In our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Solidarity institutes legal action against new health regulations Solidarity announced on Thursday that it had instituted legal action against the new health regulations published in the Government Gazette by the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla. According to the trade union, the regulations are unlawful and irrational. On Thursday, Solidarity issued a legal letter to the minister in which he was requested to disclose how the decision on the regulations was reached. Moreover, there was said to be major uncertainty about the legal framework within which these “limited regulations” functioned. Solidarity’s legal team is also considering further legal steps to challenge the substance of the regulations. Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann indicated: “The most draconic and worrying of the new regulations is the fact that the minister of health can arbitrarily decide to enact or withdraw them. Practically, this means the minister can put the whole country into lockdown with no prior notice and no limits to this power. The huge uncertainty this creates in several sectors of the economy will have major consequences if the regulations remain as is. No mention is made of preserving the country’s healthcare capacity by the regulations. The only criterion is to curb the spread of Covid-19. Thus, through these regulations South Africa has traded a temporary pandemic for an eternal lockdown – we simply will not allow it.” Read Solidarity’s press statement in regard to the above at Solidarity News. Read too, AfriForum set to challenge any Covid-19 health regulations, at SowetanLive. En ook, Grootse regstryd oor Covid-19-regulasies begin, by Maroela Media New Covid-19 rules ‘poorly drafted’, reckon experts The Citizen reports that having failed to heed advice from health experts on handling Covid-19, government has taken flak for extending regulations on masking, gatherings and travel, with two leading scientists asserting that the documentation was poorly drafted and not fit for purpose. Scoffing at the latest protocols gazetted this week, Professor Shabir Madhi, executive director of the Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics research unit at Wits University, said they were “full of internal contradictions”. Madhi said about the ongoing restrictions on limiting outdoor assemblies to 2,000: “The regulations still focused on the pretence of preventing infections, have dismally failed in the SA context. Simply stated, SA remains on its unique mission of rehashing regulations, which have unsurprisingly failed to prevent the spread of the virus in our context. This is all done at the cost of further undermining economic recovery, further harming livelihoods and disrupting sporting and other events. This is nonsensical, since the safest place to be is outdoors, where risk of infection is nominal – unlike in shebeens and bars, where people drink without a mask.” Madhi described as “ludicrous” a move to subject international travellers to a PCR test before arrival “but not so if travelling regularly from neighbouring countries”. Epidemiologist Dr Jo Barnes said it was “difficult not to come to the conclusion that the government is not really willing to listen to outside sources and will only do so when the pressure for change starts building up”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brian Sokutu at The Citizen New Covid rules will keep delay economic recovery, say tourism and leisure sectors BL Premium reports that the government’s latest regulations for managing Covid-19 have been panned by leisure industry associations, which say the new rules will delay economic recovery in sectors hard-hit by the pandemic. Health minister Joe Phaahla published amendments to regulations to the National Health Act shortly before midnight on Wednesday. They require people to continue wearing masks in public indoor spaces, limit the size of gatherings and set out testing requirements for visitors to SA. The regulations came into immediate effect on Thursday and replace the interim rules implemented by the government after it lifted the national state of disaster on 4 April. The public has been given another three months to comment on a broad swathe of amendments to health regulations first proposed by Phaahla on 15 March. The Southern African Tourism Association, the Association of Southern African Travel Agents, and the Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) welcomed the scrapping of PCR testing for children aged between five and 12 travelling to SA, saying it would make it easier and cheaper for families to visit SA. But they expressed concern about the continued curbs on the size of public gatherings, which are limited to 1,000 people indoors and 2,000 people outdoors unless proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test is provided before entry. “Many of the international events we would host in SA will now simply not be viable, which will result in further job losses in our industry. For any medium- to long-term planning to take place and events business to be secured, we need certainty. Waiting another three months will mean that we will be losing many event opportunities during this time,” said Fedhasa’s Rosemary Anderson. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) As SA heads into fifth Covid-19 wave, highest positivity rate of the year recorded Bloomberg reports that on Thursday SA’s daily coronavirus test positivity rate rose to its highest level since 1 January as the country headed into a fifth wave of infections. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases reported that 9,757 new Covid-19 cases had been identified, representing a 25.9% positivity rate of those tested. The latest surge in infections comes as winter starts in the country forcing people indoors and possibly enabling the virus to spread faster. But, SA is still a long way off previous records. The largest daily count for new cases was 26,976, reached on 15 December. The government, which recently ended its more than two-year National State of Disaster and so no longer has the ability to broadly override the rights of citizens, has implemented new health legislation that will require proof of vaccination or negative tests for some gatherings and the continued wearing of masks in public indoor spaces. It is possible the fifth wave will be the least onerous so far. The new omicron sublineages appear to be less severe than the original and the fifth wave is unlikely to cause “even anything close” to the number of hospitalizations and deaths that occurred when omicron first appeared in November, according to vaccinologist Shabir Madhi. Nonetheless, health experts and the government are urging citizens to get vaccinated, receive their boosters and continue taking precautions against the virus. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Renee Bonorchis at Moneyweb. See too, Close to 10,000 new Covid-19 cases and 64 fatalities, at TimesLive Vaccines ‘effective against new Omicron sub-variants’, says WHO head Bloomberg reports that according to the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), vaccines are effective against the new Omicron sub-variants that are driving a surge in Covid-19 cases in SA. “It’s too soon to know whether these new sub-variants can cause more severe disease than other Omicron sub-variants, but early data suggests vaccination remains protective against severe disease and death,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media briefing in Geneva on Wednesday. Scientists in SA and Botswana discovered Omicron late last year and SA was the first country to experience a major surge of infections as a result of the variant. BA.4 and BA.5, two omicron sub-variants, are driving a new spike in cases in SA. Global deaths due to Covid-19 have fallen to the lowest levels since March 2020, with about 15,000 fatalities last week, according to the WHO. Still, Tedros urged that countries and health systems continue to test and track the virus to help identify new mutations. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Andy Hoffman at BusinessLive. Read too, US Covid study shows Omicron is as severe as previous variants, at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
More than 200 Eastern Cape paramedics face dismissal for embarking on a strike GroundUp reports that the Eastern Cape Department of Health has served more than 200 paramedics with letters of intention to dismiss them for embarking on a strike. Long-standing problems with access by patients to ambulances in parts of the Eastern Cape have worsened over the last three weeks as paramedics have stopped work in Buffalo City Municipality, Amahlathi and Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The paramedics are demanding fully equipped ambulances, with valid licence discs, and cellphones. The workers are members of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), which maintains that the paramedics are not on strike but are exercising their right to safety at work. Regional Nehawu coordinator Mzamane Mgwantashe indicated: “Over 200 workers are coming every day to work. But they cannot perform their duties because ambulances are faulty and not fully equipped.” The paramedics come to work in full uniform and wait at their work places until their shifts are over. Mkhululi Ndamase, spokesperson for Health MEC Nomakhosazana Meth, confirmed the notices to dismiss over 200 workers who had embarked on an unprotected strike. He claimed the department had addressed issues raised by the union. Responding to a complaint about equipment being put in the ambulances just to get licence approval, Ndamase said this was being investigated. “None of these issues are considered valid reasons to suspend services to the communities we serve,” he stated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mkhuseli Sizani at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Unions test Godongwana’s resolve to keep public sector wage bill in check with demand for 10% pay hike BusinessLive reports that union leaders have set the scene for tough negotiations with the government with a double-digit wage increase demand. Public service unions, which speak on behalf more than 1.3-million teachers, nurses, police officers and other public servants, are demanding a 10% pay hike. The demand will test Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s determination to keep in check the public sector wage bill, which accounts for the biggest share of government spending, after he penciled in a rise of about 1.8% in public sector compensation over the medium term. The unions’ stance in the opening round of negotiations reflects a labour movement emboldened by rising inflation due to a surge in the price of food, fuel and transport, and a government whose tax take was tens of billions rand more than it expected a year ago. “In fact, we are very economical to even be demanding 10%,” said Reuben Maleka of the Public Servants Association. Alongside the 10% wage increase for the 2022/2023 financial year, the unions are demanding a R2,500 housing allowance; permanent employment of community health workers, teacher assistants and security force reservists; access to the pension fund; bursary schemes for children; and allowances of 12% of workers’ basic salary during disasters such as Covid-19. The demands were tabled on Wednesday at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). The employer is expected to respond to the wage demands on 19 May. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane, Thuletho Zwane and Hajra Omarjee at BusinessLive. See too, Public sector wage saga escalates as unions demand 10% pay hike, at Fin24
Sibanye-Stillwater earnings slump as strike at gold operations bites BL Premium reports that more than 20,000 members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations — representing about a quarter of the group’s total workforce — have been on strike since 9 March over wage increases. According to Amcu general secretary Jeff Mphahlele, Sibanye management is “refusing to budge” and accede to the unions’ demands of an increase of R1,000 per month, a R100 rise in the living out allowance and a 6% increase for miners, artisans and officials. A meeting between the parties ran into the night on Thursday in an attempt to resolve the strike. Sibanye-Stillwater said on Thursday that core profit fell almost a third in its first quarter to end-March, with gold production almost halving as the group dealt with the strike and safety issues. Gold output, which accounted for 8% of the group’s core profit in 2021, fell 45% to 4.264 tonnes in the first quarter year-on-year. Sibanye-Stillwater, valued at R140bn on the JSE, said its first-quarter core profit, on an annualised basis, equated to R55bn, down almost a fifth from 2021’s record R68.6bn but up 11% from 2020. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karl Gernetzky at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Unions using gold strike to leverage platinum deal, claims Sibanye-Stillwater Bloomberg reports that according to Sibanye Stillwater, the almost two-month-long strike at its SA gold mines is being used as leverage by trade unions for upcoming wage negotiations at its platinum group metal (PGM) operations. PGM miners, including Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum, are entering pivotal talks over a multiyear pay deal after announcing record dividends following a rally in palladium and rhodium prices. While unions are seeking a share of the windfall profits, producers have warned that any settlement with 163,000 platinum workers must not risk the long-term viability of a key export industry. Sibanye CE Neal Froneman said the unions were trying to show strength after rejecting the company’s latest offer to boost the wages of gold workers by R850 a month. That equates to an increase of 7.8% — compared with South Africa’s March inflation rate of 5.9% — but the unions are asking for R1,000. “If it was just about gold wages, there is no commercial logic for them not having accepted our offer. We are not going to be coerced or bullied into increases that are above inflation,” Froneman indicated. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) were consulting their members over whether to expand the strike to the company’s platinum operations, said NUM’s general secretary William Mabapa. Sibanye’s gold and platinum mines employ about 77,000 workers. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Felix Njini at Fin24 Other general posting(s) relating to mining
RMB names Emrie Brown as new CEO, making her only the second woman in SA to lead a corporate and investment bank BL Premium reports that Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has named Emrie Brown as its new CEO, making her only the second woman to lead a corporate and investment banking unit in SA, alongside Nedbank’s Anel Bosman. Brown’s appointment is effective as of 1 October and will see her take over from RMB’s current CEO James Formby, who steps down after seven years as the leader of FirstRand corporate and investment banking division. Brown’s rise to one of the top positions in corporate SA was not a traditional one given her rather modest background in Pretoria, where she attended Hoërskool Silverton rather than one of the prestigious private schools where many of the country’s financial elite are groomed. The daughter of an artisan, Brown put herself through university with the help of a bursary from KPMG in Pretoria, where she initially qualified as a chartered accountant after completing her articles with the firm. However, what truly put her on the path to success was achieving the second-highest mark in the country in the highly competitive and challenging chartered accountancy board exam. “That’s really what opened doors for me. Because I did exceptionally well academically people were willing to give me an interview,” she notes. As far as her business goals are concerned, Brown wants to accelerate RMB’s data and platform journey as these play an integral role in delivering innovative solutions to solve clients’ specific needs. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Durban to host international conference on child labour from 15 to 20 May TimesLive reports that a global conference to help find ways to eliminate child labour will be held in Durban from 15 to 20 May at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. This will be the first time the global conference on the elimination of child labour will be held in Africa. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), more than 160-million children are labourers. More than a third of them are out of school. Agriculture is said to account for the largest share of child labour worldwide. “The time is opportune for the global community to converge on African soil to find solutions that will help our continent, in particular, to deal with the reported highest prevalence and largest number of working children,” employment & labour minister Thulas Nxesi said. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to open the conference. More than 4,000 delegates, half of whom will attend in person, are expected to discuss good practice, identify gaps and the urgent measures needed to help child labourers. The ILO describes the term “child labour” as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessLive
Another municipal official to appear in court in connection with VBS Mutual Bank saga News24 reports that the chief financial officer of the Collins Chabane municipality has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the investment of municipal money with the now broke VBS Mutual Bank. Brigadier Thandi Mbambo said he allegedly contravened the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) in connection with the investment of a whopping R120 million of the municipality's money in October 2017. The municipal manager at the time, Charlotte Ngobeni, was arrested for the same matter in March 2021. She has already appeared in court and, after being released on R50,000 bail, is due back in court on 9 May. Signs that something was amiss at the bank emerged when pensioners and cooperatives could not get their money out of the bank. VBS Mutual Bank was subsequently declared bankrupt and a final liquidation order was granted in November 2018. The first liquidation dividend paid out seven cents in the rand to some creditors. Of the R159 million to be paid out, only about R110 million went to municipalities. The latest person to be arrested in the saga is expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday on charges of contravening the MFMA. Mbambo said this would bring to 27 the number of people arrested in the course of the investigation into what initial investigator Terry Motau called a "heist". According to Mbambo, more arrests are imminent. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Jenni Evans at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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