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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Strike at Putco ends after unions accept 6% wage increase offer News24 reports that striking Putco (Public Utility Transport Corporation) employees have accepted a 6% wage offer after a series of meetings between the bus company and trade unions. Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the CCMA facilitated the three-day meetings, which were held after employees at the Dobsonville and Roseville depots embarked on a strike over salary increases and outstanding 2020 bonus payments. Putco had applied for an exemption from the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council on the basis that it could not afford the payouts due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Xulu advised that Putco had withdrawn that application. He indicated: "The company will implement a 6% wage increase on 1 October 2022 for all employees who were in service of Putco on 1 April 2020 and are still in service after this agreement. The wage increase will not be backdated." The annual bonus of 2020 will be paid by Putco to all eligible employees, spread equally over a period of 18 months, starting at the end of October 2022. A one-off payment of R5,000 per employee inside the bargaining unit will be paid in two instalments at the end of November 2022 and the end of February 2023 in lieu of back pay for all employees who were in the service of the company on 1 April 2020. Xulu added that the dismissal of 105 drivers and technical employees effected by Putco last week still stood. However, they could, through their unions, appeal their dismissals by no later than Friday. The group, part of some 1,000 employees who participated in an illegal strike, were fired for misconduct, intimidation, and blockading entry and exit points at Putco depots, thereby preventing employees from entering and leaving the premises. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Bhengu at News24. Read too, Strike at Putco ends after unions accept wage offer, at TimesLive. And also, Numsa signs settlement agreement with Putco following staff wage strike, at EWN
Private security sector signs four-year pay deal for above-inflation wage increases BusinessLive reports that the private security sector has signed a four-year wage deal that will see workers earning more than R7,000 a month in the last year of an agreement seen as likely to strengthen labour peace and stability in the sector. In the first year of the deal, which comes into effect in March 2023, employees will get a 13% increase. In the second year of the agreement, which was signed at the National Bargaining Council for the Private Security Sector at Midrand on Tuesday, workers will get a 6.5% increase, followed by 7.5% hikes in years three and four. SA’s private security industry employs about 500,000 security personnel. The unions, including the SA National Security and Allied Workers' Forum and the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union, initially demanded a 16% wage increase and then declared a deadlock when the parties could not reach agreement. Speaking for employers at a media briefing, security industry veteran Franz Verhufen said: “This four-year agreement will take us to 19 years of bargaining without a strike. The last strike [in the sector] was in 2006.” He commended the parties for the way they conducted themselves during negotiations that started in March/April. The agreement will be forwarded to employment & labour minister Thulas Nxesi to gazette and extend across the sector. Khumbulani Moyo, a spokesperson for the private security sector unions, said about 28 unions supported the wage deal which he believed was taking the industry in the right direction. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
Staff at Gauteng public hospitals under attack City Press reports that a bleak picture was painted on Tuesday by Gauteng Health MEC Dr Nomathemba Mokgethi when she detailed the vicious attacks that have taken place at 17 public hospitals in Gauteng since January 2021. Patients have bit nurses, mental health users have grasped and strangulated hospital employees, and a nurse was punched in the left eye. Replying to questions in the Gauteng legislature, Mokgethi said there were 42 attacks (other reports indicate 43) on health staff and most of the attackers were psychiatric patients. In Sebokeng, a cleaner suffered a right-hand soft tissue injury after a patient, who wanted to be discharged, attacked her. "Unfortunately, at the time, there was no security in the ward because they were on strike. A doctor was hit on the left eye in the same hospital. At Steve Biko Academic Hospital, a patient bit a nurse on the left thumb. She was helping with patient restraining when she got bitten," Mokgethi reported. Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital had the highest number of attacks involving 16 staff members. When asked what steps were taken by the department to address these issues, Mokgethi replied that the matters of staff attacks were referred to the labour relations department. She also said: “Cases of staff attacks are referred to quality assurance and security. Plans are in place to build a bigger psychiatric ward and additional security officers have been allocated to the psychiatric unit.” She added that employees were offered counselling. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yoliswa Sobuwa at City Press (subscriber access only). Lees ook, 43 gewelddadige aanvalle by hospitale in Gauteng aangemeld, by Maroela Media
Illegal miner sentenced to life imprisonment plus 103 years for killing EMPD cop News24 reports that Bhekisisa Samora Dlamini, an illegal miner who shot dead Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) officer Johannes Jacobus van der Linde in June last year, was sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 103 years on Tuesday. The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg heard that Van der Linde and five colleagues were conducting a raid at an illegal mine near Primrose when Dlamini and four other illegal miners opened fire on them. Van der Linde was shot dead during the shootout. Dlamini was arrested at the scene while the other four managed to escape. NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane reported: "The accused has been convicted of murder, five counts of attempted murder, possession of a prohibited firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition." State advocate Thamsanqa Mpekana argued for a hefty sentence after detailing Van der Linde's family's financial and psychological trauma following his murder. He also argued that EMPD officers were at risk during confrontations with illegal miners who used illegal guns to commit crimes. "The country has been calling for law enforcement authorities' robustness in dealing with illegal miners, who have placed the country under attack by committing crimes at dangerously alarming proportions," Mpekana pointed out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Bhengu at News24. Lees ook, 103 jaar tronkstraf ná moord op EMPD-beampte, by Maroela Media Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Expired Zimbabwean exemption permit holders who don’t apply for legal status ‘will be punished’, Motsoaledi warns TimesLive reports that Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Minister Aaron Motsoaledi warned on Tuesday when he appeared in Parliament that expired Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders who did not apply to be in SA legally must be prepared to face the consequences. “The ball is in their court, not in the government’s court. We will deal with them the same way we deal with someone who is in the country illegally and overstayed. There is punishment for that,” he stated. Motsoaledi pointed out that the 178,000 people who held a ZEP were on a special dispensation and were not part of the usual immigration processes. In December 2021, Motsoaledi issued a directive to inform the public he had decided to extend the exemptions granted to Zimbabwean nationals for 12 months to allow holders to apply for one of the visas provided for in the Immigration Act. On 2 September 2022, he issued a further directive allowing for an extension of six months until 30 June 2023. On the legal issues facing the department, Motsoaledi told MPs that organisations and forums representing ZEP holders had taken the department to court regarding the permits. Because the matter was before the court, Motsoaledi said he could not give MPs a detailed update, but he indicated that the court case would be heard in October. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amanda Khoza at TimesLive Migrant religious workers will no longer get work permits, permanent residency, Motsoaledi tells MPs EWN reports that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced that it will be clamping down on foreign religious workers who are looking to work in SA. Speaking before parliament’s home affairs portfolio committee on Tuesday, DHA Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that foreign national religious workers would no longer be eligible for work permits, or permanent residency, in the country. He was updating MPs on the investigation into Malawian evangelist Shepherd Bushiri, who skipped the country in 2020 while facing money laundering charges. A chief director has been dismissed, and four junior officials are still facing disciplinary proceedings, for illegally granting Bushiri a residency permit. Motsoaledi said an investigation was also under way to determine how another evangelist, Nigerian Timothy Omotoso, had acquired SA residency. Omotoso is currently facing a raft of rape and human trafficking charges in the Eastern Cape. “We are saying they must come only as visitors, but as visitors who can perform work. This change means there’s no avenue available for these religious workers to migrate to permanent residence status,” Motsoaledi indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindsay Dentlinger at EWN Home affairs chief director dismissed in Bushiri saga in ‘surprising’ appeal TimesLive reports that a Department of Home Affairs (DHA) chief director who was sacked for his involvement in the Shepherd Bushiri saga is not going down without a fight. Updating MPs on the suspensions of department officials and Bushiri’s escape from SA to Malawi in November 2020, DHA Minister Aaron Motsoaledi advised that the official, who was charged with gross negligence and dishonesty, was dismissed on 23 May. The cases of four junior officials, who are attending disciplinary hearings, are ongoing. Motsoaledi said the department went after the officials for “gross dishonesty, gross negligence, non-compliance with the Immigration Act, regulations and standard operating procedures”. He went on to indicate: “The ex-employee has appealed the sanction with the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council [GPSSBC]. The matter is therefore under arbitration.” But Motsoaledi conceded that the appeal took him by surprise: “When we charged this official, he tried to stop the disciplinary process. He went to the labour court to try to stop the disciplinary committee [DC] process against him. He lost, appealed and he lost again. He then appealed to the labour court again and lost. The DC process took off and he was found guilty of gross negligence and dishonesty. The surprising part, which I did not know before, is that after being dismissed, having tried the labour court, a public servant can still appeal and start a new process at the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council. This was news to me. I thought that once you go to the courts and you lose, that is where matters ends, but I am told the GPSSBC will also look into the matter afresh, which is happening now.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amanda Khoza at BusinessLive
Limpopo High Court declares Morris Maluleke's appointment as Mogalakwena municipal manager unlawful SowetanLive reports that the appointment of Morris Maluleke as the municipal manager of Mogalakwena local municipality has been declared unlawful by the Limpopo High Court. Judge Geritt Muller delivered the judgment on Tuesday after a group of residents made two separate applications to have Maluleke’s appointment set aside. The judgment came just 13 days after Maluleke started work in the municipality in Mokopane. Muller said the selection panel that had shortlisted and interviewed candidates had not been appointed according to council rules, meaning that Maluleke occupied the position unlawfully. He ruled the screening, shortlisting and interviews conducted by the panel had been tainted due to a failure by council to comply with the rules. “I’m of the view that the process in the appointment of the 7th Respondent (Maluleke) was tainted to the extent that it is unlawful and should be set aside,” Muller indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zoe Mahopo at SowetanLive
Outcry over graduate salaries offered for Home Affairs’ mass digitisation project Sunday Tribune reports that while the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has managed to create 10,000 job opportunities for unemployed youth who will take part in the three-year digitisation project, the salaries offered have raised eyebrows. Graduates in possession of a master's degree will earn a gross monthly salary of up to R14,250 for a management position while those with diplomas will earn R5,000, according to the advertised posts. Those who hold degrees will earn R6,000 to R6,500 while those with an honours degree will earn R9,500. The duties for the lower earners will include the retrieval of files, sorting, and listing among them. The middle earners, namely the honours degree holders, will perform supervision of day-to-day activities, manage performance and provide daily and weekly reports. The top earners will manage and lead the teams. Job seekers took to social media where the posts were advertised to vent their frustration about the pay. In comparison with the normal government pay, the offers were relatively low. For example, an administrative job that includes duties similar to those who will be doing administration pays R191,000 per annum, which translates to a gross salary of R15,000 per month. Supervisors and middle managers can earn up to R300,000 per annum, while top managers earn over R600,000 per annum. SA Federation of Trade Unions spokesperson Trevor Shaku said while they welcomed the job creation, they were worried about the payment, which was below the living wage of R17 per hour or R12,500 per month. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siboniso Mngadi at Sunday Tribune
Starting two-pot system in March 2023 not feasible, says Association for Savings and Investment BL Premium reports that the Association for Savings and Investment SA (Asisa) said in Parliament on Tuesday that there was no way the retirement industry would be ready to implement Treasury’s proposed two-pot system for retirement by the envisaged 1 March 2023 implementation date. Asisa’s Rosemary Lightbody said it would take at least 18 months from the date of gazetting of the final legislation for the industry to get systems in place to implement the proposed retirement reform, which it strongly supported. “We are saying that 1 March 2023 is simply not feasible. We do not support rushed implementation,” she indicated in a presentation to parliament’s finance committee. In terms of the two-pot system, two-thirds of contributions to funds will go into a retirement pot and a third into savings that will be accessible to one withdrawal a year by members. The aim is to enhance preservation for retirement while allowing some access for financial emergencies. Lightbody said that apart from the retirement sector having to prepare itself for the new system, including the adoption of new rules, the Pensions Fund Act would also have to be amended. Other areas of concern were how to deal with retirement contributions over the maximum tax deductible limit and defined benefit funds such as the Government Employees Pension Fund, which did not operate on the same basis as defined contribution funds. Defined benefit funds could not make one third of contributions fully accessible annually as that could seriously jeopardise the financial soundness of the fund. “The current drafting cannot accommodate defined benefit funds,” Lightbody stated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Former KZN Treasury head to begin 15-year sentence for fraud and corruption after application for leave to appeal failed News24 reports that the former head of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Treasury, Dumisani Sipho Derrick Shabalala, will start serving a 15-year sentence after the High Court in Pietermaritzburg dismissed his application for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence. The application related to Shabalala's conviction last week for fraud, corruption and money laundering. He committed the crimes more than 10 years ago, between 2004 and 2007. Shabalala accepted R1.5 million from Intaka Investments for awarding a R44 million tender for its 22 "Wataka" plants. Shabalala had been the chairperson of the procurement committee that awarded the contract. He was sentenced to 15 years for fraud, 15 years for corruption, ten years for money laundering and five years for contravening the Public Finance Management Act. The sentences will run concurrently, effectively making his sentence 15 years. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Bhengu at News24
Labour Court orders Eastern Cape health department to reinstate whistleblower in her former HR position GroundUp reports that the health department in the Eastern Cape has been ordered by the Labour Court to reinstate a “whistleblower” who was removed from her job in a district human resources office after she raised the alarm about a colleague attempting to get her niece short-listed for a job. Judge Zolashe Lallie found that “an occupational detriment” had been committed against Vuyelwa Thelma Tanda and ruled that in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act she had made a “protected disclosure” when she reported the attempted nepotism to deputy director of HR management, Charmain Jaggers. The judge ordered that Tanda be compensated with R162,402 and that she be given her job back. Lawyers for the health MEC argued that in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act, a disclosure made in the normal scope of employment could not be protected. However, Judge Lallie said the argument that Tanda had not made a protected disclosure was not supported by the evidence that director Mzoli Njalo was “intentionally acting in breach of recruitment procedures” and attempting to give the other employee’s niece an unfair advantage. “In the circumstances of this case … the report that Mrs Njalo was instructing Tanda to be complicit in nepotism in violation of the recruitment policy constituted a protected disclosure. The report was made in good faith to Jaggers,” the judge ruled. He noted that it was common cause that Jaggers had refused to intervene in the matter. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp
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