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, 3 June 2022.
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End to Sibanye gold strike in sight as union members mandate acceptance of CCMA proposal BL Premium reports that an end to the three-month long wage strike at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations is in sight. At a mass meeting on Friday, members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) gave the union leaderships a mandate to accept a three-year wage proposal made to the parties by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Against a wage demand of a R1,000 increase for ‘Category 4-8’ employees in each year of a three-year wage agreement, Sibanye workers have settled on an increase of R1,000 for the first year, a R900 increase in the second year and a R750 increase in the third year. Workers will also receive an R3,000 once-off "hardship" payment, of which R1,200 will be a cash payment and R1,800 will be allocated to a reduction of debt or loans owing to the company for food and board on mine properties over the past 12 weeks. Against a demand of a 6% increase each year, so-called ‘miners and artisans and officials’ will receive a 5% increase in the first and third years, and a 5.5% increase in the second year (subject to certain specified CPI adjustments). “For the agreement to be binding and in order for the lockout to be lifted, the agreement must be formally concluded by Sibanye-Stillwater and the leadership of Amcu and NUM. This is expected to take place early next week,” Sibanye advised. The final agreement will be extended to all employees in the bargaining unit including members of UASA and Solidarity. Sibanye’s gold operations employ 31,000 workers of which 25,000 are jointly represented by AMCU and NUM. AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa commented: "We have to formalise it, but the mandate is that we can sign.” He added: “This is not a good offer. But under the circumstances [it was accepted]." He commended workers for "standing the test of time" in the face of a "shrewd employer" like Sibanye-Stillwater and its CEO Neal Froneman. Based on reports by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) and Lisa Steyn at Fin24. Read too, Sibanye says gold sector employees have indicated their support for a CCMA-proposed wage deal, at Mining Weekly. En ook, Einde wink vir staking by Sibanye-Stillwater, by Maroela Media
Presidency instructs security agencies to investigate ‘bullet’ threat against director-general Phindile Baleni IOL reports that the Presidency has instructed security agencies to investigate the serious threat made against the director-general in the Presidency, Phindile Baleni, at her home. Baleni received an envelope containing a bullet and a letter, in her letter box at home, in which the perpetrator or perpetrators made a threat against her life. According to a statement issued by newly appointed Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, the director-general reported the matter to security agencies and is currently receiving protection to enable her to continue with her duties. The letter, addressed to Baleni, firstly instructed her to advise the Justice Department to release the suspect in custody for the murder of Babita Deokaran. Deokaran – who was gunned down outside her Johannesburg home in August – was a key whistle-blower in an investigation into dodgy personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts in Gauteng. The letter then instructed Baleni to advise President Cyril Ramaphosa not to proceed with the state capture findings. “We don’t want you to be like… Thabo Masebe, Babita Thabo Moerane… We know where you drive and all your visiting points. The plan is complete,” read the threatening letter. It further read that Ramaphosa listened to her “(more) than any other person”, and said they had a “good plan” for the two vehicles she travelled in. It also read that they were not afraid of the “soldiers” escorting her. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kailene Pillay at IOL. Read too, We know where you drive': Presidential DG receives death threats and a bullet at her home, at News24. En ook, DG onder beskerming ná dreigement in posbus, by Maroela Media Fire guts wards at Life Chatsmed Gardens Hospital on Sunday, patients and staff evacuated with no injuries Daily News reports that patients and staff escaped uninjured when the Life Chatsmed Gardens Hospital in Chatsworth, south of Durban, was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Sunday morning. According to a report from Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle van Reenen, emergency service Netcare 911, Blue Security, eThekwini fire and rescue services, and numerous other emergency personnel responded to the scene following reports of a fire. “Reports from the scene are that a fire broke out in one of the wards leading to an evacuation,” Van Reenen Indicated. Mzansi SecuriFire, which also responded to the scene, said they mobilised to the scene and noted that the fire was large, and at the far end of the hospital. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thobeka Ngema at Daily News. Read too, No casualties or injuries in Durban hospital fire, investigation into cause launched, at News24 Public healthcare workers increasingly fear for their safety City Press reports that there are growing safety concerns among healthcare workers and patients in public health facilities following several attacks. In the latest incidents, urine was thrown at a doctor and another was hit by a patient at facilities in different provinces. The Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) said that, although it did not have statistics related to how many healthcare workers had been affected, it was aware of the issue. A week ago, Dr Baanetse Refilwe Pule was attacked by a patient at the Lillian Ngoyi Community Health Centre in Soweto. This week, a traumatised Pule said healthcare workers did not feel safe and she was worried this could happen again. In February, Lebo Monene was allegedly shot dead by her police officer partner in the Tembisa Hospital parking lot. That month, a doctor was hijacked at the Mapulaneng Hospital in Mpumalanga. After being robbed at gunpoint, her attackers allegedly attempted to rape her. In March, Eastern Cape police were investigating a rape case at Frere Hospital after a 17-year-old mentally ill patient was allegedly raped by a 40-year-old male psychiatric patient. In the same month, KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu said two incidents had occurred at the KwaMashu clinic, where a security guard was stabbed, allegedly by a man trying to force his way into the facility. In a separate incident, a nurse was punched by a relative of a patient who had just died. Last week, the Limpopo health department launched a probe after a patient who was mentally ill allegedly strangled another mentally ill patient to death at George Masebe Hospital in Mogalakwena. Western Cape health spokesperson Mark van der Heever said security issues ranged from verbal abuse, assault, theft and damage to property to possession of weapons and illegal substances, and patients absconding. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yoliswa Sobuwa at City Press (subscriber access only) Get tough on pupils and schools, say teacher unions after attack on teacher over his refereeing of rugby match News24 reports that the safety of teachers has been brought under the spotlight after a teacher was assaulted at a Northern Cape school over the weekend. Teachers' unions are now calling for increased security at schools and interventions to promote teacher safety. On Saturday, two Northern Cape pupils and parents allegedly assaulted a teacher, who was acting as referee during a rugby game at Hoërskool Daniëlskuil. Spectators and players were reportedly unhappy with the referee's handling of the match. The school had since launched an internal investigation, said Hoërskool Daniëlskuil school governing body chairperson Jan-George van Straten, and the pupils had been suspended. The school is also trying to identify the parents involved in the assault. SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) spokesperson Nomusa Cele said the incident highlighted the safety risks faced by teachers – especially since the incident took place on school grounds. "We never want to see something like this happen. It shows that teachers are not safe," she said. Cele raised concern over the apparent lack of respect shown by parents and pupils towards the teacher: “It's one thing if a referee gets heckled, but it's another for the teacher to be beaten. This took place in full view of learners, which means that the parents are not setting a good example for their children and are teaching them that violence is acceptable.” National Teaching Union acting president Sibusiso Malinga said the organisation condemned all acts of violence against teachers. "Incidents such as this, at school or at sporting events, cannot be allowed. It's the responsibility of schools and the education department to make workplaces safe," he said. However, Federation of School Governing Bodies (Fedsas) CEO Jaco Deacon said the Northern Cape assault must be viewed as an isolated incident, driven by "passionate supporters" of the sport. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Unvaccinated South Africans explain why they aren't interested in Covid jab Katherine Eyal of UCT’s Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (Saldru) writes that SA is currently facing a new wave of infections related to the much higher transmissibility of the omicron Covid variant and its sub-variants. This presents a challenge to policy makers trying to improve vaccine take-up, particularly in vulnerable groups. SA’s government set a target of getting 67% of the population vaccinated by the end of 2021, but rates have fallen far short of this. As of 22 May 2022 only 31.4% of the population had been vaccinated. Two surveys of unvaccinated South Africans have been conducted. The first took place from 15 November to 15 December 2021. The second survey consisted of 3,608 unvaccinated individuals, of whom approximately half were re-interviewed from Survey 1, as well as 386 individuals who were vaccinated between Surveys 1 and 2. It was found that vaccine hesitancy in the sample was high, and had become entrenched since December 2021. Most people spoken to did not want to be vaccinated. A small portion were still undecided. Less than one in five intended to get vaccinated as soon as possible, half the number reported in December 2021. More than a third definitely did not intend to be vaccinated. A quarter of respondents said they would be vaccinated only if required to do so by a mandate. Worryingly, those who have chronic illnesses were no more likely to get vaccinated than others. Vaccine refusal was very high among older respondents. Access didn’t feature at all as a reason for not getting vaccinated among the most reluctant (a large group). Few of the respondents thought they needed the vaccine and many cited a very low personal risk of becoming very sick from Covid. Many also thought that the vaccine did not work, and that it might kill them. Few thought it would protect them against death. Few people believed that the vaccine was safe for pregnant women or breastfeeding mothers, or the chronically ill. Only one in four of the entire sample said they trusted government information about Covid-19 a lot. A very high number of respondents opposed a vaccine mandate (nearly 75% of the entire sample) even though about half thought mandates would work well. Opponents overwhelmingly cited that it was an individual’s right to decide. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Growth in manufacturing jobs throttled by power cuts, rising costs Business Times reports that manufacturing recorded a stellar 20% quarter-on-quarter increase in jobs in the first three months of the year, but the momentum appears likely to flag given rising input coasts and continual load-shedding. The latest labour survey report, released by StatsSA on Tuesday, shows the sector added 263,000 jobs in the first quarter, compared with the loss of 85,302 jobs in the fourth quarter of last year. Economist Dawie Roodt said manufacturing was where the country needed to create jobs to cut unemployment, but added: “I don’t think the numbers will be repeated. Manufacturing is dependent on electricity, which is a problem and will remain so for a long time. So that is a factor that will be an obstacle for a significant rebound in production and manufacturing.” He cautioned that the latest figures did not really indicate a trend but were more of a post-lockdown bounce back after the pandemic’s broad impact on the entire economy. It is not clear from the survey which sub-sectors within manufacturing created most jobs in the first quarter, but FNB senior economist Thanda Sithole said: “We suspect that the petroleum-related, food and beverages, basic iron and steel and motor vehicles sub-sectors underpinned this jobs growth.” He also cited persistent load-shedding as a major constraint on manufacturers and noted that in addition they faced higher input costs, as reflected by double-digit manufacturing producer inflation. The floods in KwaZulu-Natal in April disrupted manufacturing companies in the region, and higher retail prices could curtail consumer spending, Sithole said. On top of the domestic factors, global uncertainty due to the war in Ukraine and concerns about weakening demand meant local manufacturers “are likely to remain cautious about employment decisions”, said Sithole. There was no clear indication that employment growth in the sector could be maintained, he cautioned. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabiso Mochiko at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
PIC and Absa have constructive engagements following fallout over appointment of white CEO Fin24 reports that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) says it is satisfied with Absa's openness to engage it about its concerns regarding the level of transformation in the bank. The state-owned asset manager, which is Absa's second-biggest shareholder, expressed "downright disappointment" when Absa appointed a white CEO in April, having lost its first black chief after just one year. The appointment of Arrie Rautenbach to permanently succeed Daniel Mminele, who parted ways with the bank because of clashes with the board, left not only the PIC, but many other observers questioning Absa's commitment to transformation. The PIC had expected Absa to focus on transformation when recruiting a new CEO to succeed Mminele. But in a statement that the asset manager asked Absa's board to read at Friday's annual general meeting (AGM), it said it appreciated the engagements it had had with the new chairperson and the new CEO regarding the level of transformation at Absa. That said, it would continue to keep a close eye on Absa to monitor its progress on recruiting people of other races and women at both board and executive levels, and wanted this to be part of the targets that determined their remuneration. "We look forward to getting the transformation targets and timelines, which must be integrated into the remuneration policy, with dedicated weightings for transparent monitoring," added the PIC in the statement. Absa chairperson Sello Moloko said the engagements that the bank had with the PIC since Rautenbach's appointment have only been "constructive". He emphasised the Absa board's past statement that Rautenbach was the best candidate to take the bank forward. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Londiwe Buthelezi at Fin24
Cosatu unsurprised by high crime stats, says more resources and personnel required News24 reports that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said in a statement on Sunday that it was not surprised by Friday's quarterly crime statistics that showed an increase in most categories. Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said austerity cuts slowed down the rate of recruitment of police since 2014 "and the lack of adequate funding for law enforcement agencies is the source of this deterioration in safety standards". He noted: "Over the past five years the police head count has declined from over 192,000 to 172,000. The announcement of an additional 12,000 intake this year is welcome but not enough when compared to 10,000 expected retirements from the SAPS, a growing population and rising levels of crime." Pamla added that there was "not enough that is being done to ensure that police have adequate resources to stem the tide of crime in the country". The condition of police stations, broken vehicles, antiquated computers, a forensic backlog, a firearms registry riddled with corruption, all pointed to a police service badly under resourced and poorly managed, Pamla claimed. "Parliament passes progressive laws empowering the SAPS and NPA to tackle corruption, cable theft and other serious crimes. Yet, they are rarely exercised by the SAPS and NPA. The inefficiencies in the courts and endless postponement of cases needs to be dealt with," said Pamla. Leadership in the police also had to be addressed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kaveel Singh at News24. Read too, Economic and cultural factors worsen crime in SA, says Saftu, at EWN
Lucky Star owner Oceana fires chief financial officer for 'gross misconduct' Fin24 reports Oceana has fired its chief financial officer after she was found guilty of gross misconduct as part of a disciplinary process, which was chaired by a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Hajra Karrim had been suspended since February. Oceana owns canned fish brand Lucky Star and also has a presence in other global markets where it sells fishmeal, fish oil and fish. It further owns a logistics company specialising in cold storage and transport of fish and other food products. Ralph Buddle will continue to serve as Interim Group Financial Officer until a new appointment is made. Former Oceana CEO Imran Soomra resigned shortly after Karrim's suspension. A new CEO, Neville Brink, was appointed last week. PwC resigned as the company's auditor last week, citing a strained relationship with Oceana’s board. Since October last year, the company has delayed the publication of its financial results for the year to end-September 2021 several times due to two accounting issues. A forensic investigation by ENSafrica found no evidence of "fraud, misappropriation or loss of funds or management of override of controls arising from any of the matters raised". Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24
Standard Bank’s chief engineer quits with immediate effect after recent system crashes BL Premium reports that Standard Bank’s chief engineering officer has resigned following a series of systems outages in recent months that have left customers unable to use many of the bank’s services. Alpheus Mangale, the group’s chief engineering officer and the senior executive accountable for the stability of the bank’s IT systems, has resigned with immediate effect, Standard Bank said in a short statement on Friday. Standard Bank’s most recent systems outage occurred on 21 May, when customers were left unable to pay for transactions at point of sales devices or draw money for more than six hours. The bank blamed its last outage on the failure of a component responsible for processing card and ATM transactions and switching them from external devices into the bank’s internal systems. It added that the six-hour systems crash was unrelated to three other “high-impact” incidents that occurred in recent months, which it said were due to a software bug. According to Mangale’s LinkedIn profile, he joined Standard Bank in September 2017 as the group’s chief information officer after having spent almost three years at MTN, where he had been chief enterprise officer. His role at Standard Bank was changed to chief engineering officer as of January 2021 as part of a group-wide revision to its operating model. While it is not certain who will take Mangale’s place, Standard Bank said its engineering team would now report to Margaret Nienaber, the group’s CEO for client solutions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Standard Bank se ingenieurshoof bedank, by Maroela Media Almost half of SA workers who resign blame toxic workplaces, burnout Fin24 reports that almost half of people who resigned from SA companies cited reasons other than money in their exit interviews, according to a new survey. Unlike countries like the US, most South Africans, especially in the low-income bracket, are hanging on to their jobs, knowing that in a country where more than 60% of young people are unemployed, it would be hard to find another opportunity. But turnover is increasing among higher skilled workers, who are more difficult to replace. According to its latest bi-annual salary and wage movement survey, Old Mutual's reward-management platform Remchannel found that the average staff turnover rate among 82 companies had increased to 17.7%. Staff turnover was highest among "skilled" and "professionally qualified" staff with between one and five years' experience. The 82 companies lost just under 40,000 of their 618,430 employees in the last 12 months. Of these employees, almost a quarter were dismissed due to misconduct, while another 20% of workers did not have their contracts renewed. More than 36% resigned. The biggest reasons for resignations were better career prospects and better pay elsewhere. But more concerning was that almost half (46.7%) of those who left cited reasons other than money in their exit interviews. Some 17% wanted to leave a "toxic workplace". Another 27% had experienced burnout, stress, changes in their personal lives that they couldn't juggle with their current work, or they were emigrating. But Remchannel's MD, René Richter said emigration was still quite low compared to these other factors. Company culture, on the other hand, was influencing a lot of these movements. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Londiwe Buthelezi at Fin24 (subscriber access only). Read too, Great resignation wave hits SA, at City Press (subscriber access only)
Saftu’s Zwelinzima Vavi and his wife could have their multimillion-rand home put up for auction by bank City Press reports that the general secretary of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), Zwelinzima Vavi, and his wife Noluthando, could lose their multimillion-rand home in the affluent suburb of Morningside Manor in Johannesburg after Standard Bank approached the court to have it put up for auction. But Noluthando Vavi said last week that they only became aware of the court papers when enquiries were made by the newspaper about their home. They bought the house for R2 million in 2008. A writ of execution application was brought to the Johannesburg High Court last week by Standard Bank. In it, the bank claims that the leading trade unionist and his wife are more than R100,000 in arrears in their monthly bond repayments. The affidavit claims that the applicant made various attempts to engage with the respondents to regularise the home loan amount, to no avail. It also states that the parties agreed that the home loan would be repaid over 360 months, with monthly instalments set at R24,491.12. The court application further shows that an agreement with the bank allows legal recourse should the bank not receive monthly instalments within 20 business days. The application gives the court a layout of the clause contained in the agreement that gives Standard Bank the right to sell the house should there be a default in payment. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mduduzi Nonyane at City Press (subscriber access only)
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