned that if that transition from coal to renewable energy was not managed carefully, it would spell an unmitigated disaster for the economy. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andisiwe Makinana at TimesLIVE Gwede Mantashe takes a swipe at Ace Magashule at NUM conference TimesLIVE reports that ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe has taken a dig at the party’s secretary-general, Ace Magashule, suggesting that had the latter been schooled by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) like his three predecessors, he would not have made the blunders he did, including his attempt to suspend the president. Magashule was the first ANC secretary-general since its unbanning who did not come from the mining union. Mantashe, Cyril Ramaphosa and Kgalema Motlanthe were all NUM general secretaries who later held the powerful position within the ANC. “It’s not an accident of history that NUM has produced three SGs post-1990. It’s not an accident of history, it’s a function of this union rooted in the policy of the ANC,” Mantashe said on Tuesday when addressing the mining union’s policy conference in East London. He said if NUM was failing to produce more ANC secretary-generals, it should look at the quality of its membership. “We missed one now. We had another secretary [Magashule] who was not from NUM. I don't want to talk about what happened then. I am not here for that,” Mantashe said to heaps of laughter from delegates. In May, Magashule attempted to suspend Ramaphosa as ANC president shortly after he himself was asked by the party to step aside as its secretary-general as he was facing charges related to an asbestos project in the Free State when he had been premier. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andisiwe Makinana at BusinessLive
Marikana continues to haunt Phiyega, as court quashes appeal application The Star reports that the former national police commissioner Riah Phiyega has suffered another court drubbing in her persistent bid to quash the adverse Marikana Commission’s findings against her. In May this year, Judge Natvarlal Ranchod dismissed Phiyega's application seeking the review and setting aside of the Commission’s finding concerning her. The commission chaired by retired Judge Ian Farlam placed Phiyega at the centre of the police’s attempt to mislead the public over the 16 August massacre of Lonmin mine workers by police. In her original application, Phiyega sought to convince Ranchod that Farlam’s findings against her were not supported by any evidence and irrational. Ranchod found against Phiyega, saying her participation in the board of inquiry that Judge Farlam had recommended had served to defeat the purpose of her application. This was the Judge Neels Claassen-chaired inquiry, which also found that Phiyega embarked on a “deliberate attempt to mislead South Africa”. The Claassen report had effectively overtaken the Farlam report, Judge Ranchod told Phiyega in his May ruling. Still determined to clear her name over the massacre, Phiyega returned before Judge Ranchod at the Pretoria High Court to seek leave to appeal his entire judgment. Ranchod sent her packing for the second time in a judgment he delivered last week. In just one page, the judge told Phiyega her application for leave to appeal against his earlier judgment had no prospects of success in another court. Following Ranchod’s May judgment, human rights group Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Seri) called for Phiyega’s prosecution over the massacre. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Nkosi on page 2 of The Star of 25 October 2021
North West High Court finds that appointment of ‘incompetent’ Mahikeng manager unlawful Mail & Guardian reports that the “unlawful” appointment of a Mahikeng municipal manager who was hired despite being less qualified than his rivals has been set aside by the North West High Court. Judge Samkelo Gura ruled this week that the local municipality, which is battling R2-billion in wasted funds and crumbling infrastructure, acted unlawfully and irrationally when it appointed Mike Mokgwamme as the municipal manager in June last year. This was ahead of two better qualified candidates also vying for the post. It was reported in April that Mokgwamme had scored a “basic” mark, which is the lowest score, in a competency test conducted by an independent assessor prior to his appointment. He was apparently the least qualified of the shortlisted candidates. Prior to his appointment, Mokgwamme had served as municipal manager in an acting capacity from June 2019 until his permanent posting in June 2020. Gura ruled that “the municipality had no power” to overlook candidates who passed their competency tests in consideration of a senior managerial post in favour of someone who scored “basic”. Setting aside Mokgwamme’s appointment, he said: “It therefore follows that if candidate A scores basic and [their] two opponents B and C are successful in the competency assessment, candidate A automatically drops from the race at that stage even before reaching the finishing line in the race track. [They] cannot be considered for appointment because there are two best candidates above [them].” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khaya Koko at Mail and Guardian
Unisa ordered to pay axed facilities manager Pascal Mabelo R4.5m SowetanLIVE reports that the High Court in Pretoria has issued an order against the University of SA (Unisa) to pay its axed facilities manager R4.5m for prematurely ending his employment contract. Pascal Mabelo was fired for allegedly absconding from work in June last year, just days after his September 2019 suspension was lifted. He however challenged the dismissal as he was fired while he did not have access to the campus. He also had not been given a work permit and his work laptop had not yet been handed over to him. Mabelo's expulsion with immediate effect was for what Unisa had termed failure to report to work for five days without explaining his absence. In March, arbitrator Faye Darby found that Unisa had failed to prove that Mabelo did not want to return to work and had repudiated his contract. Darby ruled that Mabelo be paid R4.5m with interest thereon at the rate of 7% per annum from 10 July 2020 to of date of final payment. The arbitration award was made an order of the High Court last week. Mabelo's lawyer Mabu Mawreshe, said they were in court earlier this month to force Unisa to pay Mabelo. “Unisa’s blatant refusal to comply with the arbitration award forced us to approach the high court in Pretoria to make the award an order of court in terms of the arbitration act. We are delighted about the outcome,” he indicated. Mawreshe said the award had now accumulated interest and the payment stood at more than R5m. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Isaac Mahlangu at SowetanLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Five KZN officials jailed for fraudulently assisting learner's licence applicants News24 reports that five KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) licensing officials have been sentenced for fraudulently assisting many learner's licence applicants in the province to pass their tests. On Monday, the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced the five examiners, who were attached to the uMngeni licencing department in Howick, to direct imprisonment terms ranging from four to eight years. The five officials were part of a group of 19 people who were arrested when the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the Hawks raided the uMngeni Local Municipality in March 2018. All of them were charged with fraud following months of investigations that found examiners were assisting applicants to pass their learner's licence tests. The examiners used a concealed light-emitting device to point out the correct answers to the applicants, enabling them to pass without learning the rules of the road. The court found the officials guilty of fraud in November 2020 following a lengthy trial. Sentencing was handed down on Monday (details in report). The RTMC advised that the officials were dismissed after lengthy disciplinary processes. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24 Four Eastern Cape education officials who allegedly stole R59m meant for textbooks to stand trial in May TimesLIVE reports that four Eastern Cape education department officials will finally get their day in court after they allegedly stole R59m meant for schoolbooks in a corruption case dating back to 2014. Department deputy director-general Raymond Tywakadi, deputy director for the department’s IT support services, Tyronne Fourie, former chief education specialist in the Learner Teacher Support Material Unit (LTSM), Noxolo Gwarube, and former department superintendent general and head of department, Mthunywa Ngonzo, are expected to stand trial from 23 to 27 May 2022. They will appear alongside their co-accused, businessman Johannes Hermanus Smith, a trustee and representative of the Siegesmund Trust. According to Eastern Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani, the five have been charged with corruption, fraud, attempted fraud, theft and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. They were released on R5,000 bail each when they made their first court appearance on 17 May 2021. The case stems from 2014 when the department decided to centralise the supply of supplementary resource material comprising mostly of IT equipment and photocopiers. The decision to centralise meant that schools no longer procured such equipment from the State Information Technology Agency, as the department implemented its own processes to procure the equipment for schools. This process allegedly led to the corruption claimed by the NPA (further details in report). Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Aron Hyman at TimesLIVE
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