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 roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 4 April 2022.
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Leadership in parts of SA’s organised labour movement imploding Daily Maverick writes that parts of SA’s organised labour movement has been rocked by leadership ructions and petty factional battles at a crucial time when the country’s workforce is facing growing threats of unemployment, and pay rise negotiations are set to start soon in several sectors of the economy. The leadership of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has been thrown into a tailspin in recent weeks after the labour federation’s secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi was temporarily stripped of his powers and placed under suspension. Four other leaders have also been suspended by Saftu’s national executive committee (NEC) for bringing the federation into disrepute by not following proper processes when they suspended Vavi. Saftu’s leadership ructions come at a time when questions are being raised by labour observers about whether the role of trade unions and federations in the jobs market and the broader economy is helpful or harmful. Labour and policy analyst Mamokgethi Molopyane says the kerfuffle at Saftu underscores the “outright struggle for control” of the federation, suggesting that the top brass is not prioritising worker interests but focusing on personality clashes. “Leaders are too preoccupied with advancing self-interest including ascending and positioning themselves for deployment,” claims Molopyane. Labour analyst Michael Bagraim says an environment characterised by a weak economy and a high jobless rate creates “financial trauma” for trade unions and federations because if more workers are out of jobs, they no longer pay membership fees to union bosses. “Such financial pressures intensify any leadership squabbles and create a split in the union movement, as seen in Saftu. Such cracks in union circles are concealed if the economy is improving and growing. But the economy is currently bleeding, and factional troubles are becoming greater and clearer,” he argues. Read the full original of the detailed report in the above regard by Ray Mahlaka at Daily Maverick Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Two City Power security officers killed in Newtown on Thursday in cable theft ambush Saturday Star reports that two armed security officers contracted to City Power were shot and killed last week while patrolling some of the cable theft hotspots around Newtown in Johannesburg. The guards were ambushed by an unknown number of men at around 10pm on Thursday night. Earlier last week, downtown Joburg almost came to a grinding halt when cables were destroyed in a fire leaving hundreds of residents unable to access their apartments in the CBD. City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the security officers had just completed a task of escorting a truck transporting tons of the burned copper cables from inner-city underground tunnels to the utility's salvage yard at the head office in Booysens. The officers stopped to inspect a kiosk often burgled and used to gain entry into the tunnels and then returned to their vehicle to write a security status report. “Without any notice, armed suspects appeared on both the driver and passenger sides and shot both of them. They then pulled the lifeless bodies out of the vehicle and took one firearm from the crew,” Mangena reported. Police found more than 10 spent cartridges at the scene of the crime. “The latest killing goes to show how brazen and dangerous the cable thieves have become, and asserts our belief that this is an organised crime committed not by just an ordinary person, but by heavily armed gangs, equipped with cars and other resources,” Mangena said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Norman Cloete at Saturday Star. Lees ook, Wagte dood wat kragkabels beveilig, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Employers in bus passenger wage talks say Numsa demands are "unaffordable" Fin24 reports that the SA Bus Employers Association (Sebea) and the Commuter Bus Employers Organisation (Cobeo) have called wage demands by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) unaffordable. The employer associations in the bus passenger sector have been in talks with unions at the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council (Sarpbac) since the beginning of the year. However, a deadlock in the talks prompted the council to issue labour with a certificate of non-resolution. Numsa then approached the CCMA for a strike certificate. The union confirmed last week that it was in the process of finalising picket rules and was on the verge of a strike. Numsa’s demands would see the lowest-earning category of employees receiving a R4,200 pay bump to earn as much as R12,000 a month. The union has also demanded of increases to a range of allowances. Employers are offering a 2.5% increase for the lowest-earning category of employees. A joint statement by Sabea and Cobeo said the passenger transport industry faced several challenges in recent years, such as the impact of Covid-19 on operations, increasing unemployment, poor economic conditions, and reduced passenger numbers. Significant job losses have already taken place with employee numbers reducing from 24,000 in 2020 to 15,000 in 2022. "The current demands represent almost a 35% employee cost increase which is unaffordable in an industry already facing many challenges," the statement claimed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24 Cosatu calls 3% proposed hike for political office bearers ‘tone deaf’ and wants some solidarity with working class The Citizen reports that labour federation Cosatu has described the salary and benefits increases for political office bearers proposed by the Independent Commission on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers as “tone deaf and embarrassing”. The commission has recommended a 3% salary increase for political office bearers for 2022. This means President Cyril Ramaphosa’s annual salary and benefits could increase from R2.9 million to just over R3 million from April, if approved. With SA deemed the most unequal country in the world by the World Bank and with increasing unemployment, Cosatu said the recommendations should be rejected. The federation said the working class was facing mounting social challenges and that it was time political leaders showed some solidarity with the suffering masses. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla commented: “Load shedding, the rising cost of living, corruption and a stagnant economy have all happened under the watch and leadership of all political office bearers. They do not deserve the packages they currently earn, let alone an increase in their salaries.” He added that it was hypocritical for Treasury to recommend to the commission that MPs be afforded a 3% increase to avoid them “becoming demoralised”, when it had shown no compunction in imposing wage freezes on nurses and doctors who were working 48-hour shifts, or on police officers. “The elite of this country is ganging up and declaring a class war against the taxpayers and the poor. The huge salaries and benefits paid to political office bearers and senior bureaucrats are the source of the existing inequalities and unacceptable income disparities that currently exist in the public service,” Pamla claimed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard on page 9 of Saturday Citizen of 2 April 2022
NUM congratulates its new leadership elected at last week’s national congress IOL reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has congratulated its newly elected leadership. The union’s 17th national congress ended on Friday, with NUM members electing the national leadership that they believed was capable of pushing forward the adopted congress theme of “Back to basics is when we defend and advance to build a radical movement.” The following were elected to leadership positions: Daniel Balepile, president; Phillip Vilakazi, deputy president; William Mabapa, general secretary; Mpho Phakedi, deputy general secretary; Helen Diatile, treasurer-general; Olehile Kgware, education chairperson; Lefty Mashego, education secretary; Duncan Luvuno, health and safety chairperson; and Masibulele Naki, health and safety secretary. With the exception of Philip Vilakazi, all the leaders are newly-elected national office bearers of the union. NUM’s founding general secretary and ANC president, President Cyril Ramaphosa, addressed delegates on the first day of the congress and urged the NUM membership to closely guard the gains and the successes of the trade union. Gwede Mantashe, a former NUM general secretary who is now the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, insisted that no policy decision should taken in the mining, construction, energy and metal sectors without input from NUM’s members. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kailene Pillay at IOL. Read too, Eskom welcomes newly-elected NUM leadership, at The Citizen NUM says reopening mothballed mines will create jobs and wants audit to be conducted BL Premium reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) wants mothballed mines to be reopened to boost employment. The union says it will engage the Department of Mineral Resources & Energy (DMRE) to conduct a full audit of mines under care and maintenance in achieving its goal. The mining industry, which has enjoyed bumper profits due to a global surge in commodity prices, created 25,000 jobs during the last quarter of 2021. Newly elected NUM general secretary William Mabapa said: “We want government to tell mining bosses to reopen those mines or sell them to create jobs. Some of these mines are mothballed, or placed under care and maintenance, while there is still good ore that can be mined. Getting those mines running again could resolve the unemployment crisis ... and help improve our membership.” More than 50 mines in the Free State, North West, and Limpopo are under care and maintenance. They have the potential of creating about 50,000 jobs, Mabapa asserted. On membership recruitment he indicated: “The one issue that we need to work hard on is to create a strategy for recruitment. We plan to have 30,000 members in the metals sector in the coming three years. That would take our membership to 200,000. Probably in six to nine years we could see NUM going back to its membership of 300,000 that we used to have in 2012.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Here’s how NUM president aims to unify branches and return to ‘glory days’, at The Citizen Report to NUM congress supports just energy transition, but with caveats Mining Weekly reports that at its 17th national congress last week, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) presented its ‘Just Transition and the Energy Sector’ report for discussion and adoption. The report indicated that workers and trade unions were not opposed to the ultimate objective of SA’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. However, they had reservations about how the concept of a just energy transition was defined and the proposed path for it to be achieved. A key concern for workers is the anticipated loss of jobs and livelihoods, especially in the energy and mining sectors. It was noted that reservations stemmed in part from calls by some just energy proponents for an immediate halt in coal use, as well as little consideration of the opportunity cost and socioeconomic implications of phasing out coal. Also, the NUM report highlighted unresolved questions, such as the appropriate pace for the transition. In terms of potential pathways that were being considered nationally for a just energy transition, the NUM said it must be noted that, while renewable energy sources, especially solar and wind, had been identified as potential key drivers, these posed risks to jobs, owing to the different skills required. The report’s proposed resolution for the just energy transition stated that it should be underpinned by four pillars, namely social dialogue, social protection, rights at work and employment protection and creation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Economy needs IT, logistics and finance skills, but the young and unskilled are out of luck in jobs market Business Times reports that job prospects are looking up for those in IT, logistics and finance, but that's cold comfort for the millions of South Africans who remain unemployed. Data released last week by StatsSA showed that the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter last year rose to 35.3%. the worst rate recorded since the start of the quarterly labour force survey (QLFS) in 2008. According to the CareerJunction “Employment Insights Report” released last week, four out of 10 South Africans between the ages of 25 and 34 are out of work and just over 60% of those aged between 15 and 24 are unemployed. Roy Douglas of AdvTech said the group's recruitment division in SA had seen a demand for skills in the IT, finance and logistics sectors. “Markets are tough, economic performances are suboptimal and there certainly is not much in job creation. However, we tend to operate in the higher-level skills employment area, IT and finance in particular, and quite often even if the economy isn’t performing ... people still require finance and IT skills,” he noted. Workforce, which focuses largely on blue collar workers, has seen demand in jobs in agriculture, call centres and mining. The CareerJunction report said hiring activity over the past three years showed the IT sector appeared to have recovered. “When looking into youth employment trends, it is clear that many young South Africans find employment within admin, office & support roles as well as various roles within sales,” it indicated. Economist Dawie Roodt commented: “An important point to make is that SA's growth is taking place in the service part of the economy, that's where economies are growing. That is where we are growing as well. But people that have skills are few.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabiso Mochiko at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Alarm as jobless rate rises again and could rise even further this year, at City Press (subscriber access only) Sita says that to do business with government, Huawei must have South African sales staff Mail & Guardian reports that Huawei Technologies SA has six months to ensure it has South Africans selling the Chinese technology giant’s services to the government. This was indicated by Luvuyo Keyise, chief executive of the State Information Technology Agency (Sita), in comment on the recent controversy around recruiting practices at Huawei. Sita is mandated to render an efficient and value-added information technology service to the public sector. In February, the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) filed court papers against Huawei for breaching SA’s labour laws by filling 90% of its workforce with foreign nationals. In terms of an out-of-court settlement, the DEL later accepted the company’s employment plan to raise South African representation to more than 50% within three years. In terms of the settlement, Huawei will also provide internships and ICT training to South Africans drawn from the department’s database. Keyise acknowledged the DEL’s settlement with Huawei, but said he had personally asked that the company include more South Africans in its workforce if it intended to do business with the government. He referred specifically to posts such as sales consultants. “So although they [Huawei] were given by Minister of Labour Thulas Nxesi a three-year year plan to ensure that more than 50% of their workforce is South African, they’ve been given by me a six-month plan to ensure that people that go and sell Huawei services to government are South Africans,” Keyise indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sarah Smit at Mail & Guardian Canegrowers Association welcomes minister's decision to delay sugar tax increase EWN reports that the SA Canegrowers Association has welcomed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s announcement of a 12-month delay in the increase of the so-called sugar tax. It was meant to have been hiked on Friday. The Association said the move was a reprieve for struggling cane farmers and the broader industry. The Association's Thomas Funke said there would have been even further job and revenue losses if the planned increase had gone ahead. "The increase would have exacerbated the challenge the industry already faces due to rising incurred costs, in particular diesel fuel is already 40% higher than March 20221 and fertilizer has increased by more than 160% compared to last year. It is critical that government focuses on the long-term implications of keeping the tax in place," he commented. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Dominic Majola at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
PIC lambastes Absa for appointing a white male as CEO and calls an urgent meeting with the bank BL Premium reports that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has lambasted Absa for appointing a white male as the bank’s new CEO. The state-run PIC, which invests on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), said in a statement on Friday that it had expressed its “downright disappointment” to the Absa board over its decision to appoint Arrie Rautenbach as CEO. The PIC, which is Absa’s fourth-largest shareholder with a 5.41% stake as of 2021, added that it was concerned about the apparent instability at the bank’s executive level and said it wanted an urgent meeting with the board to discuss its transformation strategy. Absa named Rautenbach, the former head of its retail and business banking unit, as its fourth CEO in three years to end an almost year-long leadership vacuum in the wake of Daniel Mminele’s abrupt exit in April 2021. Mminele, the bank’s first black CEO, left less than 16 months into the role over apparent differences with the board over strategy. “The PIC believes this is yet another missed opportunity for the Absa board to publicly demonstrate its commitment to purposefully transform the banking group and to advance diversity, inclusivity, and racial and gender equity, at the most senior levels of organisation,” the state-run fund manager said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen and Nico Gous at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, PIC blasts Absa’s appointment of white CEO as 'downright disappointment', at Fin24. En ook, OBK vies oor aanstelling van wit man as Absa-hoof, by Maroela Media Fannie Masemola to carry ‘the weight of the nation’s expectation’ as SA’s new police boss Daily Maverick reports that Lieutenant-General Sehlahle Fannie Masemola is SA’s new national police commissioner and, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, now has “the weight of the nation’s expectation” on his shoulders. Ramaphosa told Masemola that this weight would “be matched only by the weight of the support government will place at the disposal of the commissioner”. Masemola’s appointment was announced on Thursday, the day outgoing police chief Khehla Sitole left the national commissioner seat. In welcoming Masemola, a former head of the police’s VIP Protection Unit, to the role on Thursday, Ramaphosa referred to several strengths he had displayed in his career. But, there are some question marks hanging over Masemola. Back in 2012, The Star reported that it “understands that the acting divisional commissioner of crime intelligence, Fannie Masemola, went on a spending spree, acquiring 140 luxury vehicles, among them BMW X3s, Audi Q5s, the latest Jeep SRTs and the latest BMW 320 models”. This does not appear to have stuck to Masemola and fits into a broader, murky arena of smear campaigns – and legitimate accusations – among officers, which have come to be a key characteristic of the SAPS. Some of the uphill work Masemola faces, aside from tackling crime, includes: boosting staff morale following years of infighting among cops, policing scandals, and the arrest of police officers; dealing with the ongoing problem of firearms being smuggled from police officers to criminals; trying to improve the functioning of the Central Firearms Register; dealing with allegations of corruption at the Crime Intelligence unit; and soothing over and dealing with intense mistrust among police in the Western Cape. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Caryn Dolley at Daily Maverick. Lees ook, SA in ‘veilige hande’ met nuwe polisiehoof, by Maroela Media. En, ‘Ons moet ons huis in orde kry,’ sê nuwe polisiehoof, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category Arrie Rautenbach’s track record made him CEO, says Absa, at Business Times (subscriber access only) Cops welcome their new boss as a straight shooter, on page 6 of Sunday Times of 3 April 2022 Balesh Sharma bows out as MD of Vodacom SA, at BusinessLive Civil society organisations express concerns following resignation of nuclear regulator’s CEO, at Engineering News
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