In our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Thousands of new Covid-19 infections, dozens of deaths and hospital admissions TimesLive reports that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported a significantly higher number of new Covid-19 infections and Covid-19 related deaths. In a statement on Thursday, the institute said 4,406 new infections had been reported, reflecting a 15.8% increase in positivity rate. “There may be a backlog of Covid-19 mortality cases reported due to the current audit effort by the national department of health. Today [Thursday], the NDoH reports 65 fatalities, with five occurring during the past 24-48 hours. This puts the overall number of fatalities to 100,276,” the NICD advised. On the high positivity rate, NICD executive director Prof Adrian Puren said: “An early warning indicator, wastewater detection surveillance, shows an increase in Gauteng.” Gauteng accounted for the most new cases at 49%. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 22%, while the Western Cape accounted for 15%. The NICD said it was also seeing a rise in Covid-19 hospitalisations, with 66 admissions recorded in the past 24 hours. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at TimesLive. Read too, Spike in number of positive Covid-19 infections in SA, at EWN As vaccination numbers dwindle, experts predict new Covid-19 wave next month The Citizen reports that amid the slowing down of government’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign and with many inoculation stations having been closed, experts predict that a new wave of infections could hit SA next month. SA has recorded a sharp increase in Covid cases. The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday expressed concern over the spike, conceding that the number of people vaccinated was far below its target. Department spokesperson Foster Mohale described government’s vaccination drive as “not going according to our plans”. Mohale indicated: “The vaccination uptake is low, compared to last year this time. But we continue to explore various vaccine demand creation strategies, working with other stakeholders, including the sporting fraternity. We would like to remind people – especially those who are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated – that we are not yet out the woods. They should see the numbers as a warning and protect themselves and their loved ones with vaccines.” Leading epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes warned that a new wave “will soon put an appearance in”, adding that when and how serious it would strike, “are difficult to predict, because that will depend on the nature of the new variant that drives the wave – currently unknown.” Barnes also noted that the vaccination status of the population was “disappointingly low”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brian Sokutu at The Citizen
KZN floods: SANDF deploys 400 of expected 10.000 troops to assist in relief efforts AFP reports that a senior army officer indicated on Wednesday that SA’s military has so far deployed 400 of the 10,000 troops earmarked for emergency, relief and reconstruction operations in flood-stricken KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Torrential rains last week triggered record floods and mudslides, killing nearly 450 people and ripping apart roads, water pipes and thousands of homes. "Currently we have 400 troops on the ground, but the rest of the 10 000 are still coming. This is just an advance (team)," Brigadier General Andres Mahapa told reporters. Joint civilian and military search teams were still recovering bodies from the debris more than a week after the disaster struck. The army is bringing in electricians, artisans and doctors. Mahapa said the focus would now be on clearing roads to allow for the movement of goods. Several areas are still inaccessible - hampering delivery of relief aid - after bridges and roads cracked under the weight of the worst floods to have hit the country in living memory. Major General Sandile Hlongwa, who is commanding the joint operations, said the extent of the devastation had come as "a shock". Read the full original of the report in the above regard at News24. Lees ook, Nog net 400 van die 10,000 soldate in KZN ontplooi, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Labour department shuts down unsafe classrooms at Kgwatlhele Primary School in Limpopo The Citizen reports that on Tuesday the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Inspectorate in Limpopo shut down unsafe classrooms at the Kgwatlhele Primary School outside Mokopane. The DEL also issued the Basic Education Department (DBE) with a contravention notice for failing to conduct a hazards identification and risk assessment. The DBE had also failed to ensure that the electrical installation was done safely by a competent person and had failed to produce a copy of the Certificate of Compliance (COC) for electrical installation. The DEL’s inspection of the school came after concerned parents sounded the alarm earlier in April about the unsafe classrooms, with cracks visible from inside and outside of the building. The inspection confirmed parents’ suspicions that the badly cracked buildings posed a danger to pupils and teachers. “The department is aware of the impact that the closure may have on the curriculum, however, the specialist prohibited the school blocks in the interest of safeguarding the lives which is more important than education. Our inspectors are mandated to protect the lives of people and we are serious about enforcing the Health and Safety legislation,” said acting provincial chief inspector Reckson Tshishivheli. The prohibited sections of the school will remain closed until the DBE corrects the noncompliance as identified by the OHS inspector. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
Strikers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations have so far lost nearly R950m in wages Moneyweb reports that striking workers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations have to date lost nearly R1 billion in wages since the start of the strike in the first week of March. Investors have arguably lost nearly R60 billion, while the damage to investor sentiment towards labour-intensive SA companies is said to be incalculable. Government has lost more than R100 million in taxes related to salaries and significantly more in lost company taxes and mining royalties. While Sibanye has affirmed that it respects the rights of employees and the unions to strike, it has urged the unions more than once to reconsider their actions in the interests of striking employees who “clearly do not support” the strike. “This is evidenced by the very low employee participation in protests at picketing sites and the constant resignation of members from Amcu (Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) and the NUM (National Union of Mineworkers),” according to company management. “Should the strike continue until the end of April, striking employees would have lost all value they could have gained from a wage increase,” Sibanye’s Richard Cox pointed out. Sibanye’s wage offer was accepted by two other unions, Solidarity and Uasa, in February 2022. Sibanye maintains that its offer is fair and considers inflationary living costs. In a combined statement to explain their position, Amcu and NUM indicated: “At the core of the dispute which led to the strike is a mere R300 per worker per month. While Sibanye-Stillwater is offering R700, Amcu and the NUM demand R1,000 per month. This is the same increase which was agreed upon with Sibanye-Stillwater’s main rival in gold, Harmony Gold.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Two in court for alleged illegal mining activities outside Rustenburg IOL reports that two men arrested for allegedly mining chrome illegally in Tlhatlhaganyane outside Rustenburg, appeared in the Mankwe Magistrate's Court in Mogwase on Wednesday. Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) spokesperson in North West, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, said Thamsanqa Shabangu, 45, and Lefa Conrad Molato, 28, were each released on R1,500 bail and their case was postponed to 30 June for investigation. “Allegations of unauthorised individuals mining illegally for chrome at a privately owned piece of land in Tlhatlhaganyane village were investigated following a complaint that was received. The Department of Minerals was subsequently roped in for further verification. When the officials from the DMR [Department of Mineral Resources] arrived at the site, the pair was engaged in illegal mining activities,” Rikhotso advised. She said the two were arrested and appeared in court facing charges under the National Environmental Management Act. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Molaole Montsho at IOL Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Petrol price currently on track for a cut in May, although price of diesel may still go up Fin24 reports that according to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, the petrol price may be lowered in the first week of May. Diesel users may still face a hike, though. The current data show that 95 octane petrol is set to be lowered by around 34c a litre, and 93 octane by 32c. According to current estimates, diesel will rise by between 75c and 81c, and illuminating paraffin by 68c/l. Movements in the oil and rand prices before month-end will still impact the final prices for May. Petrol and diesel prices have surged by more than a third over the past year. This was mostly due to soaring oil prices, especially amid the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Next month’s fuel prices will continue to benefit from a temporary cut of R1.50 in the general fuel levy for April and May. This helped to limit the petrol price hike to around 36c last month, and to R1.53 for diesel. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24
Numsa and Sacca approach Human Rights Commission over suffering of SA Express employees Fin24 reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the SA Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) have made submissions to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on the suffering of SA Express (SAX) employees. They have not been paid salaries since the regional airline went into provisional liquidation in February 2020, although some payments were received from the government's Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) during the harder lockdown period. The unions want the SAHRC to hold Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) Minister Pravin Gordhan to account "for trampling on the human rights and dignity of workers at SAX". According to Numsa and Sacca, some of the employees have lost their homes while others cannot even afford school fees for their children anymore. SAX has been in provisional liquidation since April 2020, after a failed attempt at business rescue. In January this year, the return date for a final liquidation application was once again extended, this time to 4 July, to see if a suitable deal could be reached to sell the airline, which has liabilities of more than R900 million. The provisional liquidators would require government and creditor approval for any deal. Numsa and Sacca on Thursday questioned why the airline's shareholder, the DPE, and Gordhan did not try and place SAX employees on a training lay-off scheme with the Transport and Education and Training Authority. This would have allowed workers to earn 75% of their salaries while undergoing training. The SAHRC intends to convene hearings on the SAX matter, according to the two unions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carin Smith at Fin24
Debbie Schäfer quits as Western Cape education MEC TimesLive reports that Western Cape education MEC Debbie Schäfer has quit after eight years in the job and says she is bowing out of public life and will be taking a legal job in the UK. Announcing Schäfer's departure in a joint statement with the MEC on Thursday, Premier Alan Winde said he would announce a reshuffle of his provincial executive on Friday. As well as naming a new education MEC, Winde needs to appoint a community safety MEC to replace Albert Fritz, who was fired on 1 March after an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment. Schäfer said she believed she left the education department in a better place than when she took the job, but she would leave on 15 May and join family in the UK. "A new education MEC will be afforded an opportunity to build on the tremendous work of our team to date as well as to introduce change with their own approach and ideas," she said. Winde paid tribute to Schäfer as a "strong and tenacious" leader, whose results “speak for themselves”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at TimesLive. Lees ook, Kaapse LUR vir onderwys Debbie Schäfer bedank, by Maroela Media
Social Development Department ‘has no money to hire more social workers’ SowetanLive reports that a lack of funds is impeding the ability of the Department of Social Development (DSD) to hire more social workers. Social development deputy director-general Khumbula Ndaba indicated to MPs on Wednesday: “There is no budget for social workers. We've engaged various provinces including those who have social workers on contract. We've agreed with those provinces to look at extending the contracts because we've looked at the needs of departments. We're also engaging with National Treasury. There's been constant refrain from National Treasury that there is no budget [to employ more social workers]. The department at provincial level should look at reorganising itself and make budget adjustments.” Ndaba couldn't give a figure of how many social workers the department needed. In its annual performance plan, the DSD had noted there was a lack of a government-wide plan, leading to worries that the department might be saddled with unemployed social work graduates. “As a result of the DSD social work bursary programme's inability to absorb social work graduates and a lack of a government-wide plan, there is a chance that social work graduates may remain unemployed, which may lead to wasteful expenditure and a rise in social ills,” the report warned. Recently, Ndaba had said there were about 9,000 unemployed social work graduates. That figure is expected to increase. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nomazima Nkosi at SowetanLive
Labour Court orders reinstatement of KwaZulu-Natal teacher after finding no ‘deemed dismissal’ News24 reports that the Labour Court has ordered the reinstatement of a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) teacher after she was deemed to have been dismissed in August 2017. Edith Mkhwanazi, who has 30 years of teaching experience, asked the court to set aside the Education MEC's 2019 decision not to reinstate her after she was purported to have been dismissed in August 2017 in terms of the Employment of Educators Act (EEA). Mkhwanazi had been a teacher at Zakhele Primary School in Kranskloof. On 27 July 2017, other teachers stopped teaching and demonstrated against the presence of Mkhwanazi at the school. "This arose in circumstances where she had delivered a written complaint to the department about their and the conduct of the principal in conducting the affairs of the school," according to the court judgment. On 2 August 2017, the circuit manager instructed Mkhwanazi to leave the school and await a disciplinary hearing. Mkhwanazi was told to present herself at the circuit office the following day with the name of a school she could be placed at. Instead, she consulted her trade union. On 16 October 2017, she received a letter from the department stating that she had taken leave without pay for the period 3 August 2017 to 13 October 2017 because she "failed to report for duty [and did not have a] valid reason". Her salary was frozen in December 2017. When Mkhwanazi queried the matter in July 2019, she received a letter stating that "she had been discharged in terms of Section 14 (1) of the EEA with effect from 4 August 2017". But, the Labour Court found that it could not be said that Mkhwanazi had been absent without permission from 4 August 2017. In addition, it found that Mkhwanazi did not leave her employment, but was instructed to leave. The court ruled that Mkhwanazi was not ‘deemed dismissed’. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Canny Maphanga at News24 Prasa to take reinstatement of Zolani Matthews as CEO on review to Labour Court TimesLive reports that the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has decided against reinstating its erstwhile CEO Zolani Matthews despite an arbitration ruling ordering that he should get his job back. The board, led by Leonard Ramatlakane, met on Tuesday and decided to take the arbitrator’s ruling to the Labour Court on review. The arbitrator, retired judge Robert Nugent, ruled recently that the agency should reinstate Matthews with back pay. This was after the agency dismissed him in December, ostensibly for not having declared that he held dual citizenship. Prasa has apparently also applied for a stay of the arbitration award. Matthews is the son of late struggle stalwart Joe Matthews, who lived in exile in England, which is when the dual citizenship was obtained. Transport minister Fikile Mbalula reportedly warned Matthews months before he was fired that the Prasa board planned to remove him. In a series of text messages, Mbalula told Matthews that Ramatlakane saw him as a threat to his “self-enrichment” scheme and was leading the charge to have him ousted. Matthews included copies of the text messages in his submissions before the arbitration heard by Nugent. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thanduxolo Jika at BusinessLive
Four police officers suspended over fire at parliament redeployed elsewhere TimesLive reports that four police officers suspended after the fire in parliament earlier this year have been redeployed to other areas. The four officers, who were on duty when the fire broke out in January, were suspended as investigations were under way into the blaze that gutted the National Assembly. Lt-Gen Sam Shitlabane, head of protection and security services, told parliament's police portfolio committee on Wednesday the four had been moved from parliament. Meantime, Zandile Mafe has been arrested and is accused of starting the fire. He faces criminal charges at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. Shitlabane was asked about the investigation into the fire and an audit of national key points and indicated: “The investigation is ongoing. However, I can report that [police] on duty at 100 Plein Street, have been redeployed to stations outside the protection [services] as well as the captain who was on duty, the relief commander. We have had a discussion with public works and infrastructure” on whether the National Assembly building will be fixed.” Meantime, Parliament’s leadership has been trying to find a new venue and has even considered using a marquee inside the parliamentary precinct. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Aphiwe Deklerk at TimesLive
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