In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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The Citizen reports that an Eskom-contracted security officer, who was part of a group that was ambushed by a heavily armed group of about 30 suspects in an attempt to steal copper cable outside the Eskom Klipspruit Customer Network (CNC) in Soweto, has succumbed to head injuries. This was revealed on Tuesday by Eskom Gauteng Operating Unit in a statement. It said that “seven security officers drove out of the Klipspruit CNC to return to their post at Mapetla substation when the armed suspects allegedly opened fire and fatally wounded one security officer.” The incident happened on Tuesday, 11 January 2022 just before midnight. Allegedly, the suspects were attempting to steal City Power copper cables when the team of seven security officers drove towards them. The other security officers managed to escape unharmed. Eskom pointed out that the tragic incident occurred during a campaign it had embarked on to create awareness about the impact of electricity infrastructure vandalism and theft on the security of supply. It condemned such acts of criminality. Kith Maitisa, SHEQS Manager in Gauteng, said that they would not hesitate to recall their employees should their safety be at risk. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen. Lees ook, Eskom-wag sterf toe kabeldiewe losbrand, by Maroela Media Three security guards 'seriously injured' during cash-in-transit heist in Mpumalanga on Monday News24 reports that three security guards have been injured in a cash-in-transit heist in Mpumalanga. They were injured when an unknown number of robbers bombed the vehicle they were travelling in. They were travelling in an armoured vehicle between Badplaas and Barberton on Monday at around 17:00 when a white Toyota Landcruiser rammed into their vehicle. The armoured vehicle was bombed, and an undisclosed amount of cash stolen, Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi advised. Two other vehicles that had been stolen in eMalahleni and which were suspected to have been involved in the heist were later found on the Nkomati mine road. A rifle belonging to the security company was recovered outside one of the vehicles. Sekgotodi indicated: “All three guards were seriously injured due to the accident and taken to Mbuleni hospital in Elukwatini.” No arrests have yet been made. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 Men armed with pangas take school keys from guards in Bloemfontein IOL reports that Free State police said on Tuesday that six panga-brandishing men made off with a school's set of keys after attacking security guards at the institution in Bloemfontein. Spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thabo Covane said assailants attacked security guards at Lourier Park Primary School in Bloemfontein on Monday night. “Two security guards were on duty when one of the guards went on a patrol through the premises. It is alleged that the one security official in the guard room heard an alarm going off and went to investigate. He was attacked by six unknown suspects carrying pangas, wearing hats and masks covering their faces. The victim was handcuffed and assaulted. A set of school keys were forcibly taken from him. Three of the suspects went to the administration block and broke a security door to gain access. The other guard, who went on patrol, came back and fired warning shots towards the suspects and they all fled the scene,” Covane reported. Police went to the scene and it was discovered that only the keys were taken during the robbery. The security guard was admitted to hospital and is in a stable condition. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molaole Montsho at IOL. Lees ook, Wagte by Bloemfonteinse skool aangeval, by Maroela Media
Threats to teachers delay reopening of 11 KZN schools in uMkhambathini EWN reports that the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education has delayed the reopening of 11 schools in the uMkhambathini area. This after some teachers and principals received threatening calls allegedly from members of the community. KZN Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu visited the area on Tuesday to assess the education system's readiness ahead of the reopening of schools on Wednesday. The department said classes at 11 schools in the uMkhambathini area were now expected to resume on Thursday. It indicated that according to local government authorities, there was an ongoing legal dispute among the local traditional leadership. And while the dispute had nothing to do with education, some community members had chosen to use the schools as a soft target and bargaining tool. Officials indicated that the gates were locked with heavy chains and padlocks at all 11 of the schools and whenever principals and teachers tried to get in, they received anonymous phone calls threatening their lives. The department said while it appreciated that communities were free to engage in protest action, they could not be allowed to intimidate and prevent learners from attending school. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lauren Isaacs at EWN Angry parents refuse to let staff at Limpopo's education department head office leave for home News24 reports that on Tuesday a group of parents refused to let the staff at the Limpopo education department's head office in Polokwane leave for home, demanding placement of their children in schools. The parents barricaded the gates, preventing the staff from leaving. The police were called, but there were no violent incidents. Biccard Street, on which the provincial education head office is located, had to be closed to traffic. Provincial education spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene said the head of department would meet with the parents' representatives "to outline our admissions process". Since the official reopening of schools last week, many parents have been visiting the head office to demand that their children be placed. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Russel Molefe at News24
Solidarity Movement says national state of disaster must end, with legal action in the offing Maroela Media reports that Solidarity Movement, including Solidarity and AfriForum, declared on Tuesday that no further reasons existed for the current state of disaster to remain in force. This came after the state of disaster was extended again by the government. According to Solidarity Movement chairperson Flip Buys, the pandemic was now seemingly entering an endemic phase. Furthermore, increased group immunity against Covid-19 could now be detected with the Omicron variant, resulting in less serious illness and fewer deaths. “The fact that the virus is now endemic means the virus won’t disappear, but we will have to learn to live with the virus. It also means that exceptional measures by the state, such as those that can be instituted under a state of disaster, are no longer necessary in an effort to control the virus,” Buys said. He indicated that the Movement was also very concerned about the state of schools in SA as the restrictions were hampering education. According to Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann, the current state of disaster created major uncertainty for workers, companies and the economy in general, and it must therefore be terminated. “The state of disaster enables government to implement at short notice measures that affect the livelihood of businesses and workers. This sword hanging over the economy creates uncertainty that hampers capital formation and further expansion at a time when economic growth is crucially important,” Hermann stated. Both AfriForum and Solidarity will now proceed with legal action in order to ask the courts to end the state of disaster. Read the full original of the report in the above regard in Afrikaans at Maroela Media Covid-19 infected pumas and lions at Pretoria zoo prompt warning about emergence of variants Bloomberg reports that pumas and lions and at the Pretoria zoo got severe Covid-19 from asymptomatic zoo handlers, raising concerns that new variants could emerge from animal reservoirs of the disease. A 2020 study of feces from two pumas that had had diarrhea, nasal discharge and anorexia showed the animals had Covid-19 and made a full recovery after 23 days, the University of Pretoria reported in a statement on Tuesday. A year later, in the midst of SA’s delta-variant-driven third wave, three lions, one of which had pneumonia, tested positive for the coronavirus. The studies add to evidence that, while the dominant theory is that the coronavirus spread from animals to humans, the reverse can also happen. Data suggests that the disease was circulating among zoo staff at the time of the lions’ illness and the disease was likely transferred from them to the big cats. The disease could then mutate in the animals and reinfect humans, the researchers indicated. Accordingly, measures such as mask-wearing and infection control when dealing with captive animals, as well as barriers so that visitors to zoos couldn’t get too close to them, were advisable. “This is to protect endangered species from getting sick and dying. These measures are also important because of the risk of new variants emerging if the virus establishes itself in other animal reservoirs; these variants could be transmitted back to humans,” Marietjie Venter and Katja Koeppel, two professors at the university, said in the statement. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Antony Sguazzin and Renee Bonorchis at Moneyweb Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Nehawu settles wage negotiations with Parliament, staff to resume duties following fire The Citizen reports that Parliament has welcomed the 2021/22 wage agreement between the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu) and the SA Legislature Employers’ Organisation, representing provincial legislatures and parliament. The two bodies concluded the negotiations on Friday. The agreement includes an annual increase of 1.5% on the total salary package of all employees in the legislative sector for the 2021/22 financial year and a once-off payment of R22,000 (namely R1,833.3 per month for the period 1 April 2021 to 30 March 2022) for all employees in the SA legislative sector. Implementation to be on or before 15 February 2022. The negotiation team will start working on a harmonisation process by March 2022. Meantime, Parliament management met with Nehawu leaders on Monday over the safety of the buildings destroyed in a fire earlier this month. Management reiterated its commitment towards ensuring the safety of all the employees and other stakeholders on the parliamentary precinct. All employees are now expected to return to their workstations, with only damaged buildings to remain off limits. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
Amazon has over 200 IT, engineering and human resources job opportunities for South Africans Business Report writes that online shopping giant Amazon has over 200 jobs available in SA. The job positions that are available in the country range from IT and engineering to human resources. These jobs are mainly available in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with the exception of a few work-from-home positions. Those who are interested in the remote working positions are required to have uncapped fibre with 10Mbps upload speeds and 5Mbps download speeds. In 2020, Amazon announced that the company would be hiring 3,000 customer service professionals in the country to work remotely. “These roles will range from customer service associates to technical experts who will work virtually and provide 24/7 support to Amazon customers in North America and Europe,” the company indicated. Amazon SA Customer Service Director Andrew Raichlin said these jobs would reflect the organisation’s continued commitment to South Africa’s economic development. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Business Report Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Dark Fibre Africa to embark on restructuring programme that will include retrenchments TechCentral reports that Remgro-controlled telecommunications company Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) has informed staff that it will be embarking on a restructuring programme that will include retrenchments. CEO Andries Delport confirmed on Monday that the company had initiated a consultation process that would lead to a not-insignificant reduction in DFA’s 660-strong headcount. Delport declined to say how many employees would be affected by the restructuring, saying exact numbers would be determined through the consultation process. The move comes just two months after Vodacom Group agreed to acquire a co-controlling interest, along with Remgro and New GX Capital, in a new entity made up of assets including DFA and its sister company, Vumatel. Delport, who was previously Vodacom’s group chief technology officer, denied that Vodacom’s investment was the driver behind the cost-cutting exercise. “It’s unrelated to Vodacom or anything else. This is a plain business decision [by DFA],” he claimed. The simple fact, Delport said, was that DFA had too many employees and its cost structure was too high in what had become a highly competitive market. Internal benchmarking against competitors had borne this out, he added. Delport said the restructuring would not simply be about retrenching staff. Rather, employees would be given the opportunity first to apply for voluntary separation packages. Delport emphasised that the company would not let go of key skills. It would also work at providing “mutual separation agreements”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Duncan McLeod at TechCentral Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Former Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo abandons reinstatement bid, but still wants R250m in damages BL Premium reports that Peter Moyo, the former CEO of Old Mutual who was fired in 2019, has abandoned his bid to be reinstated as it would have required his replacement, Iain Williamson, to join the trial. That would have further delayed the legal proceedings that have been dragging on for almost three years. In preliminary proceedings in the Gauteng High Court, Moyo’s legal counsel Dali Mpofu said his client would abandon his reinstatement bid in the interests of the trial proceeding. Mpofu added that since his client had been involved in legal proceedings against Old Mutual for close to three years he did not have the means to continue litigating indefinitely. Williamson, who took over as acting CEO when Moyo was fired, was appointed permanent CEO in July 2020. Mpofu announced that while Moyo would abandon the reinstatement request, he would proceed with his damages claim against Old Mutual over his 2019 dismissal because he regarded it as unlawful. Old Mutual said in a statement on Monday that Moyo was seeking R250m in damages but that it disputed that any amount was owed to him after he was paid six months’ salary upon termination of his employment. The six months’ remuneration apparently amounted to R4m and was paid in lieu of notice. Moyo is understood to have accepted the payment without expressing any reservations. Once Moyo’s reinstatement attempt was abandoned, the case got under way, with arguments are expected to continue until 27 January. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Old Mutual confident of legal win over Moyo, at Moneyweb
Murder of Cape Town taxi boss stalls restart of MyCiTi N2 Express bus service, sparks fear of industry violence News24 reports that the City of Cape Town's efforts to restart the MyCiTi N2 Express bus route from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha has been dealt a blow after one of the taxi bosses who was to have been a signatory to the agreement was shot dead. The Congress of Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) general secretary Cecil Dibela was killed on Monday afternoon at Monwabisi beach. A police spokesperson confirmed the murder and indicated: “The motive for the attack is taxi related. The unknown suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.” On Tuesday, the City, along with taxi bosses, were scheduled to sign an agreement that would enable the MyCiTi N2 Express buses to operate on the Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain routes. The service was abruptly halted in May 2019 amid disagreements over its rollout. After a more than two year absence, the City of Cape Town recently announced that the service was set to return, adding that it "successfully concluded the supply chain management process". Mayoral committee member for transport, Roberto Quintas, condemned “the fatal brutality that has the potential to throw the City into a spate of taxi conflict, causing danger and disruption in the lives of our commuters.” He added that it was also devastating for the resumption of the MyCiTi N2 Express service. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24
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