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 Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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SA will only recover from Transnet strike by 2023, freight industry warns Fin24 reports that as Transnet and trade unions seal a wage deal, industry is counting the enormous cost of a strike that could mean months of recovery. According to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), the 11-day strike, which kicked off on 6 October, caused SA to lose the opportunity to move R65.3 billion worth of goods. "Some of those will possibly move later, but the rest are gone and gone forever," said SAAFF CEO Juanita Maree. SAAFF, which represents more than 300 clearing and forwarding agents – accounting for more than 80% of the trade goods in and out of SA – said its members had incurred logistics costs of nearly R7 billion over the 11 days of industrial action at Transnet ports. "In the aftermath, beyond the strike, barring any further destruction, a complete restoration of normal functionality will only happen in early 2023, as the consequences of one day's worth of stoppage have been shown to result in anything up to 10 days needed for recovery," Maree said. Transnet's majority union, the United National Transport Union (UNTU), on Monday announced a three-year deal with the company for increases of as much as 6%. The SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) meanwhile appealed for its members to return to work on Thursday, noting it would address its issues with the wage deal internally. The wage increase cost of an estimated R1.5 billion paled in comparison to the economic cost, SAAFF said. The Minerals Council SA, which previously estimated the strike could cause a daily loss of R815 million, said this figure had fallen to an estimated R200 million currently. This was because the facilities like the Richards Bay Coal Terminal and the Port of Saldanha had tapped into stockpiles to load ships. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24
State wage bill not the main cause of fiscal crisis, claims former Treasury official Michael Sachs BL Premium reports that a former head of the National Treasury budget office, Michael Sachs, says that the public sector wage bill is not the key factor behind SA’s fiscal crisis. Fiscal consolidation would lead to further withdrawal of core services, rather than an improvement in efficiency, Sachs said on Wednesday when presenting a webinar paper on the public service and the budget. He said there was very little evidence that the government’s employment structure was deficient, which was “a widely held view in public discourse”. Sachs said it was sometimes believed that government employees were overpaid and unproductive, and therefore reductions in their numbers and pay could be achieved without negative effects on public service. “Bloating, if it exists, is concentrated in political and executive offices, economic regulation, infrastructure services, and public administration — particularly finance and co-operative government,” he argued. Sachs’s comments come just as Enoch Godongwana, the finance minister, is expected to maintain fiscal consolidation efforts by keeping a lid on government consumption spending in his medium-term budget policy statement in a week’s time. Sachs said the solution to the fiscal crisis was not consolidation but a new path, where public sector pay could be matched with productivity. “What we need is a public sector compact that takes account of the needs and expectations of public sector workers, the pressure towards fiscal consolidation, and the needs and expectations of the user of public services that puts on the agenda a public sector reform agenda and save[s] the public sector in this difficult situation,” Sachs maintained. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Free State police reservist shot in head and killed – a week after two other cops were killed on duty in Gauteng News24 reports that a police reservist was murdered in the Free State on Tuesday – a week after two police officers were shot while responding to a complaint in Gauteng. Armed men attacked off-duty reservist Constable Victor Mbangula at around 19:00 on Tuesday. The gunmen forced him to go to a nearby tavern and knock on the door. When the tavern owner opened the door, the armed men stormed in and demanded cash. While they were inside, the 50-year-old reservist was shot once in the head. The murder occurred a week after two police officers were killed in Boksburg. Constable Khotso Malahlela and Sergeant Vusimuzi Batsha, who were attached to the Boksburg North police station, were responding to a complaint about an unnatural death in the area when three men accosted them. They were waiting for a mortuary van to arrive when they were disarmed and killed. Their bulletproof vests were also stolen. The attackers are still at large. On Wednesday, Police Minister Bheki Cele paid tribute to the two slain officers at a memorial service in Boksburg. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Suspected illegal miners set fires and cause disruptions at two Ermelo schools TimesLive reports that the Department of Basic Education has confirmed that suspected zama zamas (illegal miners) disrupted schooling in Ermelo, Mpumalanga, this week. A video circulating on social media showed how young children were forced to flee from school amid burning tyres and plumes of smoke as a voice could be heard in the background urging them to run. Mpumalanga DBE spokesperson Jasper Zwane said the incident happened on Tuesday. “The information at our disposal is that the police have arrested a group of men in Ermelo who are illegally mining coal and confiscated their cars last week. Those who were not arrested resorted to a wild protest in the community and ended up disrupting two schools, namely Reggie Masuku Secondary School and Wesselton Primary School,” Zwane reported. DBE officials and the police were deployed to the area on Wednesday and schooling proceeded without disruptions. Mpumalanga community safety MEC, Vusi Shongwe visited the schools and area on Thursday. Shongwe condemned the disorder and appealed to communities to protect schools. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by TimesLive State argues that alleged illegal mining kingpin 'is a flight risk' and should be denied bail News24 reports that state prosecutor Tholoana Sekhonyana told the Oberholzer Magistrate's Court in Carletonville on Wednesday that one of the six alleged illegal mining kingpins arrested in Carletonville and Khutsong was a flight risk and should not be granted bail. Sekhonyana disputed pleas by Dumisa Eric Moyo’s defence advocate for him to be granted bail. He indicated: “He gave false information to Home Affairs officials. There are no records of him attending two schools in Thabong, where he claimed he attended. He didn't produce report cards, confirming that he attended those two schools. Bongani Hospital, where he claimed he was born in 1987, was officially opened in 1993. He is a person (sic) non grata." Sekhonyana added that Moyo had failed to convince the court he was born in Welkom. He went on to argue as follows: "We know that he has a passport. He has access to neighbouring countries. He is a flight risk. The offences levelled against him are serious. He frequents Zimbabwe. He will never come back to South Africa should he be granted bail.” But, Moyo’s lawyer maintained that his client was a South African citizen, with an identity document issued by the home affairs department. Moyo and five others face charges of fraud, possession of ammunition, possession of drugs, money laundering, contravention of the Immigration Act, and contravention of the Precious Metals Act. The men are believed to be part of a syndicate which processes and sells precious metals, including gold. The hearing will continue on 27 October. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntwaagae Seleka at News24 Eastplats COO resigns to ‘pursue new career opportunities’ less than three months after promotion BL Premium reports that Eastern Platinum (Eastplats) COO Hannelie Hanson has resigned less than three months after being promoted from general manager to “pursue new career opportunities”. The Toronto- and JSE-listed miner promoted the geologist and mining engineer in August 2022. She joined Eastplats in 2012 and was previously a senior manager at Lonmin. “Hannelie has been a valued member of the South African management team for several years and provided significant contributions to the retreatment project, restart of Zandfontein underground operations and the development of our eastern limb projects,” Wanjin Yang, CEO of the company, said. “I would like to thank her for her hard work, commitment and dedication to the company and wish her every success in her future endeavours,” he added. Eastplats owns several PGM and chrome assets directly and indirectly in SA. Most are in the Bushveld Complex. Yang will take over her role in the meantime, while Haiying Wang was appointed as vice-president and will focus on the mining business in SA. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nico Gous at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). See too, Eastplats COO resigns, at Mining Weekly Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
New Eskom board should decide CEO De Ruyter’s future, says Mabuza BusinessLive reports that Deputy President David Mabuza indicated on Thursday that the executive’s hands were tied when it came to firing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, whose performance has come under the spotlight amid the load-shedding gripping the country. Mabuza was answering questions before the National Council of Provinces from the EFF’s Mmabatho Mokause, who asked why De Ruyter had not yet been sacked. According to Mabuza, the newly appointed Eskom board was responsible for the performance reviews of De Ruyter and his executive team, and to show him the door if appropriate. Mabuza said the government had done its bit by appointing a complete, new and capable board to conduct oversight over Eskom management’s performance amid the economically devastating load-shedding. “It is up to the newly appointed board to re-evaluate the performance of the Eskom CEO and other members of the Eskom management, and if indeed they find that there is poor performance, I think it is up to the board to act,” said Mabuza. Mokause followed up her question saying De Ruyter and his team “have consistently demonstrated incompetence and arrogance” in the manner in which they have managed the energy crisis. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mawande AmaShabalala at BusinessLive. Read too, Eskom CEO’s fate lies with new board, says Mabuza, at The Citizen About 14% of Eskom staff have undeclared business interests Business Report writes that close to 6,000 of Eskom’s more than 42,000 employees, or about 14%, have undeclared business interests within the organisation. This has affected the power utility’s procurement of coal, diesel, spare parts amounting to billions of rands dating back from the state capture years. Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) was told by Eskom, Hawk’s General Godfrey Lebeya and SIU head Andy Mothibi of numerous corruption networks still fleecing off quality coal, which sells at three times more on the black market. This as Eskom is also in a gigantic battle to recover some of the billions of rands siphoned off through questionable contracts with Babcock International, ABB and Teveta. CEO André de Ruyter on Wednesday announced the establishment of a Supply Chain Management Office, for which a general manager has already been hired, to have immediate oversight over procurement decisions as he lauded the role played by the security agencies in curbing crime and corruption within the organisation. Lifestyle data analysis has unearthed 3,812 workers who had not declared their interests. Of those, 2,799 were referred for consequent management, 148 were awaiting finalisation and 13 have resigned. About 72 suppliers had been temporarily blocked to prove their qualification criteria. “We have taken actions to freeze the pensions of those members who resign while there is a disciplinary process against them,” De Ruyter said. Eskom’s internal investigations unit said it received a daily average of 25 requests for investigations, which were assessed and handed over to the SIU. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Banele Ginindza at Business Report
Ministerial Handbook to be reviewed by 'neutral structure', says Mondli Gungubele News24 reports that Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, says that a review of the Ministerial Handbook, which outlines perks for ministers and deputy ministers, will be handled by a neutral structure. The review of the Guide for Members of the Executive follows President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent withdrawal of amendments to the handbook. The amendments would have seen ministers and their deputies benefit from additional perks, including an increase in staff at their official residences. The perks would have also have seen taxpayers pay fully for water and electricity at the official residences of members of the Cabinet. After an outcry, Ramaphosa withdrew the new amendments that were initially approved in April. Gungubele said Cabinet welcomed Ramaphosa's withdrawal and endorsed a review of the Ministerial Handbook. Once the handbook had been reviewed, it would be made public through the Department of Public Service and Administration, he indicated. Gungubele insisted that ministers were always willing to reduce their benefits as part of official duties. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zintle Mahlati at News24. See too, These are the perks executive government members will be entitled to, at IOL
Prasa suspends its acting legal head over 'serious' allegations Fin24 reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has placed its acting legal head, Thato Tsautse, on precautionary suspension over allegations of misconduct. The state entity on Thursday issued a statement indicating that the allegations against Tsautse were of a "serious nature" and necessitated "immediate suspension". Prasa said that once it had received the allegations, it promptly launched an investigation. "Pending the finalisation of this investigation, a decision has been taken to place the executive on precautionary suspension. It is essential that the executive [be] placed on precautionary suspension to prevent any form of interference with the investigations," the statement indicated. Tsautse is facing allegations related to the appointment of law firms, investigators and the payment of service providers. The Sunday Times had reported that a whistleblower had approached the Auditor-General, accusing Tsautse of flouting procurement processes through the irregular appointment and payment to a law firm. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Lameez Omarjee at Fin24
Hawks head signals possible prosecutions over R2.5bn missing from National Skills Fund BL Premium reports that the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) are investigating suspected fraud, corruption and money laundering in several projects tied to the National Skills Fund (NSF) for development, education and training. The NSF is a public entity in the department of higher education & training aimed at supporting national skills development. The standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) in parliament ordered investigations in May 2021, after a second consecutive auditor-general (AG) report found more than R2.5bn in NSF funds could not be traced. The AG’s report also resulted in the suspension in 2021 of the department’s former director-general, Gwebinkundla Qonde, and the fund’s former CEO, Mvuyisi Macikama. On Thursday, Scopa members heard of the widespread fraud, corruption and money laundering at the fund and expressed concerned at the sample size in the department’s forensic report. It assessed only one-third of the 30 projects already flagged by the AG. “We think there is much more,” admitted director-general Nkosinathi Sishi. Disciplinary processes have begun at the fund, with rackets involving scores of staff and service providers countrywide. Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya said the department handed over material in October, and hinted at criminal prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority. “There is already a plan that is unfolding,” Lebeya said. But the department expects to recover only some of the billions earmarked for public training and skills development after conviction. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Erin Bates at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, SIU could soon be involved in probe into fraud at the National Skills Fund, at TimesLive Prison guards may have assisted in Makhanda prison escape IOL reports that the possibility that prison guards may have assisted seven men in their escape from Waainek Correctional Centre in Makhanda on Monday is being investigated. According to news reports, this was a possibility that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) was not ruling out. A DCS spokesperson has reportedly indicated that all parties would be investigated. Five of the seven men were convicted of rhino poaching and were due to be sentenced next month. The other two men reportedly face charges of murder and attempted murder, while one of the two also faces kidnapping charges. During their escape the men are alleged to have used 300mm hacksaw blades to cut steel bars. The blades can be bought over the counter for R30 and were found strewn about on the prison grounds. Two of the escapees have been re-arrested, while five remain at large. The men are all Zimbabwean nationals. Based on reports at IOL and The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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