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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Nxesi gives Treasury go-ahead to pencil in 3% public sector pay hike in medium-term budget statement BL Premium reports that Department of Public Service & Administration (DPSA) acting minister Thulas Nxesi on Tuesday gave the Treasury the “go ahead” to pencil in the contentious 3% final wage offer for public servants into the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS). Nxesi’s decision is viewed as enabling finance minister Enoch Godongwana to provide certainty on the direction of the R665bn public sector wage bill when he delivers the policy statement in parliament on Wednesday. Nxesi explained the wage offer had to be secured ahead of the tabling of the MTBPS as there would not be another opportunity to fund wage increases once it had been tabled. Section 5(5)(b) of the Public Service Act empowers Nxesi to unilaterally implement the final offer on condition that any such offer does not reduce existing pay or other service benefits. He said implementing the offer would not signal the end of the wage talks as the department had requested the CCMA and the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) to assist further in breaking the wage impasse. However, Nxesi’s decision could strain already tense relations between the government and labour, and possibly lead to a debilitating strike. The Public Servants Association (PSA) criticised Nxesi for displaying what it terms “sheer arrogance” and stated: “We condemn such conduct… If they implement the 3%, then there is no point in continuing with the wage talks.” PSA members elected to serve the government with a seven-day strike notice on Monday. Cosatu’s chief negotiator, Simon Hlungwani, said the labour federation would reflect on Nxesi’s decision and “comment when ready”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Nxesi says government’s wage offer to public servants 'of an average of 7.5%' is still on the table News24 reports that on Tuesday, acting Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) Minister Thulas Nxesi gave MPs an update on the salary negotiations with public servants. "I would like to report that all parties to the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) have been advised of the need to engage and settle the matter of wages. The final offer of an average of 7.5% by the government remains available and has not been withdrawn as it has been purported in the media," Nxesi later told journalists. Currently, the government is offering a 3% pensionable increase across the board, the continuation of the current non-pensionable cash allowance of R1,000 at all salary levels, and a 1.5% pay progression payable to all qualifying employees. According to Nxesi, the government's offer amounts to a 7.5% increase when the cash gratuity and 1.5% pay progression are taken into account. On Monday, it was reported that the Public Servants Association (PSA) had officially served notice of a strike on the government. The PSA's formal notice came after Nxesi indicated that he would invoke section 5(5) of the Public Service Act to unilaterally implement a 3% wage increase. The lergislative provision allows the government to enforce salary increases unilaterally as long as wages and benefits are not reduced. Meanwhile, indications point to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabling a Medium-term Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday that accommodates a 3% increase in public sector wages. Nxesi also noted that, as a last resort, the DPSA had requested facilitation by the CCMA in order to break the wage increase deadlock and safeguard the collective bargaining process. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Negotiations with municipal manager’s kidnappers at advanced stage, private investigator optimistic about release TimesLive reports that according to a private investigator, negotiations with the kidnappers of the municipal manager of Nkangala district municipality, Maggie Skosana, and her driver, Gugu Mtsweni, are at an advanced stage. Mike Bolhuis reported that the kidnappers had made contact and had made demands. He said the kidnappers wanted cash and information about the municipality, but declined to elaborate, saying it could hamper the negotiations. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli said police were not aware of a ransom demand. He confirmed that officers were searching for the two women and the suspects. Bolhuis expressed confidence that Skosana, who has health issues, and her driver were being cared for by their kidnappers. He indicated: “They know about [her] diabetes and understand they have no leverage if they let anything happen to the two women. We know the women are alive as we are in constant negotiations. We are at the final part of our negotiations. They have progressed very well so far.” Skosana and her driver were kidnapped last Thursday outside the municipal buildings by men impersonating police officers. Her vehicle was recovered by police later the same day near a mine. Skosana’s belongings, including her wheelchair and handbag, were found insider the vehicle. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at SowetanLive SANDF confirms fire at SA Army College Centre in Pretoria on Tuesday, no injuries reported IOL reports that a fire that broke out at the SA Army College Centre for Conflict Simulation building situated in Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, was brought under control by army and municipal fire rescue services on Tuesday. SANDF spokesperson Brigadier General Andries Mokoena Mahapa said the fire broke out around 11am on Tuesday morning. “The fire was brought under control by the Tshwane Fire Brigade in conjunction with the SA Air Force Fire Brigade. The extent of the damage and the costs thereto will be assessed by the Fire Brigade chief during an already launched investigation into the causes of the fire, including establishing the events that led to the fire,” Mahapa indicated. The fire apparently broke out at a storage facility in the building. Meanwhile, Tshwane emergency medical services said no one was injured and the rescue services had been able to contain the inferno and protect a nearby building. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at IOL. Read too, SANDF confirms SA Army College building in Tshwane damaged by fire, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Makro employees to picket on Wednesday over wage dispute The Citizen reports that more than 5,000 Makro employees will picket on Wednesday at Makro stores around the country under the leadership of the SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers’ Union (Saccaw) over an unresolved wage dispute. The union said on Tuesday it had issued a 48-hour notice of strike action to all the retailer’s warehouse stores after multiple conciliation sessions with the CCMA had been unsuccessful. In addition to failed negotiations over wage increases, the employees have also been calling for improved working conditions. The union said the pickets would be a warm-up for the main national march to various Makro stores on 28 October 2022. The demands of the Makro employees include an across-the-board increase of R900 or 12%, whichever is the greater, and a minimum wage of R8,000 (further details of demands in Citizen report). The retailer’s wage offer to the union apparently amounts to 4.5%, which is equivalent to R300. Saccawu called this offer a “meagre” increase and has rejected it. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
Northam Platinum shareholders vote against executive remuneration policy Fin24 reports that shareholders in Northam Platinum Holdings have voted against the group's remuneration policy and implementation report, prompting the company to invite dissenting investors to engage further. At the platinum producer’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, 56.48% of Northam shareholders voted against the group's remuneration policy and 55.99% voted down the remuneration implementation report. The implementation report put forward remuneration of R46.57 million for Northam CEO Paul Dunne for the year ended in June, up from R40 million in 2021; and R21 million for Alet Coetzee, the company's CFO, up from R14.6 million in the previous year. The group reported a 7.6% drop in operating profit to R14.9 billion for the previous financial year as an expansion of the group's production profile caused unit cash costs to rise by 18.9% while softer metal prices also ate into margins. Because more than 25% of the votes cast by shareholders present or represented by proxy at the AGM voted against the two ordinary resolutions, the company has invited dissenting shareholders to send their comments, concerns, questions and recommendations regarding the remuneration policy or implementation report to the company secretary. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24 Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Health Minister calls for an end to public health budget cuts BL Premium reports that Health Minister Joe Phaahla has appealed to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to stop cuts to public health budgets and alleviate the pressure on frontline healthcare services. Godondwana is due to present the medium-term budget policy statement to parliament on Wednesday, setting out the government’s revenue estimates and spending priorities for the next three years. “I have made the case to minister of finance and his team to make sure in the coming year they can make everything possible not to make any further cuts, so we don’t suffer any further reduction in frontline services,” said Phaahla. The February budget contained significant cuts to health in real terms. Responding to questions from MPs in the National Council of Provinces, Phaahla said there were more than 6,000 vacant posts in the Free State’s public health service alone, most of them due to a lack of money. The Free State had identified 875 critical frontline posts that would be prioritised as soon as funding became available, but this might only be in the next financial year, he said. The situation was not unique to Free State, and all the provincial health departments were “under tremendous pressure”, Phaahla said. He conceded it was difficult to attract healthcare professionals to small towns and rural areas, but said the biggest stumbling block was the budget squeeze facing the sector. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Presidency DG Phindile Baleni to take on role of head of public administration News24 reports that Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi announced on Tuesday that Presidency director-general (DG) Phindile Baleni would be designated head of public administration. “To stabilise the political-administrative interface challenges experienced, Cabinet has resolved that the director-general in the Presidency will be designated as head of public administration (HOPA). In the provinces, this function will be designated to the directors-general in the office of the premier. The HOPA will assist the president and premiers in the management of career incidents of heads of departments and serve as a mediation mechanism in order to stabilise the political-administration interface,” Nxesi indicated. He explained that the move was part of overall efforts to improve the retention of HoDs and create stability at the HOD level. He dismissed the assertion that the government was creating a super director-general with the Baleni designation. Department of Public Service and Administration director-general Yoliswa Makhasi commented: “There is nothing stopping the president from delegating the responsibilities to the DG in the Presidency. It's the work that the DG is doing in any case. If a DG has a challenge in terms of the relationship with the minister, or the minister has a challenge, the first person they are likely to talk to is the DG in the Presidency." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24 (scroll down)
Cadre deployment may be an ANC policy, but it is not a government policy, Nxesi asserts News24 reports that according to Acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi, cadre deployment may be an ANC policy, but it is not a government policy. Nxesi briefed MPs on Tuesday about the government's efforts to professionalise the public service and said: “Insofar as I know, we have not been talking about cadre deployment in the state. We have been talking about interviews, and we go for the right candidates as chosen by the panel. If the ANC has its own cadre deployment policy, [then that would be] an ANC policy. That is not a government policy. That is as far as I know.” This came on the back of President Cyril Ramaphosa tabling his implementation plan on the Zondo Commission's recommendations at Parliament on Saturday and addressing the public on the plan on Sunday evening. In the section of his implementation plan dealing with the public service, Ramaphosa, who chaired the ANC's deployment committee from 2012 to 2017 when state capture was at its height, did not mention the role of the governing party at all. Presenting his final state capture report, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said cadre deployment was unconstitutional and unlawful and, by Ramaphosa's own admission, could be abused to facilitate corruption and state capture. He dismissed Ramaphosa’s and ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe's justification of the policy when they testified before the commission. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24
Government plans new register of employees who resign to avoid facing disciplinary action Fin24 reports that according to President Cyril Ramaphosa's response to the recommendations of the Zondo Commission, government will attempt to keep track of all staff who have been fired from organs of state, or who have resigned to avoid being disciplined, through a new register. The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, headed by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, recommended that employees and officials at state-owned entities who allegedly committed transgressions during state capture be investigated and subjected to disciplinary proceedings. Ramaphosa's response indicated that some proceedings had already taken place, while others were under way. He indicated further: "The challenge remains with employees who have resigned before disciplinary proceedings commence. There is currently no legal recourse to address this. There is currently no centralised register of people who have been dismissed from organs of state or those that have resigned to avoid being disciplined." The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) tracks disciplinary action across national and provincial departments, and the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) has a database of disciplinary actions at local government. But, there is no single register that covers all spheres of government and SOEs. "The DPSA, COGTA, the Department of Public Enterprises and the National Treasury have been directed to collaborate to design and implement appropriate solutions to address this challenge. The developed mechanisms will be rolled out across government in April 2023," Ramaphosa advised. While government's new register will focus on internal staff, it already has several other lists that keep track of external companies or individuals it has banned. However, last year a report by Corruption Watch found that the state's register for suppliers blacklisted from doing business with the state was empty. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ahmed Areff at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Over 190,000 illegal drivers’ licences to be cancelled SowetanLive reports that over 190,000 illegally obtained driver's licences have been sent to provincial MECs for cancellation as the Department of Transport sweeps through corruption at testing stations after a Special Investigating Unit probe. This was revealed by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula on Monday when he briefed the media on the work that has been done to end corruption and fraud at Driving Licensing Testing Centres (DLTC). The probe followed a proclamation made in 2017 for investigations into the issuing of drivers' licences, learners’ licences, professional driver permits, roadworthy certificates and conversion of foreign licences into local ones. Mbalula said the SIU had since presented an interim report identifying a number of administrative actions that must be taken by various authorities. The unit has until 31 March 2023 to complete its investigation and table a final report. So far the SIU has uncovered corruption and criminal activities taking place at DLTCs across the country. Mbalula said investigations revealed that there were negligent and incompetent officials working in these centres with weak management and oversight on their performance. Over 190,000 drivers licenses have been sent to relevant MECs for cancellation and another 190,000 drivers licences issued to persons who have since died have been referred for cancellation. A total of 44 cases have been referred to the NPA for prosecution and 128 cases referred to authorities for disciplinary action. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Penwell Dlamini at SowetanLive
No unlimited free water and electricity for ministers, but councillors in Mpumalanga don't pay their rates and taxes News24 reports that while ministers may no longer get unlimited water and electricity at taxpayers' expense, hundreds of ward councillors in Mpumalanga have not been paying their rates and taxes. According to Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, there are 224 municipal councillors serving in the 17 local municipalities and three district municipalities who are in arrears with rates and taxes. Councillors in some of the poorest councils are not paying their accounts (full details by council outlined in News24 report). This emerged in Dlamini-Zuma's response to a written parliamentary question from Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Sonja Boshoff. Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa withdrew amendments to the ministerial handbook. This followed a public outcry after it emerged that ministers and deputy ministers would not have to pay a cent for electricity and water. As it stands, the current ministerial handbook provides for the state to pay up to R5,000 towards the water and electricity bill of ministers and their deputies. The new amendments would also have allowed ministers to increase their personal staff complements. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24 (subscriber access only)
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