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 Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
|
Delegates from two Numsa regions walk out of national congress in Cape Town EWN reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s (Numsa’s) 11th national congress descended into chaos on Wednesday. The congress is taking place despite a Labour Court interdict. Delegates from the Western Cape region said the court’s interdict should be obeyed and also that the exclusion of representatives from Mpumalanga was unfair. They stormed out saying that they would not be part of corruption. Delegates from the Eastern Cape region supported the view that the national congress was in contempt of court and also asserted that suspended office bearers should have been there. But Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the congress had to go ahead: “We don’t have money to redo this congress. The court was very clear that we can proceed with the congress as long as we adhere to certain minimal principles.” A special central committee meeting on Tuesday resolved that all the constitutional requirements for the congress to sit had been met. But, Numsa leaders were then served with a letter of demand by the faction disputing the convening of the national congress. The letter demanded that the union should furnish the group with the minutes of the central committee meeting that decided the congress should go ahead on Wednesday morning. The letter of demand apparently had to be issued before the disgruntled Numsa members and leaders could approach the court for "appropriate relief". Meantime, the union has appealed the interdict that stalled the start of the congress. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Theto Mahlakoana & Ronald Masinda at EWN. Read too, Numsa hit with letter of demand as Western Cape region walks out of interdicted congress, at Fin24 Chirwa, Jim re-elected unopposed at disputed 11th national congress to their Numsa leadership positions Fin24 reports that National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) president Andrew Chirwa and general secretary Irvin Jim were re-elected to their positions unopposed at the union's 11th national congress on Wednesday evening. Former president of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) Mac Chavalala was elected first deputy president. Puleng Mfaka was elected second deputy president – the position previously held by Ruth Ntlokotse, who could not attend the congress as she was suspended. Mphumzi Maqungo was re-elected as national treasurer. A threat of litigation still looms over the union's interdicted congress, as officials who were suspended from the union successfully overturned their suspensions at the Labour Court on Saturday and got an order interdicting the congress until it could be held in full compliance with the Numsa constitution. Numsa has sought leave to appeal this ruling and proceeded with the congress. Judgment was reserved until 10:00 on Thursday morning. Lawyers representing both Numsa and the officials, who have since had their suspensions lifted, made oral representations to the Labour Court via a virtual hearing on Wednesday evening. The hearing came on the same day Numsa kicked off its congress, maintaining it had taken the necessary corrective actions in line with the court's ruling. The officials, however, maintained that the congress remained invalid. Numsa had announced earlier on Wednesday that it would urgently seek leave to appeal last week's Labour Court ruling, arguing that the court had misinterpreted its constitution. Judge Graham Moshoana opted to study the submissions from both parties and reserved judgment. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24 It’s not a ‘holiday trip’, says Numsa as it spends almost R40m to hold eleventh congress in Cape Town EWN reports that National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) president Andrew Chirwa has defended the union's decision to spend close to R40 million to convene its congress at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Numsa, which has cash flow problems due to a variety of reasons, sponsored flights for over 1,000 delegates to the Mother City for its eleventh congress, going against its own resolution to spend moderate amounts on such gatherings and to look for cheaper and more central venues. However, when addressing the congress during his opening speech on Wednesday, Chirwa said this was justified as they were merely trying to comply with "Covid-19 restrictions". Numsa, which has failed to submit its audited financial statements to the Department of Labour since 2018, as obliged by law, said those who viewed the Cape Town trip as a “holiday” were wrong. He explained: “Because when we planned the conference, there was lockdown and we had to look for the best convenient venue to Covid-19 regulations.” Numsa members are some of the hardest hit by business cut-backs in various industries, but Chirwa said the expense was justified. Delegates spent at least two days milling around the city after the congress was interdicted. Numsa’s 2012 congress resolved that the union should dramatically reduce spending on expensive hotels by opting for guest houses instead. However, at the present congress, delegates are being accommodated in four and five-star hotels. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Theto Mahlakoana at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
True cost of Denel’s mismanagement revealed in SRI’s employee wellness report On Wednesday, the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) released a report on the mental and financial condition of Denel employees. This followed Solidarity having been embroiled in a legal battle with Denel for two years to get the state-owned enterprise to pay the R90 million in salaries owed to the trade union’s members. According to Solidarity, the report draws a clear line between the fatal mismanagement of Denel and the tangible impact it has had on ordinary people. Denel employees have had to try and survive with partial or no salary payments respectively for more than two years. “Denel’s situation is not only catastrophic from a financial point of view, but the entity as a whole went through a process of destruction. The consequences thereof are explicitly shown in the report. The financial impact on employees may be calculable, but one will never be able to calculate the emotional and mental impact it had on employees,” said Nicolien Welthagen, Research Psychologist at the SRI. “Jobs provide meaning, security and an opportunity to live a life of purpose. Denel employees are not only deprived of these things, but also of compensation for the work they do,” she pointed out. “As heart-wrenching as it may be that Denel finds itself in a desperate situation as a whole, it is worse when you think of the people who have lost their homes and their vehicles, with the report making it clear that some have already contemplated suicide as the way out of their situation,” Welthagen lamented. Read Solidarity’s press statement regarding the above and access the full report at Politicsweb. Lees ook, Denel se aftakeling laat werkers gebroke, by Maroela Media
NICD announces that daily reporting of Covid-19 data to end on Friday TimesLive reports that daily reporting of Covid-19 data by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), which has been in place since March 2020, will end on Friday. For more than two years, the institute gave daily updates on the number of new infections, Covid-19 related hospitalisations and deaths, a provincial breakdown of the figures and the number of people tested for the virus. The NICD said the present phase of the pandemic, coupled with dwindling Covid-19 numbers, has necessitated a re-evaluation of the daily reporting strategy. “The reporting of Covid-19 surveillance data, however, including the latest testing summary, will continue as normal, with the data published in the existing weekly surveillance reports. These reports are available from Wednesdays,” the NICD indicated. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at TimesLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Looming private security sector strike The Citizen reports on a looming private security sector strike that is however unlikely to be deadly and as bloody as the one in 2006, when 60 people were killed and scores injured. The violent six-month long strike saw non-striking guards and on-duty guards attacked, and some thrown off moving trains. Amendments to the Labour Relations Act require that picketing rules must be agreed upon before workers go on strike. “This includes how the striking parties will handle themselves during the strike so there is high possibility that we will not see the repeat of what happened in 2006,” said Philemon Bhebhe, SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) national security coordinator. Twenty-three unions have referred a wage dispute to the CCMA for mediation after a deadlock on their demand for a R900 (roughly 16%) national monthly wage increase every year over the next three years. Employers have offered a 3.5% increase. The last time the industry saw a wage increase was in 2019, when the unions secured a 8.5% hike. Bhebhe said they referred the dispute on 13 July and the CCMA has 30 days to bring the parties to the table, mediate and offer recommendations to bring the parties closer. “If the parties fail to find each other and reach an agreement, then we will have to issue a strike notice. We have not heard anything from the CCMA but it is still early days,” he said. If not averted, the strike will result in private and public infrastructure, including police stations and government offices, without private guards. Of the total registered security officers, almost 560,000 (employees, independent contractors, in-house security officers) are actively deployed. Bhebhe said currently the lowest grade security guard was earning a basic monthly salary of R4,300. If they are successful, this will increase to R5,475 by the March next year, and in the third year the basic salary should be about R8,100. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipho Mabena at The Citizen
Petrol price may be cut by more than R1/litre next week Fin24 reports that South Africans will be getting some relief at the petrol pumps with fuel price cuts in August, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) confirmed on Wednesday. According to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, petrol prices currently look set for cuts of between R1.19 and R1.22 per litre, depending on the grade of fuel. Diesel could be reduced by more than 80c – if the oil price and rand-dollar exchange rate remain at current levels. In July, prices were hiked by more than 10%. A reduction in the fuel levy, which sought to cushion consumers from the impact of skyrocketing oil prices, will however be coming to an end on 2 August. The temporary reduction of R1.50 per litre came into effect in April and was reduced to 75c per litre in July. "Despite this reprieve coming to an end on 2 August 2022, the department can confirm that there will still be a sizeable reduction in fuel prices including paraffin for South Africans. A formal announcement in this regard will be made by the end of the week," the DMRE said. The process of deregulating the price of petrol has also begun, with the department saying on Wednesday that consultation on the introduction of the price cap for 93 Octane fuel had been "initiated." Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Ahmed Areff at Fin24. Read too, Petrol price: AA hopes for more relief in September as fuel levy reduction set to end, at The Citizen South African food inflation continued an upward trend last month Engineering News reports that the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) has revealed in its latest ‘Food Inflation Brief’ that South African food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation jumped 8.6% last month, in year-on-year (y-o-y) terms. In month-on-month (m-o-m) terms, food and non-alcoholic inflation in June was up 1.2%. This inflation contributed 1.5 percentage points to the consumer price index headline inflation figure of 7.4% last month. “The full effect of the commodity price shock of the Russian Ukraine invasion on grains and oilseeds is now apparent, with inflation on bread and cereals amounting to 11.2% and oils and fats recorded at a staggering 32.5%,” the BFAP highlighted. The cost of the BFAP’s Thrifty Healthy Food Basket (THFB) jumped 9.3% in y-o-y terms, or by R270. In m-o-m terms, the increase was 0.4%, or R13. The THFB is nutritionally balanced, containing 26 food items from all the food groups, and designed to feed a family of two adults, and an older child and a younger child, for a month. Assuming the family earned two minimum wages and benefitted from child grants and school feeding, the THFB would have consumed 30.4% of their total income last month. For July, high diesel prices were likely to have a major impact on food prices, while load-shedding during this month (by driving up production costs) could also boost food inflation this month and next month, the Bureau warned. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Unpaid ANC staff protest outside Nasrec gala dinner where seat next to president cost R1m The Citizen reports that some African National Congress (ANC) staff members protested over the non-payment of salaries as the ruling party’s gala dinner kicked off at Nasrec in Johannesburg. The ANC was hosting a gala dinner – with one seat next to president Cyril Ramaphosa costing as much as R1 million – to raise funds ahead of its sixth national policy conference, which is set to take place from 29 to 31 July. The dinner, hosted by the Progressive Business Forum (PBF), was intended to allow businesspeople to socialise with the ANC’s leaders and discuss its economic and social policies. However, some of the party’s staff expressed their disapproval over the dinner as they have not been paid salaries for two months. Speaking to SABC, ANC staff member Mandla Qwane said the workers “were left with no choice” but to picket instead of assisting with the gala dinner. He also stated that the ANC had failed on its promise to at least pay the staff 50% of what they were owed. “Early this morning there was a commitment that at least pay 50% of the salaries were going to be paid and we have not seen any payment. None of our staff members have confirmed to have received their salaries,” he claimed. Meanwhile, ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe told the media at the dinner that the party would be issuing payment to the aggrieved staff members from Thursday. This was not the first time party employees have been angered by the non-payment of salaries and other benefits. They embarked on similar protests last year and earlier this year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by The Citizen. Read too, As ANC gears up for 'robust debates' on policy, staffers remain unpaid, at News24
Ramaphosa reiterates pay parity calls as he welcomes triumphant Banyana Banyana EWN reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the 2022 Women’s African Cup of Nations champions to the Union Buildings on Wednesday. The women's 2-1 win against Morocco saw them bagging the continental victory during the final game of the tournament. The welcome followed celebrations at the OR Tambo International Airport where fans afforded the women a massive horoes’ welcome on Tuesday. There was a similar atmosphere at the Union Buildings. Ramaphosa reiterated calls for women who play for the national football team to be paid equally to the men’s players. The president said the players had inspired a new generation of girls all over the country to emulate their achievements, while also providing relief for South Africans from their troubles. He said: “I believe we have to do good by you… You do deserve much more recognition... You have put our nation on the map, once again… You deserve much more”. The president pledged to support the move towards equal pay for male and female players while also promising additional bonus payments for the winning squad. Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa has awarded the team an additional R5.8 million following their victory, in addition to the R9.2 million that the SA Football Association set aside for the champions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Vukile Dlwati & Mawande Mateza at EWN Banyana coaches’ bonuses still being negotiated with Safa, says Danny Jordaan TimesLive reports that SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has told Marawa Sports Worldwide that Desiree Ellis and her technical team's bonuses for winning the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) were still being negotiated. The 23 Banyana Banyana players were promised a win bonus of R400,000 each, or R9.2m in total, from Safa before the Wafcon, where they clinched the title with their 2-1 final victory against the hosts in Rabat on Saturday. Jordaan said the technical team would only start negotiating their win bonuses now they have returned to SA. He indicated: “Over the next few days we will have to sit down because remember, there's not just the players, there is the technical staff. And I had a meeting with them [the coaching staff] in Rabat on the very question to say, 'We can't forget you. We can't have only players on the field [getting win bonuses]’. So unfortunately those are issues we have to sit down and discuss with them. We only won on Saturday and only arrived back today [Tuesday], so obviously we did not discuss that [yet].” Jordaan said the main reason for the huge pay discrepancy between men and women footballers in the country was the gap in broadcast revenue. “If you get broadcast revenue for women's football the question of pay parity is over. Because you find that the men are paid R2.8bn [in broadcast and sponsorship] and for broadcast R1.4bn, but for Banyana, nothing, not a cent,” he said. The Safa president was referring to broadcast revenue generated by the men's Premier Soccer League (PSL) compared with that brought in by the women's Hollywoodbets Super League. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at TimesLive
Eskom pension fund accuses Brian Molefe of using delaying tactics to avoid paying back R10m Fin24 reports that Eskom's pension fund has accused the power utility's former head, Brian Molefe, of trying to delay his obligation to pay it R10 million. Earlier this month, the North Gauteng High Court ruled that Molefe had to pay the fund the R9.98 million that he was wrongly awarded when he stepped down as CEO. Molefe was ordered to pay the money, plus interest, within 10 days. The Eskom Pension and Provident Fund said at the time that it hoped the ruling would bring the drawn-out matter to a close. But on Wednesday, the fund said it had learned that Molefe now intended to appeal the ruling. "The [fund] believes there are no merits to Mr Molefe's appeal, and it is an attempt to delay the implementation of the court order," said chief executive Shafeeq Abrahams. The saga of Molefe's pension dates to 2018, when a court set aside all his Eskom-linked pension payouts and ordered him to pay back the money he had received. But the former Eskom boss did not pay back the funds, arguing that he didn't know how much he needed to pay. On 4 July, Judge Norman Davis set out what Molefe had to pay, namely R9,985,540, plus interest calculated from 31 October 2019. Davis also thought it necessary to reconfirm Molefe's obligation to "proverbially 'pay back the money'". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Cronje at Fin24
R900m recovered as UIF pursues employers who looted workers’ Covid-19 relief funds IOL reports that the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is auditing companies that claimed Covid-19 temporary employer-employee relief scheme (Ters) benefits, with a special focus on employers who defrauded the government scheme. Phase two of the UIF’s ‘Follow the Money Project’, which started this month, has also set its sights on employers who did not declare employees and kept Covid-19 Ters money for themselves, instead of paying their workers. UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping said the Fund was implementing an “on the spot as well as an overtime recoupment process”. The process will apply in cases in which, before March 2020, employees were not declared by employers. In such instances, 70% of the 2% contributed by the Fund would be recovered immediately. “In these cases, only 30% will be recouped over a period of time from employers. In cases where monies were claimed from the UIF but did not reach the intended employees, 50% will be immediately recouped by our teams,” Maruping indicated. The UIF said its ‘Follow the Money Project’ had already recovered over R900 million. The project saw the UIF employ six audit companies to follow all Covid-19 Ters money to ensure that the correct amount was paid to the workers “at the right time”. The six auditing companies are now being bolstered by a team from the Fund that is visiting employers to conduct internal verifications of the declared employees. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo at IOL Other internet posting(s) in this news category
|
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page