In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Saftu to lead protest action in Cape Town on Wednesday ahead of budget speech EWN reports that the SA Fedetation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and its affiliates will be leading a protest in Cape Town ahead of the Budget Speech on Wednesday. The labour federation insists that the demonstration will be protected, even for workers who are not unionised. Saftu is pushing for a basic income grant, among other demands. Abeedah Adams from the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa, indicated: "The state is not taking us seriously, they're not taking the poor and the working class seriously so we need to get out on the street. Saftu has obtained the Section 57 strike certificate, which means that any worker, even if they're not a member Saftu, can participate in the protest on Wednesday. It's a protected strike, the only thing that the employer can do is have no work, no pay." Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Saya Pierce-Jones at EWN Desperate households eye retirement savings, hoping that finance minister’s budget speech will announce next moves to unlock pension funds Moneyweb writes that rising food and petrol prices, amid high unemployment and sluggish economic growth – together with increasing interest rates – are putting the squeeze on many people. In this situation, many see government’s plan to restructure the pension fund industry to allow immediate access to retirement funds as a solution to their immediate cash flow problems. But, while many households are eager to dip into their retirement savings under the proposed ‘two-pot’ pension fund system, they are ignoring that the new dispensation aims to force more people to save for retirement. They are also ignoring that the two-pot system will put the lid securely on the bigger pot until retirement age. Cash-strapped citizens are said to be looking at the proposals only as far as the part that deals with access to their pensions is concerned, and how soon this will be possible. According to Michelle Acton of Old Mutual Corporate, the finance minister is under “extreme pressure” from weary consumers to deliver on the reforms almost immediately. She commented: “It is the most anticipated [topic] of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech this week. While it is unlikely that a roll-out plan will be detailed in the budget speech, we can expect Godongwana to give the reforms the green light and, subsequently, assurances that government would take into account the time required by industry to comply with the legislation.” Acton noted that, while the industry welcomed the proposed reforms, she hoped the minister would err on the side of caution to maintain tax system stability and avoid creating unrealistic expectations for indebted consumers. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Adriaan Kruger at Moneyweb
IPID details how cops gunned down heavily armed gang in deadly Rosettenville shooting on Monday IOL reports that the deadly shoot-out in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville on Monday involved five crime scenes, nine high calibre firearms, 10 stolen high performance vehicles, at least 10 alleged cash-in-transit (CIT) robbers who were shot dead and one police officer who was fatally wounded. A report by police watchdog IPID indicated that the suspects were planning to commit a CIT heist when they were intercepted by a sea of police officers - some in the sky in a helicopter - who had gathered intelligence over a number of days by watching the suspects closely before pouncing on Monday. The group of suspects consisted of at least 25 people. Ten are dead, some were injured and others fled, yet to be found. One police officer who was wounded has since died. When the suspects noticed a police chopper hovering above their safe house, they started shooting at it and the police in the chopper retaliated by shooting back. The members on the ground joined in and suspects continued shooting at the police officers. Five of the suspects jumped over the fence to the neighbour’s house and held the occupants of the house hostage. Due to the suspects running in different directions, five different scenes resulted. Some suspects were shot and killed while trying to escape. One of the deceased suspects is an ex-military member. One police officer from the chopper, two SAPS members and one Metro police officer were injured during the gun fight. It later emerged that one of the injured police officers passed away at Milpark hospital. A police spokesperson said a manhunt was still under way to apprehend the remaining suspects. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brenda Masilela at IOL. Read too, Cops shot in Rosettenville on road to recovery and 'in high spirits', two more suspects arrested, at News24. And also, Former military officer among eight suspects killed during shoot-out with police in Rosettenville, at TimesLive Second security guard dies after Durban shooting, robbery on Monday News24 reports that a second KwaZulu-Natal security guard has died, after being wounded in a shooting that took place on Monday in Umlazi. The two security guards were escorting a courier vehicle when they were attacked in their vehicle by two armed men. Both security guards were shot. One died at the scene and the other was taken to hospital where he later died. The incident took place in Yeni Veni Road in Umlazi B Section at around 13:00 on Monday. Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele Mbele confirmed that the second victim had died and that a second case of murder had been opened for investigation, along with a case of robbery. The armed robbers made off with the security guards' firearms. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
AngloGold CFO Christine Ramon, who steered producer through its worst times, to take early retirement Miningmx reports that Christine Ramon, CFO of AngloGold Ashanti (AGA), is to take early retirement. This was indicated by the gold producer in an announcement on Tuesday. As interim CEO, Ramon anchored AGA during perhaps its most tumultous period. In addition to the Covid pandemic, Ramon saw off a merger attempt by Sibanye-Stillwater, and managed the company during the morale-weakening dysfunction at its board level that had sexual harassment charges against its then chairman Sipho Pityana at its root. She was also interim CEO in the aftermath of a pillar failure which killed an employee and brought the re-engineered Obuasi mine in Ghana to a halt in May 2020. Ramon took up the role of interim CEO following the surprise resignation of Kelvin Dushnisky in June 2020 until the appointment of Alberto Calderon as full time CEO, just over a year later. Ramon said in a statement that following the tragic loss of her husband to Covid last year, she had decided to spend more time with her two children. Ramon’s early retirement begins in June and ends seven years at the company. AGA said a process to identify Ramon’s replacement “will commence, with a view to enabling a smooth transition to her successor”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David McKay at Miningmx. Read too, AngloGold Ashanti launches sweeping operational review, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Sapo defends its turnaround vision as CW turns to court over non-payment of medical and pension contributions Business Report writes that the SA Post Office (Sapo) on Monday defended its vision of a turnaround of the troubled state-owned entity (SOE), even as the Communications Workers Union (CWU) announced plans to take the cash-strapped company to court in March due to non-payment of medical aid and pension fund contributions. Clyde Mervin said the union was consulting its lawyers to file the case. “I think it is reckless trading that the Post Office is not paying contributions towards employees’ benefits. Employees’ medical aid was suspended because of non-payment. We are definitely going to court,” he stated. Sapo, which has been under administration since November, with questions around its status as a going concern, has been struggling to pay contributions towards medical aid, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the pension savings of its workers due to its serious liquidity challenges. But Johan Kruger, a Sapo spokesperson, said on Monday that the Post Office had not received any formal notice regarding such legal action. He indicated that over the past 10 months, Sapo had been doing its best to pay the outstanding staff benefits − having negotiated with the relevant institutions. “Sapo is in the process of implementing its comprehensive ‘Post Office of Tomorrow Strategy’. This plan is aimed at the turnaround of the business towards sustainability. Some aspects are already being implemented and there are signs of improvement. In some areas, Sapo has signed agreements with various e-commerce companies,” he advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dieketseng Maleke at Business Report Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mboweni’s block on bonus of PIC executive ruled ‘invalid’ by Labour Court Bloomberg News reports that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has lost a Labour Court case that may compel it to pay bonuses to executives that were withheld on instruction from former finance minister Tito Mboweni amid a governance scandal. The PIC was ordered in a ruling by Judge Graham Mashoana last week to pay Mervin Muller, its former head of private equity, an amount of R3.28m plus interest, which the court said he was contractually entitled to. The order may mean that other executives will be eligible to receive their performance-related bonuses — about R51m of payments were held back in 2018 and 2019. A number of executives have demanded their bonuses. Mboweni “did what he did to prevent the PIC from performing its contractual obligations”, Mashoana indicated. “His actions are invalid” because they were beyond the scope of his legal authority, the Johannesburg-based judge ruled. The PIC has two weeks to decide whether or not to appeal. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Antony Sguazzin at BusinessLive
Capitec shareholders overwhelmingly approve revised staff B-BBEE transaction BL Premium reports that Capitec shareholders have overwhelmingly approved a revised broad-based BEE (B-BBEE) transaction for staff that will see the bank issue R1bn in new shares for purchase by qualifying permanent employees from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. The Stellenbosch-based lender said on Tuesday that shareholders representing 99.9% of the total number of shares held by representatives present at a general meeting held that same day voted in favour of the revised B-BBEE deal. Capitec first announced its planned staff B-BBEE deal on 19 January, but followed that up with a stock exchange filing on Monday that set out a revised transaction structure that was at least partly aimed at reducing the tax liability of employees who took up the share offer. While Capitec had initially wanted to issue the R1bn in new shares at a 50% discount and allow staff to fund the purchase of those shares via loans it would provide, it said on Monday it would now issue the shares at their full price and fund half their value at its own cost. Under the adjusted transaction structure 480,561 new shares will be issued to staff at Tuesday’s opening price of R2,080.90 per Capitec share. Participating employees will be required to fund half the value of the shares they take up with a Capitec loan while the remaining 50% will be settled by the bank. The staff B-BBEE deal is open to all previously disadvantaged staff who were employed by Capitec before 1 January 2019 and who still work for the bank permanently. The new transaction structure still has a five-year lock-in period during which employees will not be allowed to sell the stock. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Family of deceased Standard Bank employee wants retraction of warning for work-from-home gone wrong Fin24 reports that the Cape Town family of a late Standard Bank employee, Chevon Surujparsad, is spending thousands of rands on lawyers to fight what it believes was workplace bullying. In an affidavit to the CCMA, issued when she was still alive, Surujparsad noted that Standard Bank had adopted a work-from-home policy for most of its staff in May 2020. She was apparently given a desktop that needed a LAN cable to connect to WiFi, but she was expected to contact clients telephonically without any phone facilities provided by the bank. She also battled with restricted access to IT assistance and intermittent load shedding. In her affidavit, Surujparsad said she told the bank on numerous occasions that she couldn't maintain the expected output if those issues were not sorted out. Then in August that year, she received a written warning because of a delay in attending to one client query. Surujparsad lodged an appeal, disputing the grounds of the written warning. Shortly after the written warning, doctors placed her on sick leave due to severe emotional stress. When she returned from sick leave, the bank put her on temporary incapacity leave until 28 February 2021. Throughout that time, Surujparsad continued her fight against the written warning. After months of waiting for the bank's response, she took the matter to the CCMA. But, Surujparsad contracted Covid-19 and died in June 2021 before the CCMA hearing. Her family claims that workplace bullying had a severe impact on her mental wellbeing and led to her temporary incapacity. Her family also alleges that Standard Bank, as the executor of her estate, is now using that power to try and squash the CCMA case. The bank has proposed that "on good faith", it will unconditionally retract the written warning. But the bank maintains its position around the circumstances that led to the notice. So by retracting the letter, it is not admitting guilt. But Surujparsad's family does not accept this. It wants her name cleared as this was her wish before she died. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Londiwe Buthelezi at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
New organisation to offer legal, financial support to whistleblowers News24 reports that four out of 10 whistleblowers have experienced retaliation in the workplace after reporting misconduct, according to a new organisation established to protect those who speak up. Such victimisation is just the start of the discrimination the average whistleblower will face and many find themselves unemployed and facing legal battles, according to the organisation. The Whistleblower House was launched during a webinar on Tuesday as a civil society intervention to protect those who speak out against misconduct and give them access to all the services they might need. The organisation is chaired by former deputy commissioner of SARS Ivan Pillay, with ethics expert Liezl Groenewald, High Court attorney Martha Ngoye, former SAA treasurer and whistleblower Cynthia Stimpel and former Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) chief operating officer Ben Theron as directors. Theron pointed out that whistleblowers were often caught off guard and overwhelmed by what they had to face. Whistleblowers had little support and protection and were often left to fend for themselves in hostile environments, noted Pillay. This is evident from research carried out by Groenewald, which has shown that while just over 30% of surveyed people said they had personally observed misconduct in corporate entities, only half had reported the misconduct. The biggest reason cited for not reporting misconduct was fear of victimisation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24
Passengers and driver safe after MyCiTi bus catches fire at Woodstock station on Tuesday Cape Argus reports that the City of Cape Town has confirmed that passengers and the bus driver were safe after a MyCiTi bus caught fire at a station on Tuesday afternoon. Urban Mobility Mayco member Rob Quintas said that at around 3.15pm, the City was informed that a MyCiTi bus was on fire at the Woodstock MyCiTi station. Quintas said the fire brigade was called out for assistance, and that investigations in consultation with the bus manufacturer would establish the cause of the incident. He indicated that initial reports indicated that the bus had burnt out, and there was damage to the station and red road. Quintas said the incident happened after all of the passengers, as well as the bus driver, had disembarked safely at the station. “No injuries have been reported to the City. The MyCiTi buses travelling along the T01 route will be deviated until further notice,” he advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sisonke Mlamla and view a video clip at Cape Argus
Scopa questions public works department about ‘cleaners’ who are assisting in making payments IOL reports that members of Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) were alarmed on Tuesday to learn that “cleaners” assist in processing claims in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure. ANC MP Bheki Hadebe asked the department’s Chief Financial Officer Lesetja Toona about the revelation when the department briefed the committee on what had led to irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the Property Management Trading Entity. Hadebe questioned Toona about using cleaners to process payments, stating that it was outside of their scope of work. “You have used them to do something other than what you employed them for,” he pointed out. Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa also intervened in the matter. Toona, however, asserted that cleaners were not processing payments: “They have never processed payments. We are not using cleaners. We now have full-time people that are processing payments.” Earlier, Minister Patricia de Lille said the main problem in her oversight role was that the department was resisting the introduction of information technology systems as it wished to continue working manually. This, she said, resulted in corruption within the department. “We have a lot of overpayments and underpayments in the department. We have now got to the bottom of what is causing the overpayments… who is pressing that button to overpay on a monthly basis. In terms of the delegations for the people who are pressing the buttons – doing the constant over expenditure – I discussed with the acting director-general that the way we are going to stop this is to remove the delegations from those people who must pay,” De Lille said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tarryn-Leigh Solomons at IOL
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