In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Solidarity seeks urgent interdict against Sibanye to block ‘immoral’ lock-out Mining Weekly reports that trade union Solidarity advised on Wednesday that it would be approaching the Labour Court on an urgent basis to obtain an interdict against the lock-out of its members at Sibanye-Stillwater’s SA gold mines. This was indicated after Solidarity members received a notice informing them that they would be locked out of the workplace despite Solidarity’s acceptance of Sibanye’s wage offer and Sibanye negotiators having allegedly given an undertaking to the union that this would not happen. According to Solidarity, the move to lock out its members amounted to Sibanye “punishing and bullying its loyal employees”. It accused the company of having “lost its moral compass”. While Solidarity has accepted Sibanye’s wage offer, the National Union of Metalworkers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union have served a strike notice on Sibanye. While some reports indicate that a fourth union, Uasa, has also accepted the offer, other reports suggest that it is still involved in negotiations with the company. James Wellsted, spokesman for Sibanye-Stillwater, said the company was acting within its rights. “A certificate of non-resolution was issued by the CCMA enabling the coalition to issue us with a strike certificate. So we can also lock employees out. They (unions) chose to negotiate as a coalition.” Visser commented that the action taken by Sibanye was indicative of why the company was facing an unprecedented second consecutive strike following a previous strike in 2019, which he said was an indication of the company’s poor labour relations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. Read too, Sibanye-Stillwater locks out employees from gold mines as curtain rises on wage strike, at Miningmx. And also, Smaller unions threaten legal action over lockout at Sibanye-Stillwater, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
KZN manufacturing company turns to court to halt Numsa strike over application of bargaining council agreement TimesLive reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has vowed to intensify action against companies that refused to implement the wage agreement the union entered into with the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa) last year. This was said as the union picketed on Wednesday together with workers of Jasco Electrical Manufacturers outside the company’s plant in Pinetown. Jasco manufactures and supplies parts to major home appliance brands. Workers are seeking a 6% salary increment as well as bonuses in accordance with the deal that Numsa entered into with Seifsa after a 13-day strike in October last year. In a strike that reportedly cost the sector more than R600m, it was agreed that the increment would come with back pay dating back to July. However, Numsa says the company is refusing to abide by the agreement. “This strike is as a result of the employer having undermined the national wage agreement signed at the bargaining council level last year. The company has been refusing to implement the agreement so the priority right now is the 6% salary increment and the bonuses,” Mbuso Ngubane, Numsa’s regional secretary in KZN, indicated. Ngubane claimed they had been negotiating with Jasco for about four months after the company allegedly refused to pay bonuses. The manufacturing company confirmed that it had applied for a court interdict against the strike, which will be before the Durban Labour Court on Thursday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lwazi Hlangu at TimesLive
High Court orders City of Tshwane to rehire over 200 unlawfully dismissed workers The Citizen reports that justice was served when the City of Tshwane was ordered to reappoint and reimburse more than 200 former Capacity employees who had been unlawfully dismissed. The Capacity contract workers were dismissed in 2020 when their contracts expired and the city refused to keep them on. Over the past year, the workers participated in various marches to hand over memorandums containing demands that they be reinstated to their previous positions and reimbursed for the loss of income. The leader of the Capacity workers, Cedric Cele, said they could not wait to report for duty. Last Friday, the workers met with Cele at Church Square where he gave them the good news. The Bargaining Council had not only ruled in favour of the workers, but had ordered the city to reinstate them and pay them 11 months’ back pay. Cele explained that the contracts had been unlawfully terminated: “The nature of the job they did was permanent, not of temporary nature.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzer at The Citizen City of Joburg officially reverses permanent employment of 130 employees The Citizen reports that the City of Johannesburg has officially signed off on a directive reversing the permanent employment of 130 employees. The City issued the directive on Wednesday, signed by acting city manager Mesuli Mlandu, after the conversion of the fixed-term contracts to permanent was found to have been irregular and illegal. The directive will see the fixed-term contracts being restored to their original form and being recognised as such in the City’s HRM systems. “You are hereby notified that the municipal council, through the attached resolution which rescinded the decisions of the mayoral committee to convert fixed term contract to permanent, has officially reversed what it believed was an irregular and improper action of conversion which tainted lawful fixed term contracts of staff in political offices and office of chief operations officer,” reads the directive. According to the City, the directive does not cover the contracts of employees that were initially advertised as permanent contracts and were filled as permanent positions. New fixed-term contract positions will be advertised and filled from 1 May 2022 Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Vhahangwele Nemakonde at The Citizen. Read too, Staff purge: it’s mayor vs labour, at IOL City of Joburg contract conversion saga: Union 'threats will not deter us', says Mayor Phalatse News24 reports that Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse said in a statement on Wednesday that union threats of violence and intimidation would not reverse a legal resolution of Council. "Threats of violence and intimidation have been made, announcing a plan of action that includes rendering the City ungovernable and preventing me from speaking in Council. These threats will not deter the Multi-Party government, nor will they prevent us from building a City that has been broken down for so many years," Phalatse indicated. The statement comes amid a contract conversion saga in the City involving 130 employees who were sent letters informing them of the reversal of their permanent employment status. According to the mayor, the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and lawyers acting on behalf of the 130 employees requested that the City temporarily suspend the delivery of notices of regularisation to their members and clients attached to political offices, whose contracts were irregularly and illegally converted from fixed-term to permanent. "As of 13:00, Wednesday, no legal challenge has been brought against the administration, the Council, or the Executive of Johannesburg,” Phalatse pointed out. Samwu's Thobani Nkosi advised that the union would not respond to the mayor's statement. "We are going to explore other avenues. The notices issued out today are not legitimate. The court of law is the only party that can declare this thing irregular. Our legal team is working on a challenge," he said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Canny Maphanga at News24. Read too, Samwu ready to take DA to court over dismissal of CoJ workers, at EWN. And also, Service delivery employees won't be fired, says CoJ’s Knott, at EWN
Solidarity submits warrants of execution to seize Denel assets over failure to pay staff Engineering News reports that trade union Solidarity announced on Wednesday that it had submitted warrants of execution, worth some R90-million, against state-owned defence industrial group Denel to the sheriff of the court. This followed Denel’s failure to abide by a Labour Court order and pay, by 8 March, union members in its employ a total of R90-million in back salaries. While the union recognised that the company was under financial stress, it rejected the notion that Denel did not have the means to pay its workers. Solidarity argued that the funds that Denel did have should be “mobilised and prioritised” to pay its workers, some of whom had gone for two years without being paid their full, or indeed any, salaries. If Denel did not do so, it could be charged with deliberate contempt of a court order. “It is unacceptable that ordinary workers have to forfeit their livelihoods simply because of the ineptitude and incompetence of this company’s top management. This is intolerable and must be opposed. If Denel does not want to pay, we will have its assets seized. After all, Denel has already taken away too much from our members," Solidarity defence and aviation sector coordinator Derek Mans commented. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read Solidarity’s press statement in regard to this matter at Solidarity News. Lees ook, Denel betaal toe nie R90 miljoen vir salarisse, by Maroela Media Court grants cash-strapped Denel access to surplus funds in its Medical Benefit Trust Fin24 reports that the Gauteng North High Court in Pretoria has ruled that cash-strapped state-owned arms manufacturer Denel can access the surplus funds held in its Medical Benefit Trust, provided the welfare and well-being of members are taken care of. "The deal was arrived at after a long negotiation process with pensioners - supported by actuaries and financial advisors - to ensure the interests of pensioners were protected,” Denel indicated on Wednesday. "Denel will have no access to funds required to discharge the medical aid obligation. The excess amount that will go to Denel will be determined based on the value of the investment on the implementation of the transaction minus the capital amount that must be paid to the insurer to continue making the medical aid payments," Denel spokesperson Pam Malinda explained. A group policy will be bought from one of the major insurers to cover future obligations before any excess funds are allocated to Denel. Denel established the fund in the early 2000s with a capital amount believed to be sufficient for future obligations. But over the years, investment returns were better than expected, resulting in assets that exceeded projected future liabilities. "There was no purpose for maintaining the excess assets over liabilities in the trust. In this manner, Denel and other beneficiaries can now benefit from the excess funds," Malinda pointed out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carin Smith at Fin24
DA seeks government migration policy overhaul, wants a points-based system News24 reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) plans to introduce a private members bill in Parliament that will encourage a points-based system focused on ranking migrants based on their skills and education. The opposition party has criticised the government for what it has described as "xenophobic" policies that blame the socio-economic conditions in the country on foreign nationals. The party's spokesperson on home affairs, Adrian Roos, said events witnessed in Alexandra on Monday, including violent attacks on foreigners, were proof that a blame game had been used to unfairly discriminate against foreign nationals. He said many South Africans have become despondent due to the government's failures to create jobs, and they blamed foreigners. The opposition party has described the government's plans to limit the employment of foreign nationals in certain sectors as regressive. According to the DA, its migration policy documents offered the best solutions to migration issues. The documents propose an advanced migration system to better document migrants who enter the country. The DA's head of policy, Gwen Ngwenya, said an advanced migration registry system with a three-month turnaround time would help deal with migration more swiftly. The migration system would be online-based, limiting the opportunity for corruption involving officials. It would help keep track of people entering and leaving the country, she claimed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zintle Mahlati at News24
Disappointing gender pay gap persists in SA as men still earn more than their women counterparts The Star reports that as the globe commemorated International Women’s Day on Tuesday, unions expressed their disappointment that South Africa’s gender pay gap still persisted. International Women’s Day is commemorated annually to honour the achievement of women and continue to empower them. The United Association of SA (UASA) noted that the gender pay gap persisted in SA and elsewhere and it was disappointing. “South Africa has countless female-headed households with women working hard to make ends meet and ensure a better life for their children. The gender pay gap stands in the way of many who struggle to realise their dreams for their offspring. The gender pay gap represents a real stumbling block in the way of a more successful country,” said UASA spokesperson Abigail Moyo. According to UASA, South Africa had a stagnant median gender pay gap of between 23% and 35%, despite various pieces of legislation aimed at preventing gender discrimination in the workplace. Meantime, the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the projected time to close the pay gap from 99.5 years to 135.6 years. “These numbers show that while women have come a long way in establishing equality in society and work environments, there is still a long road ahead,” Moyo said. The union urged trade unions to be the voice of all women who were not compensated fairly for equal work and to eliminate the factors contributing to the gender pay gap. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chulumanco Mahamba at The Star
Commission for Gender Equality welcomes initiatives to decriminalise sex work in SA News24 reports that the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) believes recent developments regarding the future of sex work in SA mark "significant progress" towards legalising the practice and the status of sex workers. This was indicated following the decision by the Deputy Justice and Constitutional Development Minister John Jeffrey to hold consultative meetings to consider the decriminalisation of sex work. "This step marks a significant progress towards exploring the possibility of the decriminalisation of sex work and sex workers in South Africa," the Chapter 9 body said in a statement on Tuesday. The Witness earlier reported that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development had begun engagements with representatives of the pro-decriminalisation sector on Wednesday. "It is important that we fully engage with stakeholders regarding the proposed policy options, as there are many divergent views. We need to further engage with relevant government departments to ascertain the implications of changing the legislative framework, and we also engage the public on their views," Jeffery had commented. According to the CGE, the continued criminalisation, and prohibitionist legal framework which has treated sex work as a criminal act, goes against the human rights of sex workers in SA. The commission reiterated its position that the continued criminalisation of sex workers exposed them to various abuses. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Canny Maphanga at News24
Golden Arrow to implement interim 8% fare hike from next Monday EWN reports that Cape Town bus service Golden Arrow is set to implement an interim fare increase of 8%. The across-the-board increase will come into effect from next Monday. The bus service said that due to increased diesel costs of 81% in the past 18 months, it was forced to implement fare hikes. Spokesperson Bronwen Dyke-Beyer explained: “Where possible, Golden Arrow only implements one increase per year. However, we now find ourselves in a very difficult position of having to find a balance of what is affordable for our passengers and what is needed to compensate for what is unrelenting cost increases across our operations.” She cautioned that further increases might become necessary as the year progressed. "Considering the kind of global unrest and the accompanying economic effects, it’s clear that the South African economy is going to continue to find itself in a very difficult position and current projection predicted fuel prices will continue to soar. This has knock-on effects across our supply chain," Dyke-Beyer stated. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Kevin Brandt at EWN Load-shedding, vandalism wreak havoc with train services in Cape Town News24Wire reports that train commuters in Cape Town had to keep their fingers crossed during load-shedding on Wednesday as Metrorail worked to keep systems up and running. On Tuesday, services had had to be cancelled because of vandalism at the Tafelbaai high voltage substation, on top of load-shedding. It was not the first time the substation had been targeted as it was set alight in December. The Western Cape's Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell lamented that commuters spent time and money to make up for an unreliable service. He called on the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) and the national Department of Transport to "do what is necessary" to protect rail assets for the sake of commuters. Metrorail said the vandalism had knocked power out across the region and, although operations were largely restored, problems might persist. Cancellations are typically caused by theft of lines, sand on the lines due to wind in the Fish Hoek and Simon's Town areas, and vandalism of electrical supply. Prasa is in the process of training security guards drawn from veterans of uMkhonto we Sizwe to protect the rail network. It is also adding new trains to make up for those destroyed by arsonists. Cape Town Central station is moreover being expanded. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News
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