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 Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Renewed wage strike by PSA and Nehawu forces SARS to close 18 branches Fin24 reports that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) announced on Tuesday that its operations had been affected by industrial action on the part of two unions and that it had been forced to close 18 branches in seven provinces around the country. The strike comes at a sensitive time for operations at SARS, as tax season started at the beginning of July. The Public Servants Association (PSA) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) announced on Monday that they would be resuming their strike at SARS after they had suspended their industrial action for two months during further wage talks. The unions are demanding a 7% increase in wages. SARS has floated the idea of channelling its savings from 2021 towards wages. But the unions said this would only add up to a 1.39% increase and they rejected the offer. SARS said it was "empathetic" to the financial position of employees, but added that it was dependent on an annual allocation made through a process managed by National Treasury so the wage demand of labour of CPI plus 7% was simply unaffordable until SARS received further funding. PSA spokesperson Reuben Maleka claimed that the strike action had "fully shut down" border gates and SARS branch offices. Nehawu spokesperson Lwazi Nkolisi said the strike action at SARS had kicked off "quite well" with members coming out in numbers at demonstrations across various SARS offices. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24. Lees ook, Talle kantore van inkomstediens gesluit oor staking, by Maroela Media
Two Fidelity guards gunned down in Eastern Cape on Tuesday, two more seriously injured The South African reports that two Fidelity Security officers were shot and killed in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday morning and two more guards were critically injured in an attack. Fidelity CEO Wahl Bartmann said four security officers were patrolling a suburb in Joe Slovo, Gqeberha when they were attacked by an unknown number of assailants. The driver of the vehicle tried to drive off while the Fidelity crewmen returned fire. However, both the driver and another guard were fatally wounded and died at the scene. The two survivors were taken to Mercantile and Greenacres Hospital in Gqeberha where they are currently in a critical condition. Bartmann said officers and vehicles have been attacked several times over the last week. “This is virtually the third attack in almost as many days. The incidents are occurring with increasing regularity and there is enormous disregard for the sanctity of life and this senseless loss of life is just not acceptable,” he said. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Storm Simpson at The South African. Lees ook, Fidelity-wagte in Oos-Kaap doodgeskiet, by Maroela Media
Cosatu to challenge ‘polarising’ Covid-19 vaccine mandate policies BL Premium reports that Cosatu plans to challenge mandatory Covid-19 vaccination at a “national, policy level” and says it wants companies that have dismissed workers for non-compliance with such policies to reinstate them. Cosatu’s parliamentary co-ordinator, Matthew Parks, indicated on Tuesday that, while the labour federation supported the vaccination mandate against Covid-19, it could not support the dismissal of any workers in a country of 60-million where only about 14-million people were employed. Parks said there was a “diversity of views” among the union affiliates of Cosatu, many of whom regarded mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policies as “polarising”. He added that while it was up to the individual affiliates to take the matter up “on the ground” with various companies or sectors that have instituted mandatory Covid-19 vaccination in the workplace, Cosatu would be lobbying for reinstatement of workers dismissed for non-compliance with mandatory vaccination at a “national, policy level”. In a statement later on Tuesday, Cosatu outlined its position on vaccine mandates in what might be the first major salvo in a broader worker-led war against mandatory workplace vaccination. It said: “Cosatu supports the vaccine rollout programme and ... we believe that education and addressing the fears of workers and society is the best way to persuade people to vaccinate. Threatening and dismissing workers only serves to poison what has already become a very charged and divided debate across the world.” A recent CCMA ruling suggested that mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policies in the workplace might be unlawful. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen & Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Companies scrap mandatory vaccine policies, but will dismissed employees be reinstated? The Citizen reports that after bloodshed, tears and unfair dismissals, big companies are scrapping mandatory vaccine policies, as infections seemed to have stabilised. Eugene Ebersohn of finance sector trade union Sasbo said they were aware that both Old Mutual and Santam had recalled their mandatory vaccination policies. He commented: “We have always believed in the vaccine and the science behind it. We also believe each person should have the right to decide if they want to get vaccinated against Covid.” Ebersohn noted that Standard Bank had expected all their employees to be fully vaccinated to enter their premises and the result was that around 40 employees were dismissed who were not vaccinated. He reported that the bank informed the trade union on Monday that it would no longer require its employees to be vaccinated. “The elephant in the room remains those employees who were dismissed for not being vaccinated. The union has written to the bank’s CEO, demanding those employees be reinstated without delay,” Ebersohn said. Standard Bank SA chief executive Lungisa Fuzile confirmed that the bank withdrew its Covid vaccination policy after 95% of its employees were vaccinated. Fuzile did not respond as to when or if fired employees would return to work. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzer at The Citizen. Lees ook, Standard Bank skort verpligte inenting op; talle egter reeds afgedank, by Maroela Media
Solidarity petitions Parliament to remove obstacles to private power generation Engineering News reports that trade union Solidarity has submitted a petition to Parliament demanding that all regulatory or legislative obstacles to unlimited private power generation be removed as a matter of urgency. Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) head Connie Mulder indicated: “It is obvious that Eskom does not have the capacity to supply the country’s current energy needs and it will certainly not be able to meet future energy needs. Eskom itself will decommission most of its coal fleet in the coming decades with 22,000 MW to be decommissioned by 2035. By 2035, South Africa will need approximately 68,000 MW of private generation just to replace this coal fleet. We therefore have to move much faster just to maintain the current level of generation. For this reason, we urgently need to facilitate and encourage private generation.” Solidarity’s petition demands that the government urgently take the following steps: decentralise generation as soon as possible; abolish building regulations that apply to independent renewable power producers and abolish the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) in its entirety; do away with all unnecessary regulations barring investors from this market; increase training in renewable energy and battery storage technology; and implement a generous feed-in tariff scheme to address immediate supply issues. Read the original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Government wants to create two million jobs for South Africans before elections in 2024 - by clamping down on foreigners Bloomberg News reports that as SA grapples with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi wants to add as many as two million new jobs before the next elections. About 12 million South Africans are without jobs. Unemployment according to the expanded definition, which includes people who were available for work but not looking for a job, is at 45.5%. SA will go to the polls in 2024 and the lack of jobs is likely to be a key issue in the run-up to the elections. Strict labour laws, stagnant productivity, bureaucratic hurdles and a skills shortage have reduced the ability of South African companies to hire additional workers. "Whether or not that is achievable, I don’t know," Nxesi said of his goal in an interview on Tuesday. The government was working on policy amendments to prioritise South Africans’ access to jobs over foreign nationals with the same skills, he indicated. The high unemployment rate has added to anti-immigrant sentiment among some South Africans who resent facing additional competition for jobs. Reducing undocumented immigrants would be vital in addressing unemployment, according to Nxesi. There has been a trend of "employment of foreign workers at the expense of the South African workers," Nxesi claimed, adding that the issue was “the employers who deliberately employ these vulnerable people." To limit the influx of illegal migrants from neighbouring nations, SA wants to establish a border control agency. The Border Management Authority will have branches at six border posts to begin with, and employ people from various government departments to tighten the implementation of immigration policies. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by S'thembile Cele at Fin24 Low-skilled Zimbabweans struggle to qualify for SA visas as deadline for expiry of ZEP looms Sunday Times reports that thousands of low-skilled Zimbabwean nationals are finding it difficult to qualify for visas and many believe the SA Cabinet's decision to do away with the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) is aimed at pushing them out of the country. With time slowly ticking towards the December deadline, many of the 180,000 holders of ZEP are hoping the SA government will change its mind. ZEP holders have been given until 31 December to apply for visas to continue living in SA, return to Zimbabwe, or face possible deportation as they would be declared illegal immigrants. In November last year, the Cabinet announced that the ZEP would not be extended. Advocate Gabriel Shumba, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Exiles' Forum, said they were “extremely worried that the call to migrate to other permits seems cosmetic and there doesn't appear to be any intention to ensure that the conditions for migration are realistic”. He indicated: “Many ZEP holders among our membership have been to the department of employment and labour to try to apply for a labour certificate, which is a prerequisite for an application for a general work visa ... they have been informed that these certificates take up to a year to obtain.” Shumba said those who applied without the labour certificate were being turned away. “This obviously creates a nightmare and a catch-22 situation that all right-thinking people see as a deliberate maze.” Another major stumbling block was that employers were expected to give an undertaking that they would be liable for deportation costs should the applicant be refused the permit. The Helen Suzman Foundation has filed court papers in a bid to declare Cabinet's decision to do away with the ZEP unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. The Zimbabwe Permit Holders Association is also preparing a court challenge to the decision of the Department of Home Affairs to make permit holders apply for visas to legally stay in SA. Read the full original of the comprehensive report in the above regard by Isaac Mahlangu at Sunday Times
Tiger Brands extends life of Ashton canning factory for another season BusinessLive reports that Tiger Brands will be extending operations at its deciduous fruit business for another season as a number of parties have expressed an interest in further discussions on the possible acquisition of the business. The company, which has struggled over the last two years to find a buyer for the loss-making Langeberg & Ashton Foods fruit canning business, said that as the conclusion of any transaction would not take place in time for any successful buyer to put the required preparations in place to process the forthcoming season’s crop, it would “extend operations for a further season”. The decision could save the life of the specialised factory and the 250 permanent and 4,300 seasonal jobs on the line. A consortium of 160 farmers that had tabled an “indicative offer” to buy the plant has been struggling to put together the R200m to R300m required to acquire the business and Tiger Brands subsequently launched a “consultation period”, which ends in August. Tuesday’s announcement by Tiger Brands outlined that it was in continuous engagements with relevant government departments and was also in talks with potential buyers who were able to meet the working capital requirements of the business. Tiger Brands said it was optimistic that “the extension of operations on a mutually beneficial basis allows for a possible transaction that may result in a long-term, sustainable solution for Tiger’s deciduous fruit processing business”. The factory is one of only two fruit canners in SA. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Michelle Gumede at BusinessLive
Alarming decline in SAPS detectives, with losses at stations over four years amounting to 1,404 SowetanLive reports that the number of detectives at police stations across the country has declined by more than 1,400 in the past four years. A written reply by Police Minister Bheki Cele to a parliamentary question showed that the number of general detectives at police station level declined from 21,002 in 2019 to 19,598 this year. This was a decline of 1,404. The number of specialised detectives also declined by 33 – from 4,898 in 2019 to 4,865 this year. However, the response showed that specialised detectives at provincial level increased from 538 in 2019 to 825 this year. Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Andrew Whitfield, who posed the question to Cele, said there was no planning to address the shortage of detectives. “Senior detectives are retiring but the systems within the police are so bad they are not planning for succession to make sure that there is a pipeline of detectives that are coming through, being mentored and developed. We also see people resigning because there is too much work pressure. There is one detective in Pietermaritzburg with 280 dockets. How can one detective carry such a caseload of 280 dockets? Eventually, something will give in, people resign,” Whitfield observed. He said there was a complete system failure in the SA Police Service caused by poor management and weak leadership that was unable to maximise the available budget. Stellenbosch University criminologist Dr Guy Lamb attributed the drop in the number of detectives to poor working conditions and better salaries in the private sector. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Penwell Dlamini & Mpho Koka at SowetanLive We don’t hire job seekers with tattoos as they tend to be gangsters, police minister Bheki Cele indicates News24 reports that Police Minister Bheki Cele has assured residents of Orlando East that police resources and visibility in the area will be improved. This after unknown gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting at an Orlando East tavern on Sunday morning. Twenty-three people were shot inside the Mdlalose tavern, twelve were killed on the scene, three more died in hospital, and eight wounded patrons are still recovering in nearby hospitals. Police said they have tasked an 11-member team to investigate the murders, and maximum resources have been activated to find and apprehend the five suspects. On human resources, Cele said they would recruit and select suitable candidates to serve as police officers, adding that all applicants would be subjected to fitness, psychometric and integrity testing, as well as medical evaluations during the recruitment, selection and enlistment process. He indicated: "When you have a tattoo, we don't hire you because you have a tendency of being a gangster." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24
Gauteng education department claims MEC Panyaza Lesufi didn’t get personally involved in teacher’s fight against racist claims Pretoria News reports that the Gauteng Education Department has dismissed assertions by a Pretoria teacher that MEC Panyaza Lesufi had personally rejected her appeal when she was fired after being accused of racism. On Monday, it was reported that Anneke Smit, represented by trade union Solidarity, won a case of racism brought against her at the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC). The arbitrator ruled that the educator had been falsely accused of racism, suspended and unfairly dismissed in September 2021. The arbitrator also ruled that Smit should receive 10 months’ damages and she could return to her position as a teacher at Hoërskool Montana in Pretoria North on 1 August. The union had accused Lesufi, who heads the appeal body, of personally rejecting Smit’s application to appeal when she was dismissed. Department spokesperson Steve Mabona confirmed that they were aware of the matter, however, dismissed Solidarity’s assertions, calling them “baseless accusations”. Asked if the department would be complying with the arbitration ruling, Mabona they were still studying the judgment. Smit was suspended last year for using the word “polisiemannetjie” (the Afrikaans diminutive for policeman), which was misconstrued as “police monkey” when an investigation was instituted against her, resulting in her dismissal. Solidarity spokesperson Anlia Archer noted: "During the hearing it was also found that the charges against her, as well as the procedure followed in respect of Ms Smit’s dismissal were unfounded and she should therefore be reinstated in her post. It is outrageous that a teacher’s life and work were snatched from her simply because of false charges of racism being brought against her.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mashudu Sadike at Pretoria News
SIU arrests four former employees of two Eskom contractors TimesLive reports that four former employees of two multinational engineering firms awarded R2.2bn contracts for Eskom’s Kusile power plant in 2015 were arrested by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Asset Forfeiture Unit on Tuesday and were scheduled to appear in the Durban and Palm Ridge specialised commercial crimes courts. The former employees of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and Impulse International were arrested in Durban and Emalahleni (Witbank). ABB was awarded a R2.2bn control and instrumentation contract for Eskom’s Kusile plant in 2015, and subsequently awarded Impulse International R800m in work — even though Impulse failed ABB’s tests for a subcontractor. In 2019 it was reported that former Eskom boss Matshela Koko allegedly guaranteed ABB R6.5bn in future contracts if it subcontracted work on the Kusile power station to Impulse International, a company partly-owned by his stepdaughter. Explosive details of how Koko allegedly facilitated the looting of millions of rand from Kusile in cahoots with Swiss-based firm ABB were exposed in reports provided to the SIU. The company is one of 11 international engineering giants being investigated by the SIU for their roles in the looting of about R139bn to build power stations. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at BusinessLive. Read too, Four arrested for corruption in Eskom deal on Kusile power station, at Mail & Guardian
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