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, 8 April 2022.
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Six persons seriously injured while fixing vandalised Gugulethu substation in Cape Town News24 reports that six persons, among them contractors, were injured when a surge from a vandalised power cable, which was being repaired in Cape Town, exploded. The City of Cape said electrical repairs teams were fixing the vandalised Gugulethu substation after thieves had also stolen vital infrastructure components. The theft and vandalism caused a large power outage in Gugulethu and Manenberg. The member of the mayoral committee for energy, Beverley van Reenen, said the worst consequence was the severe injury of four energy contractors, one staff member, and a member of the public when a power surge from the damage caused a cable to explode. She thanked the staff who had had to fix the sub-station in trying conditions and said the incident showed “the absolutely devastating consequences of vandalism, theft and illegal connections." The staffer and contractors are in hospital recovering. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jenni Evans at News24 Security guard one of two persons gunned down in Durban in separate incidents on Friday The Mercury reports that two people were gunned down in Durban on Friday in separate incidents in KwaMashu and on the M4 Southern Freeway near Wentworth. Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said that early on Friday morning, paramedics received a call about a shooting at a business premises next to Bridge City Shopping Centre in KwaMashu. Reports indicated that a security officer guarding a funeral parlour had been gunned down by an unknown number of assailants. “On arrival at the scene the adult male guard was found lying face down in a pool of blood, surrounded by at least 12 high calibre bullet casings,” Herbst said. The man was declared deceased on the scene. Meanwhile in a separate incident on Friday night, Emer-G-Med Paramedics responded to the scene of a shooting incident on the M4 Southern Freeway on ramp from Quality Street. Reports from the scene indicated that a male driver, who was approximately 40 years of age, was found lying next to his vehicle, which was peppered with bullet holes. He was declared dead on arrival of the paramedics. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karen Singh at The Mercury. See too, Security guard shot dead near Durban mall, at EWN. En ook, Veiligheidswag voor begrafnisonderneming doodgeskiet, by Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Health department defends its management of expert advice on Covid-19 and claims all advisories from scientists have been publicly released BL Premium reports that the Department of Health’s deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, Nicholas Crisp, has rejected claims by activists that the department has deviated from scientific input and withheld information on how it has managed the Covid-19 pandemic. The Health Justice Initiative (HJI) launched legal action last week in a bid to compel the government to disclose details of all the advisers it has consulted, the counsel received and how this input has been used to determine the decisions it has taken in response to Covid-19. The HJI said one of the reasons it was taking legal action was because its request for records from the health department, made in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), had been ignored. Crisp defended the department’s approach, saying all the advisories provided by the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19 and its working groups had been published on the government’s coronavirus website as soon as the health department had determined how to respond to them. “I am personally responsible for ensuring that the advisories are posted once the minister has seen them, we have discussed them and worked out how to implement them,” claimed Crisp. He added that the department had not responded to the PAIA request because it had been too broad. The HJI has also launched a court bid to compel the health department to disclose details of the supply contracts it signed with coronavirus vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. The department is opposing the matter. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Wage strike at Taylor Blinds factory in Cape Town GroundUp reports that about 100 workers have been on strike at Taylor Blinds & Shutters in Montague Gardens, Cape Town, since last Monday. The strike for higher wages is led by the Independent Commercial Hospitality and Allied Workers Union (ICHAWU). Taylor has been a member of the Trellidor Group since 2016 and, according to its website, has 180 staff countrywide. The workers are demanding an increase of R250 a week and, according to the union, the company has offered 6%. The lowest paid workers at Taylor earn R980 before deductions per week or R23.50 per hour (the legal minimum wage is R23.19 per hour), so for those workers 6% is much less than R250. ICHAWU general secretary Dale Fish said that the union had reached a deadlock. The company gave notice of a ‘no work no pay’ lockout soon after the notice of strike action was given on 2 April. Fish said that the union told the company to lift the lockout, pay its members from Monday until now, and let the workers go back to work. Fish indicated that if they did not get an adequate response, then they would take the matter to the Labour Court to decide whether the lockout was lawful or not. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liezl Human at GroundUp
NUM and Amcu members increasingly applying to join Solidarity and Uasa as a way to quit the strike at Sibanye gold mines Fin24 reports that a month into the wage strike at Sibanye-Stillwater's gold mines, members of striking unions have begun to cross the floor to non-striking unions in a bid to return to work and again receive salaries. The strike commenced on 10 March with members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) downing tools over their unmet wage demands. Solidarity and Uasa, which negotiated alongside NUM and Amcu, but ultimately accepted the company’s final wage offer and did not join the strike, have received an increasing number of membership applications from striking workers. Solidarity has been flooded with applications since month-end, amounting to around 100 applications to join, the union's general secretary Gideon du Plessis indicated. Uasa’s Franz Stehring said there has been a steady increase of applications numbering close to 1,000. Du Plessis said the floor-crossing came after a memo was distributed by Sibanye on 15 March, which advised employees on how to resign from their unions and whether they could change union membership. Sibanye’s James Wellsted said the memo offered a response to questions received from workers who were upset at having been pulled out on strike after a number of them had not voted in favour of a strike. Solidarity has expressed great concern over the developments and has insisted it will not process applications from NUM and Amcu members. It has accused Sibanye of deploying tactics to undermine the strike and create disharmony among unions. "We are under huge pressure by management to implement it, and we refuse because you become a strikebreaker, and a trade union can never ever be a strikebreaker," Du Plessis said. Stehring, however, said Uasa, as an apolitical organisation, would process the applications. The NUM and Amcu say they have not received any formal notices of resignation from members or from the company. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24 (subscriber access only). Read too, Sibanye CEO draws a line in the sand on wage increases, at Daily Maverick Hawks arrest members of illegal mining syndicate at Batlhako mine in Rustenburg EWN reports that detectives from the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) have arrested two suspects in connection with an illegal mining syndicate in Rustenburg. Three other suspects are also under investigation after they were wounded while trying to evade arrest. Authorities conducted an operation at Batlhako mine on Thursday afternoon after months of investigation. Apparently, a high-speed chase led to a shootout during which some of the alleged illegal miners were wounded. Detectives confiscated over R2 million worth of chrome. Five trucks, three excavators, two diesel tanks, two vehicles, and a firearm were also seized. According to the Hawks, illegal activities have been hampering official mining operations for an extended period of time. The suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Lauren Isaacs at EWN. Lees ook, Onwettige myners in Rustenburg vasgevat, by Maroela Media MC Mining’s interim CEO Sam Randazzo steps down ahead of discussion of his removal at AGM Fin24 reports that Sam Randazzo of MC Mining (formerly known as Coal of Africa Limited – CoAL) will step down as executive director, effective close of business on Friday, ahead of an extraordinary AGM to discuss his removal. He has however agreed to continue in the role of interim CEO while the board identifies a suitable replacement. Randazzo served as interim CEO since February 2021 and progressed work to secure funding for the company's flagship Makhado coking coal project. His resignation follows that of Bernard Pryor, MC Mining's board chairperson. The two were intended to face calls for their resignation at the extraordinary AGM on Monday, 11 April. Certain shareholders had called for the two to step down over protracted delays in commencing with phase one of the Makhado project. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24 Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Hiring rises, but youth still left out Daily Maverick reports that the recent Career Junction Employment Insight report shows that over the past three months there has been growing hiring activity in three main sectors, namely finance (1%), sales (3%) and marketing (10%). The report further reveals that cost management accounting, change management and business development are the top three most-scarce skills at present. Ideal candidates for recruitment are Gauteng residents, or those willing to relocate to the province, and people in possession of tertiary, specifically university, qualification, experience and digital technical savvy. MD of recruitment agency Fighting Youth Unemployment, Hlayisani Chauke, commented: “Nowadays it takes more than a qualification to secure employment. Candidates are encouraged to make themselves employable, build their skill set and acquire experience, through personal projects and volunteering, to stand out. It has not been easy for the youth since Covid-19. Companies would rather hire experienced candidates than invest in graduates, because they are also struggling.” For Chauke, digital technical savviness is a prerequisite in recruitment because the fastest-growing industries, digital marketing and the technology space, are in immediate need of ideal candidates. The Career Junction report, in correlation with Statistics SA, reveals that young people have the short end of the stick as unemployment in the age group 15 to 34 has increased in the past 13 months. The unemployment rate from ages 15 to 24 has increased by 1% — and now stands at 63.3% — and the rate from ages 25 to 34 has risen by 1% — amounting to 41.3%. While increased recruitment activity in certain sectors is noted in the Career Junction report, a decline in hiring activity in manufacturing and assembly, business and management, and medical and health is also noted. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Michelle Banda and Luyanda Zukane on page 23 of Daily Maverick of 9 April 2022 SA-China job fair on Thursday to offer around 20,000 jobs to locals over the next few years. The Citizen reports that 100 enterprises and 1,000 jobs on offer to local applicants is a development that could not have come at a better time for the country’s jobless youth, if this week’s South Africa-China Economy and Trade Association (SACETA) job fair is anything to go by. The SACETA job fair is taking place on Thursday at the Gallagher Conference Centre in Midrand, and will be addressed by Department of International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Alvin Botes, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, Chinese ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong, SACETA vice-president Chen Longjian and Huawei South Africa CEO Fan Wen. The event has set a target of offering 1,000 jobs to unemployed South Africans, largely the youth. This as 100 blue chip Chinese companies based in South Africa have set a target of offering close to 20,000 jobs to locals in the next three years. Commenting on the SACETA initiative, University of Johannesburg economics professor Peter Baur said: “These prospects are good and create all kinds of positive impacts – especially through the multiplier process. This means that the income earned, will have a far larger impact on the economy. Income always translates into savings, which may become investment in the future. Such income and spending relationship, will positively stimulate business in other sectors.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brian Sokutu at The Citizen
SA airline industry faces maintenance skills shortage, says aviation expert BL Premium reports that the SA aviation industry, which was in the spotlight after the grounding of Comair flights recently, saw an exit of senior staff and the retrenchment of workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a shortage of skills. Aviation expert Guy Leitch observed: “A lot of good talent on the maintenance side has left the industry and are not coming back.” He added that the skills base in the industry was under “a lot of pressure” due to seasoned maintenance talent opting for early retirement. “SA must make an enormous effort to develop skills. The country must bring new people into the industry and retain them rather than losing them to overseas operators who come poaching,” Leitch stated. Comair, which operates flights by British Airways (BA) and Kulula, was grounded for five days in March by the SA Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) after safety concerns including an engine and landing gear failure on some of its aircraft. Last week, domestic carrier FlySafair grounded an aircraft to investigate a technical error after two flight diversions. But, FlySafair, which maintains its own aircraft, has indicated that despite the pressure experienced by the airline industry over the last two years, it has retained all its maintenance staff. National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said if these incidents were not attended to “on an urgent basis” they might cause “serious harm” to the industry. “It is possible that the retrenchments that took place last year at SAAT [SAA Technical] had an effect because many airlines depended on SAAT. A lot of skills were lost as a result of job losses because the retrenchments focused on workers, and management positions remained largely intact,” she commented. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Absa paid former CEO Daniel Mminele R30.47m in hasty ‘no fault’ exit settlement BL Premium reports that Absa’s first black CEO Daniel Mminele, who stepped down in April 2021 over differences with the board, was paid R30.47m in a “no-fault” termination agreement with the bank. Mminele’s sudden exit, which came less than 16 months into his role as CEO, was due to unresolved differences between him and the Absa board over the bank’s strategic direction. Former Absa chair Wendy Lucas-Bull recently said that one of the main sticking points was that Mminele favoured a more centralised oversight strategy whereas the bank had already embarked on a decentralisation approach. Absa indicated in its 2021 integrated report published on 7 April: “For a speedy resolution and in the best interests of the organisation, the board agreed that Daniel would receive a termination payment that would include good leaver treatment on unvested short-term incentive deferrals and unvested long-term incentives, in respect of which Daniel received cash-equivalent payments.” The lump-sum settlement that Mminele received comprised several negotiated elements, of which R16.5m was a so-called ex-gratia (“by favour”) payment as well as an additional R4.5m six-month notice payment in lieu of termination of his contract. It also included R5m in lieu of Mminele’s 2020 short-term incentives, which had been deferred into Absa group shares. The bank’s former CEO received R3.25m in lieu of his 2021 long-term incentive award, the face value of which was R15m, as well as R750,000 for accumulated leave. These payments were made after deducting tax and other statutory contributions. Absa also agreed to contribute to Mminele’s legal costs and an amount of R466,000 was paid directly to him. The exit settlement paid to Mminele, which was on top of his fixed salary payments of R3m for the time worked that year, took his total remuneration in 2021 to R33.47m. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Absa pays Mminele R30.5m in fraught separation, at Moneyweb
Bargaining council orders De Lille to lift the suspension of director-general Sam Vukela News24 reports that the General Public Service Sector Bargaining Council (GPSSBC) has found that Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille instituted unfair labour practices when she suspended director-general Sam Vukela. The council ordered De Lille to lift Vukela's suspension with immediate effect. It also ordered the minister to allow Vukela to return to work on Wednesday. De Lille had suspended Vukela after a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) implicated him in allegations of fraudulent contract management and irregular payments in the planning of state funerals for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Zola Skweyiya and Billy Modise. The tit-for-tat battle between Vukela and De Lille resulted in the pair making sweeping allegations against one another. Vukela claimed De Lille had given him unlawful instructions – and that his refusal to execute the instructions had caused the friction. The GPSSBC arbitrator, Katlholo Wabile, said: "The applicant (Vukela) has been on suspension since 29 July 2020. This is a period of about a year and some eight months. Discounting the prescribed period of suspension, notwithstanding the applicant's willingness to 'stomach' it, the suspension has, at the time of writing this award, endured for around 550 days. I find that it has been a very long suspension.” He queried by what authority the suspension exceeded 60 days “to such a staggering extent.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24. Read too, De Lille orders DG to stay home and get paid, on page 2 of City Press of 10 April 2022
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