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 Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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As public sector talks sour further, PSA set to stage ‘stayaway’ on Wednesday Fin24 reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) will officially begin its first public service strike in over a decade with a "stayaway" on Wednesday, to be followed by pickets and mass action around the country from next week Thursday. Meanwhile, several other public service unions held pickets even as they were in conciliation talks with the government at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). All this comes after acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi invoked Section 5 of the Public Service Act to unilaterally implement a 3% wage increase in the public service. Nxesi's move prompted the Cosatu bloc of unions to revert to their 10% wage increase demand. With the PSA’s estimated 235,000 members set to go on strike, thousands more from other unions could also down tools if conciliation processes fail. The PSCBC confirmed it was in a conciliation process with Nehawu, Popcru, Denosa and Hospersa. The PSA’s Claude Naicker said once it kicked off, the union’s industrial action was expected to affect the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Labour's immigration offices, schools, and the Department of Transport. He said essential service workers would limit their action to lunchtime pickets. PSCBC general secretary Frikkie de Bruin said the state remained locked in a conciliation process with Nehawu, Popcru, Denosa, and Hospersa in a bid to break the impasse. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24. Read too, PSA to go on strike after wage talks with government collapse, at EWN
Three-day wage strike at Makro ends, but Saccawu warns of further action Fin24 reports that despite its strike at Makro ending over the weekend, the SA Commercial, Catering, and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) says it is not budging from its wage demands. It has given the wholesale giant a 48-hour deadline to respond to wage demands or face further industrial action. The limited-duration strike came to an end on Saturday, but the union handed over a memorandum of demands at sites. It is demanding an across-the-board increase of R900 or 12%, whichever is the greater, a minimum wage of R8,000, a 20% commission margin for salespersons, a 13th cheque separate from the December salary, and a moratorium on retrenchments. Saccawu said refusal to meet its demands would force the union to intensify its strike with rolling mass action and a consumer boycott. According to Massmart, the parent company of Makro, the wage and commission demands were unrealistic. The company has offered a 4.5% increase. Massmart’s Brian Leroni said Makro remained prepared for future strike action. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24 Transnet lifts container terminal force majeure imposed during wage strike Engineering News reports that Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has lifted the force majeure it declared on 6 October in respect of containers amid strike action by employees. The near two-week strike ended when Transnet signed a three-year wage agreement with United National Transport Union on 17 October. Transnet also subsequently secured an agreement with the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union. It is estimated that SA lost the opportunity to move R65-billion worth of goods during the industrial action at the country’s ports. According to TPT, it has been implementing recovery plans to stabilise operational performance and efficiencies across all container handling terminals. The state-owned freight utility said the terminals were now ready to return to pre-strike planning of operations. From 1 November, all container vessels will be berthed in accordance with pre-strike berthing window schedules and all containers are to be removed within the free storage period. TPT already lifted the force majeure relating to its automotive, bulk and multi-purpose terminals on 21 October. Read the original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News
Farm workers march to Parliament to demand major agrarian reform GroundUp reports that about 200 women working and living on farms in the Western and Northern Cape marched to Parliament on Friday to demand agrarian reform. The march was organised by the Women on Farms Project (WFP) and the Rural Women’s Assembly. The marchers handed over a memorandum addressed to Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. The lengthy memorandum set out demands for land redistribution and agrarian reform, a moratorium on farm worker evictions, a ban on hazardous pesticides on farms, and social protection in the form of a basic income grant. Colette Solomons, director of WFP, said that since the uprisings on farms in 2012, things “have not improved in the last ten years” in the lives of farm workers. “In many respects, things are actually deteriorating. Work is more insecure. Evictions are happening at a pace. We can no longer continue being dependent on farmers,” she stated. The protest followed week-long meetings which brought together speakers from trade unions, civic organisations, government departments, and researchers. Topics ranged from illegal farm worker evictions and landlessness to pesticide exposure and labour rights violations. A resolution dealing with various issues was passed at the end of the meetings and drafted into the memorandum. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liezl Human at GroundUp
Roger Baxter to step down as Minerals Council CEO in April after nine years Miningmx reports that Roger Baxter, CEO of the Minerals Council SA (previously called the Chamber of Mines), is due to step down from the organisation in April, bringing to an end nine years in the role. Baxter has prominently fought the corner for the mining sector, frequently ending up at loggerheads with Government. One such occasion in which Baxter spoke decisively was to call out former mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane for corruption. He later boycotted the Joburg Indaba conference in 2017 when it was hosting Zwane. Baxter’s boycott was subsequently questioned by convener Bernard Swanepoel who described it as a failure to ‘engage’ with issues of the day. Commenting on his decision to resign, Baxter said he decided it was time for change and to take a break. Nolitha Fakude, head of Anglo American SA, and the council’s president, said Baxter was “deeply respected” and that he had “helped shape a better outcome for the Minerals Council, the mining sector and economy. His ‘frank’ engagement style and ability to drive the mandate and agenda of the Minerals Council and business make him a credible and reliable partner to work with, she said. The Minerals Council said it had embarked on a process to appoint a CEO designate “who will support Roger through to the conclusion of his contract”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by David McKay at Miningmx. Read too, Roger Baxter to step down from Minerals Council, at Fin24 Work underway to form SAPS unit to combat illegal mining, says Bheki Cele Cape Times reports that according to Police Minister Bheki Cele, a work study investigation recommending specialised units to combat illegal mining will be consulted internally and tabled in the bargaining council prior to approval. Cele made the statement when he was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Okkie Terblanche, who asked whether the SAPS will establish specialised units to combat the prevalence of illegal mining. In his written response Cele said an integrated work study investigation (WSI) that recommended specialised capacity to address illegal mining was completed in April between SAPS and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. “The investigation is at an advanced stage and currently being consulted internally and externally and will be tabled at the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC) for consultation prior to the approval,” he said. “The purpose of the work study investigation is to determine the organisational placement, functional responsibilities as well as the required human and physical resources for such a capacity,” Cele explained. Asked by EFF MP Andries Shembeni what strategy was in place to stop illegal mining, Cele said joint operations were conducted in hotspot provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Free State, North West and Northern Cape. “Specialised investigation task teams have been established in the provinces and case dockets are centralised at provincial organised crime for investigation purposes. Dedicated prosecutors have been appointed in each of the above mentioned provinces to deal with these cases,” Cele indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mayibongwe Maqhina at Cape Times
With union membership in SA climbing to more than four million, Nxesi warns of militant labour, unprotected strikes Fin24 reports that according to Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi, trade union membership in SA grew from 3.5 million members in 2013/14 to over 4 million in 2020/21. The number of registered unions rose from 203 to 220 over the same period. Speaking at the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordinating Council (Satucc) congress on Friday, Nxesi said the rise in union membership and the proliferation of several new splinter unions had had the unintended consequence of sparking more adversarial labour relations and a rise in unprotected strikes. Nxesi interpreted the statistics as a growing trend of unions splintering off due to differences in how they believed they ought to negotiate wages with employers. Nxesi said there appeared to be fierce competition for membership among unions, to the point where some used collective bargaining as "recruiting turf", labelling their rivals as "sell-outs" and resorting to damaging strikes to distinguish themselves. The arrival of newer, more militant unions in various sectors also prompted established unions to negotiate more aggressively to take the advantage away from the newcomers. This blunted unity among organised labour, heightening the risk of prolonged, antagonistic wage talks. Nxesi said that he had raised the proliferation of organised labour with unions, suggesting that they find ways to unite all workers, including those in splinter unions. The DEL’s report to Satucc noted an increase in unprotected strikes and warned that this signalled a deterioration in respect for collective bargaining institutions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
Petrol will cost more than a loaf of white bread after Wednesday’s price increase The Citizen reports that after a price increase on Wednesday, a litre of petrol will cost more than a Black Label quart or a loaf of Albany white bread. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced on Friday that prices for petrol will jump by 51 cents per litre, while diesel prices will shoot up by around R1.40 a litre. The department said that the price increases were due to higher prices for international petroleum products as well as a weaker rand. Bennie van Zyl of the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TLU SA) said they wanted to know what the government would do to stabilise the rising diesel price and keep farmers in production to ensure food was on people’s tables. “Every resident of South Africa was affected by the rising diesel price,” he said, adding that agriculture faced an extra challenge as several farmers were reconsidering whether they could still plant profitably. “There is no doubt that there are several farmers who now must look at the numbers to see if it is still profitable for them to plant with all the input costs that are increasing. The government must realise that there are big problems here if the situation is not addressed,” he warned. Economist at Momentum Investments Sanisha Packirisamy said they were anticipating rising headwinds for the SA consumer in the coming quarters. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzee at The Citizen. Read too, Big jump in petrol and diesel prices on Wednesday, at BusinessTech. And also, Here is the official petrol price for November, at BusinessTech Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Provinces carry exorbitant cost of training SA doctors in Cuba BL Premium reports that Health Minister Joe Phaahla has revealed in parliament that it costs more than twice as much to train medical students in Cuba than in SA. SA has been sending medical students to Cuba since 1997 under the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro training programme, with the costs borne by provincial health departments. The programme has been controversial from the outset and is under fresh scrutiny from the DA in light of the budget constraints facing provinces. Students spend their first year in Cuba learning Spanish and then do five years of training at Cuban medical schools. They complete their training with 18 months at a medical school in SA. In a detailed response to questions asked by DA MP Haseena Ismail, Phaahla last week revealed that it costs on average $20,180 a year, or more than R370,000 at current exchange rates, for tuition, meals, accommodation, insurance and a monthly stipend, for six years of study in Cuba. This figure does not include the cost of at least two sets of return flights, or sending officials or psychologists to Cuba to deal with emergencies. The Cuban-trained medical students also have to complete three semesters, or 18 months of training, at an SA medical school at a cost of more than R400,000. By contrast, it costs the government about R150,000 per year to train medical students in SA, according to the most recent publicly available figures. Phaahla said 3,369 students had been recruited to study medicine in Cuba, and 2,617 had graduated to date. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Former Mpumalanga traffic officer sentenced to five years for R100 bribe Middelburg Observer reports that a former traffic officer, Meshack Masenjwa, 37, was convicted and sentenced on a single count of corruption in the Middelburg Regional Court last week. Masenjwa was arrested on 6 February 2019 during Operation Conny. Information was received about a traffic officer demanding bribes from motorists in contravention of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996. The accused officer targeted motorists travelling on the N4. Masenjwa’s entrapment was staged and executed in terms of Section 252A. On the day in question, an agent was travelling near Wonderfontein and was stopped by Masenjwa, who demanded a bribe of R100. The money was handed to him, and the transaction was recorded. Masenjwa was later arrested and charged with corruption. He was sentenced last Wednesday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Gerhard Rheeder at The Citizen. Read too, Five-year sentence for traffic cop who took R100 bribe from undercover agents, at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Putco receives memorandum of demands from Soweto commuters amid problems with new ticket system EWN reports that the Public Utility Transport Corporation (Putco) has received a memorandum of demands from the Batho Pele Greater Soweto Commuters’ Forum following protest action in Dobsonville, in Soweto on Monday morning. The transport entity implemented a new ticket system that has irked commuters and proved to be unreliable. Commuters protested at bus stations calling for the new system to be dismantled. In their memorandum of demands, the Batho Pele commuters in Soweto listed the inconveniences they faced at their own cost. According to passengers, they have been further slowed down on their daily commutes due to the failure of the new ticket tap system. Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu confirmed that there have been challenges with the new system. “With every system, there are bound to be challenges in the initial stages. We want to also say, we will continue to ensure that no passenger is left behind,” Xulu said. However, commuters said they could not afford to keep paying for tickets they couldn’t use. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamika Gounden at EWN Five buses torched at Putco's Joburg depot on Sunday night News24 reports that five buses were torched at bus company Putco's Nancefield depot in Johannesburg on Sunday night. Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the buses, belonging to contractors, were set alight by a group of people. "Our security team reported identifying a number of people at the Nancefield depot. It's reported that those people shot at the security before fleeing the scene and leaving the buses burning," Xulu indicated. He said staff and security guards "bravely" moved some buses to safety, which minimised the damage. Firefighters from the City of Johannesburg Emergency Services tended to the blaze and put out the fires. The attack on security personnel at the depot and the cause of the fire were under investigation, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Xolani Fihla advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain & Yeshiel Panchia at News24
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