In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 11 March 2022.
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Public service and administration minister Ayanda Dlodlo gets top World Bank job The Sunday Times reports that Department of Public Service & Administration (DPSA) Minister Ayanda could be headed for a top job at the World Bank in Washington DC. According to senior government officials, Dlodlo is expected to take up her duties as an executive director representing one of the three African seats on the 25 member World Bank board as early as next month. Dlodlo was initially expected to leave in January, but the move was delayed. It is believed that she is waiting for President Cyril Ramaphosa to make the announcement. Her departure will give Ramaphosa the opportunity to make changes to his executive and to fill the vacancy created by the death in September of Hlengiwe Mkhize, who had been deputy minister for women. Insiders said Dlodlo’s move was held up by meetings her department has planned for March and early April. These include a national indaba on “the future of work and public service” scheduled for today and Tuesday, which is said to be aimed at re-establishing trust between the executive and civil servants “because relations have been fractious”. Dlodlo is also expected to convene a lifestyle audit indaba on Thursday and Friday, with the slogan “Building an ethical public service through lifestyle audits”. An insider said she won’t go until after the summit in April involving ministers of the DPSA, the National Treasury and the government labour lead at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgothatso Madisa on page 4 of The Sunday Times of 13 March 2022
Senior civil servants flourish as directors of private companies that score huge government contracts City Press reports that despite the political leadership’s repeated promises to crack down on public servants doing business with the state, employees who hold strategic positions in national and provincial departments continue to hold positions as directors of private companies that are scoring big business deals with government. The companies they are part of have generated about R60 million in contracts with government, but these are only the ones that have been detected. This phenomenon, says the Public Service Commission (PSC), which is the organ of state that monitors and evaluates the functioning of the civil service, is hindering service delivery and fostering a culture of corruption. According to the PSC’s 2020/21 report, many directors-general, deputy directors-general, heads of department, chief directors and directors are serving as directors in various companies in the country and also get paid for their duties in the private sector. This is despite the Public Administration Management Act, enacted in 2014, explicitly prohibiting public servants from doing so. This latest report found that nearly 1,500 of these senior government employees failed to disclose their positions and generated more than R59,168,555 in undisclosed remunerative work done outside their daily duties. The report doesn’t mention the names of the companies, departments and directors, but the shocking statistics indicate that this has resulted in at least 1,371 cases of conflict of interest involving government tenders worth billions of rands. Despite the evidence at its disposal, government has failed to take disciplinary action against the transgressing public servants. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Norman Masungwini at City Press (subscriber access only) State buildings in Pretoria shut down and government officials locked out over rent dispute City Press reports that hundreds of police, naval officers and other government officials were locked out of their offices due to a rental dispute between the state and the owner of the buildings they occupy. The Bothongo Group, which owns several buildings that the state rents in the Pretoria city centre, closed down its buildings because the state apparently owes it about R50 million in rent for January, February and March. However, the public works and infrastructure department claims that it was forced to stop paying rent due to Bothongo’s excessive rent. The buildings that were closed were: The Sedibeng building on 185 Francis Baard Street, which is rented on behalf of the water and sanitation department, where R15 million in rent is outstanding; Peterson Bothongo House in Visagie Street used by the SA National Defence Force, the SA Police Service (SAPS) and the justice department (R16.6 million); the General Piet Joubert building at 224 Visagie Street, which houses the SAPS, the army and the specialised commercial crimes court (R6.1 million); Bothongo Plaza West on Francis Baard Street, where the police crime records centre is located (R11.1 million); and the Voortrekker building on Visagie Street, which houses the Navy headquarters. From correspondence between the Bothongo Group and the public works department, it appears that the dispute involves far more buildings than the five that were closed. Bathongo apparently leases 13 buildings to the state, all of which house critical government departments and institutions. Arrears for rent in all the buildings apparently amount to more than R124 million. Meanwhile, the department said that Bothongo Group was one of several landlords who were overpaid for rent in the past. Imtiaz Fazel, acting director-general of the department, said in a statement that they were negotiating with these landlords to reclaim some of the money. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Hendrik Hancke at City Press (subscriber access only)
National Coronavirus Command Council to meet on Monday to discuss regulations to replace SA’s Covid-19 state of disaster EWN reports that the National Coronavirus Command Council will meet on Monday to discuss appropriate regulations around the Covid-19 state of disaster. The state of disaster, which has been extended on a month-to-month basis, is due to expire on Tuesday. The Sunday Times reported that the meeting was supposed to start on Sunday, but was postponed to Monday to give ministers and officials more time to work out appropriate regulations that would be implemented when government ended the state of disaster. It's understood that there were disagreements at previous meetings over the regulatory authority the Health Department would have once the pandemic was no longer subject to the National Disaster Management Act. Officials had to go back and draft regulations that placed ultimate authority with the entire Cabinet rather than with a single minister or department. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Maki Molapo at EWN. Read too, NCCC to meet on state of disaster, on page 1 of The Sunday Times of 13 March 2022 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Sibanye-Stillwater faces action by unions on two fronts Business Times reports that Sibanye-Stillwater's ageing gold mines face another strike after key unions downed tools last week for higher pay. The company says the wage demand is not sustainable. At midnight on Wednesday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association for Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) went on strike at the Beatrix, Kloof and Driefontein mines. Sibanye-Stillwater is also facing legal action from trade union Solidarity, which is not participating in the strike, after the group implemented a lockout of employees. Solidarity says the principle of no work, no pay would then also apply to its members. Sibanye-Stillwater started wage talks with a coalition of unions comprising NUM, Amcu, Solidarity and Uasa 10 months ago. At the beginning of this month Solidarity accepted the group's final offer of a 5% increase. NUM and Amcu have not shifted from their demand for an increase of R1,000 a month, saying the company has benefited from the boom in commodity prices. They want Sibanye-Stillwater to match the three-year wage deal the unions reached with rival Harmony Gold, which will see salaries rise by R1,000 a month. The company on Thursday implemented a lockout affecting all employees in the bargaining unit, and said it would remain in place until the final wage offer has been accepted by the unions that represent the majority of employees. It also said the principle of ‘no work, no pay’ would apply to striking employees and locked-out members of the bargaining units of the coalition unions. Solidarity’s deputy general secretary for mining, agriculture and the chemical industry, Riaan Visser, said the union would approach the labour court on an urgent basis to obtain an interdict against the lockout. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) NUM demands immediate removal of Neal Froneman as Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Mining Weekly reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called on Sibanye-Stillwater’s shareholders to remove Neal Froneman as the company’s CEO with immediate effect. According to the trade union, Froneman has consistently refused to meet with trade union leaders in SA. “If Sibanye shareholders want their mining operations to prosper in South Africa, they should remove him as CEO,” NUM president Joseph Montisetse stated. He claimed Froneman was the “major destroyer of jobs in the mining industry in the country”. Montisetse recalled that Froneman bought the Cook operations in SA, and immediately put them on care and maintenance, which resulted in considerable job losses or retrenchments. Moreover, he noted, Froneman bought Lonmin and Anglo American Platinum operations in the platinum belt, and also put some of the operations on care and maintenance. “He then retrenched a lot of workers,” claimed Montisetse, and called for him to apologise to mineworkers. “The NUM is calling on the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to withdraw the mining licences on all mines or operations that have been put on care and maintenance by Sibanye,” Montisetse indicated. Currently, thousands of mineworkers across Sibanye-Stillwater’s SA gold operations are on indefinite strike action, in a dispute over wage increases. The NUM said it was determined to pursue its demands for a monthly wage increase of R1,000 for surface and underground miners and a 6% increase for artisans, miners and officials working at Sibanye’s gold mines. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Judgment reserved in Solidarity’s case challenging certificate of need for health practitioners Solidarity reports that judgment was reserved in its case in the Pretoria High Court heard on Friday to have sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Act declared invalid and to have them reviewed. According to the trade union, this legislation forms one of the pillars of the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI), and “victory in this matter would deal the NHI a significant blow, even before its inception”. The sections stipulate that health practitioners must obtain a certificate of need from the Department of Health before they may establish a practice in a specific area. In its application, Solidarity argued that the requirement of such certificates infringed unlawfully on the right of health practitioners to practise their profession. “It is unacceptable and absurd that someone such as a private general practitioner should first apply to the government before they may set up a practice. What is even worse is that it is within the powers of the Director-General of the Department to prescribe virtually all the practice’s activities, ranging from the equipment to its human resources, and even the size of the practice,” Pierru Marx, the network coordinator for Solidarity’s Medical Sector said. “We are very optimistic that a positive outcome will be achieved (in respect of the court application) which would be a huge victory for health practitioners and healthcare in South Africa,” Marx indicated. Read Solidarity’s press statement regarding this matter at Solidarity News. Lees ook, Saak oor ‘staat wat sê waar dokters mag werk’ aangehoor, by Maroela Media
Amid Comair’s suspension, Numsa demands resignation of CEO Glenn Orsmond and withdrawal of retrenchment notice The Citizen reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has expressed dismay over the indefinite suspension of Comair’s Air Operator Certificate and has demanded the resignation of Comair CEO Glen Orsmond. The SA Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) suspended the certificate over safety-related issues at the airline. The suspension also affects Comair’s subsidiary Khulula and British Airways. The SACAA indicated in a press statement that it took the drastic stance to suspend the operational licence ‘following an investigation into the recent spate of safety incidents at the Operator’. Numsa is the majority union representing Comair workers at both Kulula and British Airways. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola commented: “Our members wish to pass a vote of no confidence in the CEO and his executive to protect their jobs and livelihoods which are threatened by management decisions that put profits over people and people’s livelihoods. We demand the resignation of Glen Orsmond and his executive and the withdrawal of the current threatening section 189 notice that was issued on the 1st of March 2022 to our members.” Hlubi-Majola went on to say: “We are deeply concerned about workers and the safety of the public at large given these very serious occurrences.” Numsa also wants Comair to stop cutting salaries and benefits of the lowest-paid workers in the company. Comair is currently under business rescue and has not yet indicated when that process will end. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen. Read too, Numsa calls on Comair CEO to step down immediately, at EWN. And also, Passengers stranded as Kulula.com and British Airways flights are indefinitely suspended, at TimesLive. As well as, CAA says Comair knew about safety issues that led to planes being grounded, at EWN
City of Joburg says job ads weren't racist but based on ANC's employment equity plan News24 reports that the City of Johannesburg claims it adhered to employment equity legislation when it compiled job adverts that encouraged Indian and white people to apply. The advert contained in an employment circular from the City, surfaced on social media last week. It included the following wording: "This is an employment equity targeted positions and preference will be given to Indian/white males and Indian/white females, COJ interns and people living with disabilities." It caused uproar and people accused the City of racism. On Friday, Mabine Seabe, spokesperson for Joburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse, commented that the multi-party government was shocked when it was first alerted to the adverts. He said the drafting of adverts was an administrative responsibility that was not conducted by the council or the mayor. The City blamed the crudeness of the adverts on the policies of the previous ANC administration, which in 2014 adopted the Group Employment Equity and Transformation Policy Framework which rigidly enforced the Employment Equity Act. The employment equity plan is in place until 2024. "While we are bound by the policies which were adopted before the multi-party government coming into office, we were also concerned about the rigidity in which the ANC administration seemed to have adopted in implementing the Employment Equity Act,” said Seabe. However, the City undertook to review the policy, and the council has the legal authority to approve any changes made to it. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zintle Mahlati at News24. Read too, City of Joburg under fire after ‘racist’ job adverts, at SowetanLive
Eskom worker arrested on Thursday after allegedly stealing pylon parts for scrap metal Fin24 reports that one of Eskom employees was arrested on Thursday after allegedly stealing parts of an electricity pylon, and trying to sell it to a scrap metal dealer. The employee allegedly removed steel parts of the pylon from the Eskom Academy of Learning (EAL) in Midrand, and then took it to a nearby scrap metal dealer. The Eskom Security team received a tip-off about the 40 steel pieces of a pylon, and then visited the scrap dealer, who confirmed an employee's allegedly involvement. When the employee returned to collect money from the scrap dealer, the security team was waiting and the employee was arrested for the theft of Eskom property. The suspect was taken into custody at the Midrand police station. Eskom said that there have been several theft and vandalism incidents involving pylons in recent months. Often this caused the collapse of the pylons, which left residents without electricity for days. "It is quite disappointing to have one of own working against the entire collective and its mandate to provide quality electricity to customers," said Kith Maitisa, Eskom SHEQS Manager in Gauteng. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24
No commuter trains have been operating in the Eastern Cape for over two months GroundUp reports that it has largely gone unreported that since 7 January there have been no commuter trains operating in the Eastern Cape, with neither Metrorail nor other trains running between Kariega, Gqeberha and East London. The Passenger Rail Service of SA (Prasa) indicated that a “decision was taken to suspend services due to operational challenges on the rail network”. Mimi Katsio, Prasa spokesperson in the Eastern Cape, said this had “nothing to do with operational budget”. She added: “Trains are not running because of operational challenges … Once the operational challenges have been resolved, the service will resume. Theft and vandalism have been prevalent on the infrastructure and network. Trains are not operational in the whole province.” Thousands of commuters, school children, and shoppers are now using taxis and buses, while stations stand deserted. Public Servants Association (PSA) shop steward David King said Eastern Cape commuters had been dealt a big blow by Prasa’s failure. “It affects many public servants, more especially state employees,” he noted. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thamsanqa Mbovane at GroundUp Golden Arrow bus torched, Metrorail sub-station vandalised in Cape Town on Friday News24 reports that a Golden Arrow bus was torched at the Nyanga terminus in Cape Town on Friday, hours after Metrorail said its train services were being sabotaged by repeated vandalism of a major power sub-station that feeds the line. Bronwen Dyke-Beyer, spokesperson for Golden Arrow, said: "According to eyewitnesses, the perpetrators are alleged to be linked to the taxi industry. The motive is unknown … As a precautionary measure, we are currently operating from Nyanga [police station] rather than the terminus." Andile Khanyi of the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) said it was not in dispute with anyone, and had nothing to do with the torching of the bus. The burning of the bus came after Metrorail reported on Friday morning that sabotage at Eskom's Bay Junction sub-station, where trains park, made operations on some of its lines difficult. "The Southern Line service is our demonstration corridor of what we are bringing in the Western Cape. The sabotage of our rail infrastructure is jeopardising the hard work of returning the service to those who desperately need it. We are determined to return the rail services and we will not cower to criminals," said Kaparo Molefi, acting regional manager of Western Cape Metrorail. Metrorail launched its full Southern Line service on 4 January, and is adding more trains to the schedule. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jenni Evans and Lisalee Solomons at News24. Read too, SAPS searches for arsonists who set alight a Golden Arrow bus, at EWN
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