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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Government developing comprehensive public sector remuneration strategy for medium to long term Engineering News reports that national government is developing a comprehensive public-sector remuneration strategy for the medium to long term. This will apply to the country’s 1.33-million public servants employed in departments, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), public entities and local government. The strategy will seek to better balance competing interests on the basis of fairness, equity and affordability, the National Treasury indicated in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), which was presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Thursday. The MTBPS made provision for an additional allocation of R20.5-billion in 2022/23 for wage bill adjustments. Most of the adjustments are to cater for the higher-than-budgeted public sector wage agreement. The wage bill averages about 35% of government’s non-interest expenditure and has been growing at a rate higher than nominal gross domestic product every year since 2007/8, with 2013/14 as an exception. Although the wage growth moderation in 2020/21 has helped to make compensation spending growth more sustainable, the extent to which this will continue depends on the outcome of ongoing wage negotiations. It will also depend on whether the Constitutional Court upholds the decision of the Labour Appeal Court, which held that government was within its rights not to implement the final leg of the three-year 2018 wage agreement, owing to Treasury not having affirmed its affordability. The MTBPS noted that, should it be necessary to implement the final leg of the 2018 wage agreement retroactively, additional measures would be required. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read too, Civil servants ‘ready for action’ over pay rise, says Nehawu, at The Citizen R1,000 sweetener to secure 2021 public sector wage deal adds R20.5bn to government wage bill TimesLIVE reports that the government’s decision earlier this year to offer a R1,000 one-off gratuity to civil servants as a sweetener for them to accept a 1.5% wage increase will cost R20.5bn in the current financial year. This is money that was not catered for when former finance minister Tito Mboweni tabled the 2020/2021 budget in February. This means that current finance minister Enoch Godongwana will have to ensure that government departments reprioritise and shift funds around to finance the payment of the gratuity. Commenting when tabling his maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in parliament on Thursday, Godongwana said this was in breach of the National Treasury’s measures to contain excessive spending on salaries of civil servants, which now accounted for 37% of the government’s total expenditure at just over R635bn a year. He advised that the gratuity was also expected to cost the same amount in 2022/2023 if a new agreement was not entered into with public-sector unions. Godongwana also warned that a further risk to his measures to rein in the public sector wage bill, was a pending Constitutional Court (ConCourt) decision in a case in which labour unions were challenging the non-implementation in 2020 of the final leg of the 2018 wage agreement. The ConCourt could overturn the Labour Appeal Court’s decision that the 2018 agreement was unlawful and government was not compelled to honour it. Godongwana said such a ruling would be disastrous to government finances as they would have to “implement the agreement retroactively.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabo Mokone at TimesLIVE Basic income grant decision to be made in February, with funding likely to require substantial tax increases BL Premium reports that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has kicked the basic income grant can down the road, saying in his medium term budget policy statement that a decision has not yet been made and would have to be weighed up against other spending priorities. Any new long-term spending commitments — such as income support for the poor — would be possible only if other government programmes were closed or taxes were increased, according to the policy statement. In comments to journalists, Godongwana stressed that such a decision would be taken by the cabinet and not by the Treasury. Tax changes are tabled only in the February budget and Treasury is generally silent on tax in the adjustment budget. The R350 social relief of distress grant, which was introduced last year to shield the poor from the effects of the Covid pandemic and lockdown, continues until the end of March next year. Political pressure to extend the grant and ultimately replace it with permanent income support has been intense and the ANC national executive committee took a decision earlier this year that it would be introduced “subject to affordability”. A R350 grant would cost the country R40bn to R70bn a year, so tax increases to pay for a grant would need to be substantial. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, ‘Give basic income grants for those aged 18 to 59’, says Saftu’s Vavi, on page 18 of Sowetan of 11 November 2021 It’s ‘tough love’ as government makes bold move to halt bailouts for SOEs BL Premium reports that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in financial distress that have relied on government bailouts to remain afloat, will not be allocated any additional funding over the next three years as the government moves to rein in public spending. The announcement by finance minister Enoch Godongwana in his maiden medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) is expected to be welcomed by economists and ratings agencies who have previously flagged the poor financial performance of SOEs and their long-standing governance problems as risks to the country’s economic growth. “What we want to do is to practise tough love,” Godongwana said during a pre-MTBPS media briefing, adding that the Treasury would review its allocation for state-owned enterprises by the 2022/2023 budget in February. Financial mismanagement and corruption have led to a severe deterioration of many SOEs, which are now unable to deliver on their mandates and require bailouts from the fiscus. These bailouts have often crowded out government spending on socioeconomic needs. Since 2013, government has directed more than R290bn to bail out SOEs at the expense of important social expenditure. Among other criteria, SOEs would now be required to prove that they were able to meet their debt obligations before being allocated funding, Godongwana said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Mid-term budget: Treasury provides no additional funding for struggling SOEs, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
SA’s fourth virus wave may be ‘mild’ if social distancing and curbs are continued with Bloomberg reports that according to Nicholas Crisp, Department of Health deputy director general and the government official running the national vaccination program, SA’s strict measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus might limit the severity of the pandemic’s next wave. The country has fully vaccinated about a third of its 40 million adults, and has kept in place prevention measures including a curfew, limits on gatherings and mandatory use of masks in public. The percentage of those vaccinated is higher among older citizens. Citing mathematical modeling, Crisp said in an interview: “If we continue with social distancing, we will still get a fourth wave, but it will be mild. It could be a quarter of the first wave — minimal. People will get infected and get sick and have a lousy Christmas,” but deaths and hospitalisations will be lower. Still, the abandoning of precautionary measures or the emergence of a new variant could change the outlook and the department was preparing for the worst. SA has had the worst confirmed outbreak on the continent, with almost 3 million infections and about 90,000 deaths. A measure of excess deaths puts likely coronavirus fatalities at almost three times the official figure. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Antony Sguazzin at Moneyweb Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Teachers, pupils injured after car crashes through staff room at Emalahleni school News24 reports that four people sustained minor injuries when a Mpumalanga teacher who was trying to stop her car, hit the accelerator instead and crashed into the staff room. Two assistant teachers and two pupils were injured when the incident happened at Kopanang Secondary School in Emalahleni on Wednesday at around 13:00. According to Jasper Zwane, spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education in Mpumalanga, the 60-year-old teacher was entering the school premises with her Mercedes Benz when she struck the sliding gate at the entrance. "She apparently was flabbergasted and in the process of trying to stop, she stepped on the accelerator," said Zwane. He advised that the teacher, who recently went on pension, was still assisting at the school. Two assistant teachers, aged 20 and 24, as well as two boys in Grade 10 and Grade 11 were injured. They were taken to hospital and were discharged after being treated as their injuries were not serious. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Buks Viljoen at News24
NUM opposed to R131bn green funding deal, backs Mantashe in battling 'global anti-fossil fuel agenda' Fin24 reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has hit out against SA’s R131-billion green funding deal secured at the UN Climate Conference COP26. SA secured the loan amount as part of its proposal to accelerate its transition away from coal and towards green energy at the conference in Glasgow. A partnership between the US, UK, France, Germany and the European Union will fund SA. "The closure of the power stations in Mpumalanga must never be unnecessarily rushed [as] it will have a devastating socio-economic impact," the union, which is an affiliate of union federation Cosatu, said in a statement. Cosatu, however, indicated last week that it supported the deal, with the hope that it would help support workers and communities whose livelihoods were at risk from the decommissioning of SA's fleet of coal-fired power stations. Emphasising that it was not opposed to renewable energy, NUM said SA must continue following the Integrated Resource Plan - the country’s electricity infrastructure roadmap - to implement mixed energy. Meanwhile, South Africa has an abundance of coal reserves and so it would be irresponsible to stop the use of the resource, the union opined. The NUM further said it supported the call by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, a former general secretary at the union, for Africa to unite against 'coercion' by the global anti-fossil fuel agenda. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24. Read too, Mantashe and Ramaphosa differ on the just transition from coal, at Moneyweb Former Lily Mine manager claims collapsed crown pillar was secured before 2016 collapse and tragedy News24 reports that according to a former Lily Mine manager, management regularly monitored the mine’s crown pillar prior to its collapse resulting in a massive sinkhole and that it had exhibited no warning signs beforehand. Testifying at the inquest into the 2016 tragedy that led to the deaths of three mineworkers, Bongani Rantho stated: "Areas which led to the crown pillar were sealed off. No one was allowed to access it unless under strict supervision. The inspection of the crown pillar at level 4 was part of the planning of the mine. We had to break the wall to gain access to level 4. We could only see some portions of the crown pillar, not all of it. We wanted to see if we could start declining, not below it [the crown pillar] but adjacent to it. There was no rambling near the crown pillar. If there were any, we would have been able to notice that. We didn't even see water coming through the crown pillar. The mine was stable." He went on to inform the inquest: "There was high safety culture. We had a full-time safety representative, and the labour structure focused on the safety and health of workers. Employees were compliant with most standards. Where there was non-compliance, behavioural steps would be taken. Before and during my tenure at the mine, there was no fatal incident reported." Rantho also added: “The standard of security was high for a small mine like ours. We didn't have a significant problem of illegal mining like our neighbours.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntwaagae Seleka at News24. Read too, Lily Mine tragedy was an eye-opener on how to avoid future disasters, inquest hears, at News24
Judgment reserved in Solidarity’s case against Barloworld over racial retrenchments Solidarity reported on Thursday that judgment has been reserved in the Constitutional Court in the case brought by the trade union against Barloworld Equipment SA. Solidarity took the company to court after it had continued with the alleged unfair retrenchment of employees. According to the union, Barloworld acted unfairly because it did not consult properly with employees and trade unions. It unilaterally decided on retrenchment criteria and proceeded with the implementation thereof without adequate consultation with stakeholders as required by labour legislation. Solidarity further argued that using race and gender as criteria for the retrenchment of staff was discriminatory. “We cannot allow companies to set aside procedures, act unlawfully and discriminate, which is why we were in court today (Thursday) to challenge Barloworld and the way it deals with retrenchments at the company,” said Willie Venter, Deputy Chief Executive of Metal and Engineering at Solidarity. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News Mango employees weigh taking severance packages as airline's future hangs in the balance Fin24 reports that a process of offering voluntary severance packages to airline Mango's approximately 700 employees is underway and the low-cost carrier’s business rescue practitioner, Sipho Sono, hopes to have it finalised by the end of November. In a letter dated 22 October, Sono informed employees that due to Mango's fleet not being operational, the airline had been unable to generate revenue, resulting in an inability to provide work for them. Mango, a subsidiary of state-owned SA Airways (SAA), stopped flying at the end of July this year when it went into business rescue. It is about R2.5 billion in debt and risks losing its route rights if its return to the skies is delayed. Offering packages is a first step before considering possible retrenchments. They will include the payment of outstanding salaries that are still due to employees. Sono is keen for Mango to restart operations in December to benefit from the peak summer traffic. For the restart, he wants to use some of the R719 million still due to Mango in terms of a special allocation made by Parliament from the R10.5 billion allocated for SAA's rescue plan. SAA's board has, however, indicated that the rest of the special allocation money still due should only be used to restructure Mango and not for a restart. The board believes it would be too soon for Mango to start flying again by December. If creditors accept Sono’s proposed rescue plan, he will have to look for an investor to fund a restructure of Mango's ongoing operations. Unions, meanwhile, have voiced concerns about the ongoing uncertainty, saying some employees were opting for severance packages as they were unsure of the airline's fate. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carin Smith at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
GEPF investment portfolio grows 27.5% to top R2.09trn mark for FY2021 Moneyweb reports that the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has reached a significant milestone in the 25th anniversary of its founding, with its investment portfolio now valued at over R2 trillion. This was revealed in the GEPF’s financial results for the year ended 31 March 2021, published on Monday. It showed that the fund’s investment portfolio had grown 27.5% or by R451 billion for FY2021. The GEPF noted that “the increase in the investment value of the fund is mainly attributable to the recovery in financial markets, particularly equities and bonds.” This followed a contraction in 2020. The fund’s unlisted and property portfolios however bore the brunt of market conditions resulting from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, and suffered a decline. The GEPF pension administrator (GPAA) received 27,960 pension claims in 2021 (34,134 in 2020), reflecting a decrease of 18% in claims. Its retirement claims for 2021 were R76 billion (R69.1 billion in 2020). The fund’s active members decreased to 1,265,406 in 2021 (1,269,161 in 2020). The number of pensioners in the fund decreased to 312,647 in 2021 (313,173 in 2020). Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Barbara Curson at Moneyweb. Listen to interview with principal executive officer, GEPF reaches R2trn milestone, at Moneyweb Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Treasury gives scathing review of stagnant NHI in medium-term budget policy statement BL Premium reports that the Treasury has issued a scathing assessment of the government’s slow progress in implementing National Health Insurance (NHI), saying the ANC’s flagship plan for achieving universal health coverage is unlikely to require significant funding anytime soon. NHI aims to ensure that everyone can obtain health services free at the point of delivery, but more than 10 years after the plan was signed off by the ANC at a policy conference in Polokwane, it has yet to be implemented. Key legislation to pave the way for the establishment of a fund that will pay for health services was submitted to parliament more than two years ago. But, the NHI Bill is still being considered by the portfolio committee on health, and the government has yet to publish up-to-date costing estimates for the programme. “At present ... there is insufficient capacity in the health sector to work substantively on NHI. The NHI indirect grant has been underspent, the NHI fund has not yet been established and the NHI Bill still needs to be passed by parliament. It is therefore unlikely that NHI will be a significant cost pressure in the medium term,” the Treasury said in the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS). A previous costing of the NHI policy estimated it would require R40bn a year in additional funding over the first five years, and perhaps more over time. Noting that the existing provisions for NHI, including the conditional grant, have not been spent, the MTBPS now sees the Treasury cutting R308.4m from the NHI indirect grant, trimming its allocation for the 2021/2022 financial year from R1.34bn to R1.03bn. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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