In our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Government may have to appease striking unions at SARS as border posts battle with congestion Fin24 reports that the ongoing strike at the SA Revenue Service (SARS) heightens the risk that government may be forced to capitulate to union demands in wage talks for a second time this year. Employees at Eskom recently secured a 7% increase after an unprotected strike plunged the country into stage 6 load shedding. Meanwhile, the government is currently in public service wage talks, where demands for a 10% wage increase have, thus far, been rejected. Labour economist Andrew Levy previously warned against setting a precedent where labour could disrupt essential services with impunity and still get the increases they sought. After wage talks at SARS went into deadlock again, the Public Servants Association (PSA) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) resumed an earlier strike on Tuesday, impacting some 18 branches. The unions are demanding a 7% increase. SARS has offered to channel its savings from 2021 towards salaries, but unions said this would only amount to a 1.3% increase and rejected it. SARS claimed it could not afford the 7% increase without further funding. The strike comes at a sensitive time for SARS, at the start of tax season. Nehawu’s Lwazi Nkolisi said it would be inconsistent if Eskom employees were allowed to down tools and disrupt power plant maintenance but nevertheless receive a 7% wage increase, if SARS employees were then subsequently refused increases on the basis of affordability. The beleaguered freight and logistics sector fears the impact of the SARS strike at the country's already congested border posts. Mary Phadi of the Trucking Association of SA commented: "As per their media briefing, SARS said they remain operational because of the support from other government agencies, whereas they know very well that their own staff are struggling to keep up with the current congestion at all the border posts." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
PSA rejects 2% offer and declares deadlock at public wage talks, bargaining council document shows Fin24 reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) has declared a deadlock in the public service wage talks with government, rejecting a 2% wage offer. A Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council annexure from the ongoing wage talks indicates that the union rejected the offer from the Department of Public Service and Administration. Unions went into the negotiations demanding a 10% increase across the board, which the government maintained from the beginning of talks it could not afford. If discussions deteriorate any further, SA faces the risk of a strike by unions representing 200,000 public servants, including teachers, nurses, and police officers. In the annexure, the government tabled a final offer of 2% with a revised sliding scale where salary levels 1 to 4 would receive 3%, levels 5 to 8 would receive 2.10% and levels 9 to 12 will get 1.50%. The employer stated that the 2% would be with effect from the date of signing the agreement and no longer with effect from 1 April 2022, as earlier indicated. The annexure recorded that the PSA was not prepared to consider anything less than 3% on the baseline increase while the cost of fuel, food, electricity, and public transport continued to rise. “The employer cannot only plead poverty when it comes to public servants and become charitable when it comes to other state entities or office bearers as they get money from the same pot," the PSA is recorded in the annexure as stating. Coordinator for Cosatu in the talks, Simon Hlungwani said the federation’s unions were consulting with members across the country for a mandate on the latest offer. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
Two police trainees booted out of SAPS academy after it was found that they were pregnant News24 reports that two police trainees were removed from the All Saints Police Academy in the Eastern Cape after it was discovered, midway through the programme, that they were pregnant. Police have launched an internal probe to understand how recruiters did not pick up the pregnancies before enrolling the young women. The pair formed part of 10,000 candidates enrolled nationwide for SAPS' 10-month training programme to become police officers. One of the women has since given birth prematurely at seven months. The second woman's pregnancy was reportedly discovered in May after she became sick on campus. Pregnant women and persons with health conditions are deemed physically unfit to undergo the intense police training regime. Prior to the selection process, candidates are subjected to stringent medical and drug tests before they get to do fitness, psychometric and integrity tests. Meantime, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) is trying to persuade the police to turn the termination of the contracts into maternity leave, so that the women can return to the programme. Popcru's provincial secretary, Xolani Prusente, said the union was against the termination of the trainees' contracts. He indicated: “We have noted that the trainees' contracts have been suspended and they have been removed from the campus. We are of the view that this move is unfair. They were already doing their training and should be allowed to complete it, after maternity.” National police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said SAPS' management was looking into the matter. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24
Joburg Uber drivers protest at Sandton offices on Thursday, demanding fare increases after fuel price hike IOL reports that a group of Uber drivers stormed the e-hailing company’s offices in Sandton on Thursday, demanding fare increases after rising fuel prices in the country. The drivers complained that the e-hailing company has not adjusted fares despite the cost of fuel rising from just under R20 per litre in January to over R26 per litre as of July. “What the drivers want is the prices to increase, because petrol is killing us. We aren’t making any profit. All the money is spent on petrol,” said one of the drivers. He advised that they submitted their grievances and were told to return on Friday, where Uber officials would meet with at least 20 nominated drivers. E-hailing Operators spokesperson Vhatuka Mbelengwa said he was not aware of the strike. “If it’s a strike we are not aware or involved in it,” he advised. In March, Uber increased base fares between R5 to R15 for all ride categories. This was after e-hailing drivers embarked on a three day strike over rocketing fuel increases. The demands made during Thursday's protest were still the same ones that were made in March. Drivers are expected to return to Uber’s offices on Friday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brenda Masilela at IOL. Read too, Fuel prices and load shedding a major strain on SA’s workforce, at Business Report
Cosatu says ANC in real danger of losing 2024 elections Saturday Star reports that trade union federation Cosatu has become the ANC’s latest alliance partner to warn the governing party it is in danger of losing the 2024 national and provincial elections. Addressing delegates at the SA Communist Party (SACP) national congress in Ekurhuleni, Cosatu president Zingisa Losi said the ANC needed to be cleansed and the tripartite alliance rebuilt. “We cannot afford to see the ANC deteriorate further. The ANC needs the party (SACP) and Cosatu to help cleanse it of its demons, corruption, factionalism and hooliganism,” she stated. Losi, who is also a member of the ANC’s national executive committee, warned that should attempts to rebuild the governing party fail, there was a real danger that it could lose the 2024 elections. “An ANC that fails to secure 51% (of the vote) will struggle to form a coalition with opposition parties determined to destroy the alliance, and reverse the many gains we have secured since 1994. This will be a devastating blow to the working class,” she warned. Losi also backed former president Thabo Mbeki’s assertion that while unity was paramount in the ANC, it could not be with those involved in criminality. The SACP has also indicated that the ANC’s future electoral prospects are uncertain, with a strong possibility of it achieving less than 50% in 2024. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loyiso Sidimba at Saturday Star
SACP’s Blade Nzimande calls for public employment programmes to solve SA’s joblessness crisis The Citizen reports that outgoing SA Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande says SA is at a crossroads as it faces unprecedented youth unemployment, high levels of gender-based violence (GBV), a stagnant economy and a financial sector not keen on funding industrialisation. He was addressing delegates at the15th SACP national congress in Boksburg. Nzimande said the answer to the country’s unemployment crisis lay with public employment programmes and “the right to work”. Noting that the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) had succeeded in achieving about one million work opportunities a year, with the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) having led to the employment of 600,000 teacher assistants, Nzimande said many more interventions were required to address soaring joblessness numbers. “In the face of the massive unemployment crisis, these programmes need to be vastly expanded – including specific targeting of youth and women. Despite its successes, the PES programme in the most recent budget allocation has been cut by 10%, while unemployment has got worse. EPWP budgets have flat-lined, despite government’s very own national development plan 2030, calling for a tenfold increase in public employment,” Nzimande pointed out. He also argued that the time had come “to massively revitalise the financial sector campaign”. The congress, which will on Saturday elect a new SACP leadership, will on Friday be addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brian Sokutu at The Citizen
Retrenched CNA staff still waiting for payouts due to acquisition delay Fin24 reports that retrenched CNA employees have yet to be paid out more than a year after being served with section 189 notices. The payment delay follows a disagreement between CNA and the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu). The company issued all its employees with retrenchment notices in February 2021 and severance packages were originally set to be paid before the end of December 2021. CNA fell into a financial crisis just one year after new owners took over the company in 2020. At the time, investment company Astoria had a 70% stake in the retailer, while former CEO Benjamin Trisk held 30%. CAN was then sold to Black Mountain Investment Management and AngloWealth's Everland for R2 million. It is that R2 million, however, that has held up payments to retrenched employees, because the proceeds of the sale would have made up their severance packages. Saccawu has rejected the offer, saying there was no clarity on how the parties had arrived at an offer of R2 million, which did not meet the workers' expectations. According to the union's spokesperson, Sithembele Tshwete, the business rescue process has not resolved the issue. "While waiting for the BRP [business rescue plan] to conclude, the union is busy consulting with workers and exploring legal interventions to reach amicable solution to this impasse," he advised. Business rescue practitioner Stefan Steyn expressed sympathy for the retrenched workers, saying Business Rescue Partners had hoped to have the payments finalised sooner. Steyn explained that the hold-up was due to delays in agreements being finalised. "We are waiting for Black Mountain [and] Everland to give us an indication on the timing of these payments and will revert shortly," he indicated. With regards to the business rescue process, Steyn explained that it would be terminated "shortly". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Penelope Mashego at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Solidarity to auction Denel assets to pay R90m debt owed to employees Engineering News reports that trade union Solidarity will hold the first of several auctions of state-owned defence company Denel’s assets on Friday, 15 July 2022 at Denel's head office, in Centurion. Solidarity seized the assets earlier this year owing to Denel’s failure to pay about R90-million in debt to its members in terms of a court order. The union said the seizure and auctioning of assets was the only option after Denel violated several agreements between the parties. Solidarity’s Helgard Cronjé indicated: “This auction covers only a small part of our claim, but this is merely the first phase. We have also seized Denel Corporate’s bank account and more auctions will follow until we finally obtain the full amount.” Some employees at Denel had to make do with only partial and sometimes no salary payments for more than two years. “Denel has taken away far too much from our members. It is unacceptable that ordinary workers have to sacrifice their livelihoods simply because of the indecision and negligence of the company’s shareholder, the State. This is intolerable and steps must be taken against this. The message is now clear: If Denel does not want to pay, then we will get our members their due through the seizure and auctioning of Denel’s assets,” Cronjé commented. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read Solidarity’s press statement in regard to this matter at Solidarity News
Law Society objects to 'confusing' BEE code envisioning hundreds of hours' free work for the poor Fin24 reports that the Law Society of SA has questioned whether it is "reasonable" to expect SA's lawyers to perform hundreds of hours of pro bono work per year, as envisioned by a draft BEE code for the legal profession. The draft, which Cabinet has endorsed, was formulated by the Legal Practice Council (LPC), which has decried the "marked absence of diversity on the basis of race and gender" in top law firms. The LPC, a relatively new body which oversees both advocates and attorneys in SA, said the code was necessary to ensure that black firms and advocates could build successful law practices. The Law Society, which represents attorneys in SA, said that while it supported the "noble transformation objectives" underpinning it, there was still uncertainty around the "content, application and impact" of the proposed code. One of the key issues is how much pro bono work advocates and attorneys must perform. The latest version of the draft code states that each attorney in a qualifying law firm with an income of between R3 million and R15 million should do 200 hours of pro bono work for "poor, marginalised and black clients from rural areas". Because the allocation is per attorney rather than per firm, this suggests that a small firm employing three attorneys would, therefore, have to allocate 200 hours each. But firms with incomes of above R15 million need to only do 500 hours of pro bono work per year per company. The code also has stricter requirements for black ownership than some other industries in SA. The Law Society said that, given the uncertainty around some provisions in the bill, there should be no "rush" to get the draft promulgated without "robust engagement." Once the Cabinet-endorsed version of the code has been published in the government Gazette, the public will have 60 days to comment. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Cronje at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
SACP wants ANC to put prescribed pension fund assets back on table BL Premium reports that the SA Communist Party (SACP) will be putting the issue of prescribed assets, which would force pension funds to invest in government stock, back on the table at the ANC’s policy conference scheduled for end-July. With Cosatu, the SACP is part of an alliance with the ruling party. But the SACP should expect fierce pushback on the issue from the ANC. After a backlash from civil society and pension fund administrators and managers, the ANC backed off from the idea at earlier conferences. There were also market concerns about the implications that prescribing assets could have for investment portfolios and investment outcomes. But the SACP, which is holding its four-day national conference this week, thinks putting the prescribed assets back on the ANC’s agenda will reignite the stagnant economy. “The Public Investment Corporation has R3-trillion … And when we say take some of the money that are held by workers’ retirement and pension funds and invest it in infrastructure and the manufacturing sector … we will campaign for that,” outgoing SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande indicated on Wednesday. He added: “We believe that is the correct way of taking money out of this bubble of the financial sector and putting it in job-creating activities.… We are saying now that we are not going to rely on boardroom discussions [with the ANC].” Nzimande did not provide more information on what the SACP, which had previously threatened to pull out of the tripartite alliance, would do to ensure that the ANC changed its stance on prescribed assets. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive
Lifestyle audits of senior staff in public works department in full swing, says De Lille News24 reports that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPW&I) says a lifestyle audit of its senior staff is underway. DPW&I Minister Patricia de Lille confirmed that lifestyle audits had been conducted on senior management officials. She received a report on the matter earlier this week. De Lille had requested the Special Investigating Unit's (SIU’s) assistance in conducting the lifestyle audits, which started in January in line with a secondment agreement. Documentation, such as integrity forms and supporting documents, were received from 47 staff members, while 13 officials still have to submit outstanding documentation. The lifestyle audit also included verification of criminal records for senior staff members. The SAPS Criminal Record Centre was consulted and, of 60 staff members, 58 were found to have no criminal record. Preliminary checks indicated that the remaining two officials were possibly linked to a criminal record. Fingerprints were collected from the two officials and submitted to the Record Centre for verification. A review of the 47 completed staff submissions was conducted, and draft reports for each individual were compiled. The outcomes of the lifestyle audits are expected to be finalised in the coming months. Earlier this week, De Lille signed off a report and wrote to the Public Service Commission confirming that all designated employees for the 2021/2022 financial year had submitted financial disclosures. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24
NPA confident of a strong case against ex-Transnet top executives The Star reports that the R93 million corruption case against former Transnet Group senior executives will be back in court next month after it was postponed on Wednesday. The accused in the matter – former group chief executive Siyabonga Gama, former acting group chief financial officer Garry Pita, former group treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi, Regiments shareholder Eric Wood, Trillian asset management current director Daniel Roy (Novum Asset Management) and Kuben Moodley owner of Albatime Pty Ltd – appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court. They have been charged with contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, fraud, corruption and money laundering. “The Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court deferred the R93 million Transnet corruption matter to August 29 for further investigations,” Investigating Directorate (ID) national spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka advised. She said the ID intended to add further accused in the matter, meaning those accused don’t have to appear in August. The ID has requested for more time to continue with investigations. “Investigations in high-profile matters like these take time in order to get to court … We must reiterate that (in respect of) the persons before court currently, we are very confident in our matter,” Seboka said. She said the ID requested a postponement in order to access evidence emanating from the state capture commission of inquiry, not necessarily the recommendations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntombi Nkosi at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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