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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Public sector wage strike looms after conciliation talks collapsed and strike certificates issued BL Premium reports that four more public service unions were issued with strike certificates on Wednesday after marathon talks failed to break the wage deadlock at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC), bringing the country a step closer to debilitating strike action that could cripple government services. The strike certificates effectively give Denosa, Nehawu, Popcru and Hospersa the right to give the state as employer a seven-day notice of their intention to embark on industrial action. The four unions declared a dispute at the PSCBC after rejecting the government’s final revised 3% offer, including continuation of the R1,000-a-month after-tax cash gratuity ending in March 2023. The SA Policing Union and the Public Servants Association were issued with strike certificates late in October. The PSA, representing more than 235,000 public servants, has already served the government with notice of its intention to down tools. Denosa’s Khaya Sodidi indicated: “The matter remains unresolved, so what happens now is that Denosa, Nehawu, Popcru and Hospersa have been issued with certificates of nonresolution. We are starting the balloting process, where we will be consulting our members on the way forward. We will be guided by them on how to go forward.” Department of Public Service & Administration spokesperson Moses Mushi said: “We respect what’s happening in the bargaining council currently. The government is implementing the 3% offer and continuation of the R1,000 cash gratuity, but negotiations [must continue].” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
Staff at Groote Schuur Hospital get a mental health boost with new Wellness Centre People’s Post reports that the key focus of the new Wellness Centre at Groote Schuur Hospital is prioritising hospital staff’s mental well-being. The facility was officially opened by Dr Nomafrench Mbombo, Western Cape Minister for Health and Wellness, on Wednesday. The centre boasts a small gym, yoga studio, meditation room, arts and craft room, massage chair room and training rooms that will host a variety of interventions, such as leadership training. The centre will be accessible to more than 4,000 employees at the hospital. Mbombo noted that the centre was particularly important considering the strain health care staff endured during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The pandemic had a negative impact, both socially and psychologically, on the general population and more so on the department’s health care workers. The heavy burden it placed on the staff during this period and the amount of fear it instilled of contracting the virus, transmitting the infection to family members and loss of colleagues, raised a lot of anxiety which will take a while to recover from,” Mbombo said. Sharon Britz, Operational Manager in the general surgery department, observed: "This centre means a lot; it shows that our management is looking after us. You can now get away from the hustle and bustle for about half an hour of your day and just come here and forget about everything. It does you a world of good." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kaylynne Bantom at News24
Mhlathuze Water pays workers housing allowance, but threat of another illegal strike not eliminated IOL reports that despite having made a last-minute back payment over the weekend to disgruntled workers who engaged in an illegal strike, Mhlathuze Water is still on edge over a still unresolved dispute. Late last week hundreds of workers from the Richards Bay-based water entity downed tools, demanding their money. According to the workers, the bone of contention related to salary increments, housing and overtime allowances. They alleged that the management, dating back to the time of suspended chief executive Mthokozisi Duze, claimed that they had no money to pay them. As a result, a collective bargaining agreement reached at the Amanzi Bargaining Council where all water boards employees bargain, could not be implemented. On Friday, the workers engaged in a wildcat strike and police had to be called in to restore order. Under pressure, Mhlathuze Water had to issue an impromptu note to its clients, which include the City of Mhlathuze (Mpangeni-Richards Bay) and big factories to allay fears of water cuts. Later, they also issued an ultimatum to the striking workers to return to their posts or face the consequences. The workers were then back-paid for their outstanding housing allowances to avert a full-blown strike. However, there is still an outstanding issue as there is a dispute regarding when should the backpay start as some want it dated back to 2017. The workers are once again threatening to strike to force the water board to look at the matter. But, the water board said it did not anticipate a fresh strike since the workers were not, by law, permitted to strike. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sihle Mavuso at IOL
Sibanye-Stillwater starts consultations that may lead to 2,000 job cuts at gold operations BL Premium reports that precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater has entered into consultations with organised labour and affected stakeholders to restructure parts of its local gold operations which could lead to about 2,000 job losses. The miner said it would look for alternatives to avoid and mitigate possible retrenchments at its Beatrix 4 Shaft in the Free State and Kloof 1 plant in Gauteng in its engagements in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. “Subject to the outcome of the consultation process, it is envisaged that the proposed restructuring may potentially result in the retrenchment of up to 1,959 employees and affect 465 contractors,” the company indicated on Tuesday. “To allow shafts and operating plants that are no longer sustainable to continue operating at a loss, will threaten the remaining life of mine of the other SA gold operations, and ultimately also the employees of the broader group,” the company’s chief regional officer of Southern Africa Richard Stewart said. The company added that employees might be affected in associated companies, including Sibanye Gold Protection Services and Sibanye Gold. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nico Gous at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Sibanye-Stillwater gold division mulls restructure that could affect over 2,000 workers, at Fin24. En ook, Afleggings dreig by Sibanye-myn, by Maroela Media Solidarity to engage Sibanye-Stillwater in bid to stop or limit retrenchments at gold operations TimesLive reports that Solidarity said on Tuesday that it would participate in a consultation process with Sibanye-Stillwater with the hope of preventing retrenchments or keeping them to a minimum. This was indicated by the trade union after the precious metals producer announced that it would be entering into consultations with organised labour regarding the possible restructuring of its SA gold operations following ongoing losses at the Beatrix 4 shaft and the effect of depleting mineral reserves on the Kloof 1 plant. The company said the proposed restructuring could potentially result in the retrenchment of up to 1,959 employees and affect 465 contractors. Solidarity said this development meant that the affected employees faced a bleak Christmas with the uncertainty of whether they would still have jobs next year. “However, Sibanye has shown with the previous section 189 consultations regarding their Beatrix shafts and after the takeover of the Marikana mines from Lonmin, that they are investigating all alternatives to minimise the number of affected employees, and Solidarity believes that this will once again be the case,” said Gideon du Plessis, Solidarity's general secretary. Solidarity advised that the 189 process would be facilitated by the CCMA, but that a date for the first round of the consultation process had yet to be confirmed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLive. Read Solidarity’s press statement on this matter at Solidarity News
Reserve Bank’s Kganyago says consumer inflation may have peaked Bloomberg News reports that according to SA Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, SA’s consumer inflation rate likely peaked in the third quarter. But, it had to move closer to the midpoint of the central bank’s target range before the monetary authority could declare victory in the battle to rein in price growth. Inflation accelerated to the highest in more than 13 years in July, when it reached 7.8% year-on-year. The annual rate has fallen for two consecutive months since then, though it remains well above the midpoint of the 3%-to-6% target range at which the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) prefers to anchor inflation expectations. Kganyago told reporters on Wednesday: "We might have reached the peak in the third quarter. We need to see that decline firmly into the inflation target, closer to the midpoint of the inflation target range. Then we know that we can declare victory over the monster of inflation." The MPC is scheduled to announce its final interest rate decision of this year on 24 November. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amogelang Mbatha & Arijit Ghosh at Fin24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Adding job targets to the Reserve Bank’s mandate will not fix the problem, says governor Kganyago BL Premium reports that SA Reserve Bank (SARB) governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Tuesday that SA had an unemployment problem that needed more credible solutions than changing the bank’s mandate into a dual one. The governor was responding to critics who have been vocal in their criticism of the Bank’s inflation targeting framework, recommending that it should target both employment and inflation instead. Kganyago said even though some have argued that monetary policy should be pushed much further and harder to get the expected growth or jobs, “we have seen now that having two targets certainly does not mean double the benefit”. The Bank has come under a lot of criticism after its acceleration of interest rate hikes since November 2021. The continuous increases in rates come against the backdrop of an extremely high unemployment rate of 33.9% in the second quarter. Kganyago said that when inefficiencies and constraints existed in employment creation, “pushing harder on monetary policy is like pushing the accelerator to the floor on a curvy, icy road over a mountain pass”. He said the approaches that would have a permanent effect on employment levels had nothing to do with monetary policy and “just adding ‘jobs targets’ will not get us there.” Kganyago pointed out that employment and growth were both limited by factors that were beyond the reach of the central bank’s toolset. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Nearly 15,000 jobs on the line as Tongaat Hulett misses payment to cane growers BL Premium reports that according to the SA Canegrowers Association, nearly 15,000 permanent and seasonal farm workers employed by sugar cane growers are at risk of losing their jobs after beleaguered sugar company Tongaat Hulett missed a payment due on Monday. The estimate excludes contractors, haulier companies, input suppliers, mill workers and other service providers throughout the value chain. Tongaat Hulett, SA’s biggest sugar producer whose future is now in the hands of business rescue practitioners, missed a R400m payment for sugar cane deliveries. The nonpayment threatens the livelihoods of thousands of sugar cane growers and workers delivering cane to a number of Tongaat Hulett mills in KwaZulu-Natal, indicating the extent to which the liquidity crunch gripping the company is beginning to be felt along the value chain. SA Canegrowers, led by CEO Thomas Funke, is scheduled to meet Tongaat’s business rescue practitioners on Wednesday for an update on when the payments are due to resume. Apart from representing sugar farmers, SA Canegrowers is also a broader industry body, and the meeting will also address the longer-term effect of the situation, Funke said. Tongaat applied to enter business rescue after its creditors pulled the plug on funding for its SA operations, worsening its liquidity crisis. Tongaat has been limping along since 2019 when it disclosed corporate fraud, allegedly committed by the previous management led by former long-time CEO Peter Staude, who has denied any wrongdoing. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andries Mahlangu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Duisende werkloos as Tongaat Hulett toemaak, by Maroela Media
Why Dis-Chem CEO wrote that memo Moneyweb reports that a leaked memo from Dis-Chem CEO Ivan Saltzman last month caused a furore when he announced a moratorium on the hiring of white managers in an effort to improve the pharmaceutical retailer’s transformation objectives. The board rushed to apologise for the tone of the letter, but noted that its “intention” would remain. The group’s disclosure of the composition of its workforce in its annual report is limited and there is no detailed breakdown. The report states that 84.5% of its roughly 20,000 employees are black, Indian or coloured, and that 63% are female. However, buried in the group’s consolidated environment, social and governance (ESG) data table for 2022 is a view of just how poorly the group is performing when it comes to the transformation of its leadership team. Just 5% of Dis-Chem’s “top and senior management” are women and only 11% are defined as “Historically Disadvantaged South Africans” (HDSAs). Practically, nine out of every 10 top and senior managers at Dis-Chem Group are white. Under new regulations, the company could be fined 10% of its turnover for not meeting employment equity targets, something Saltzman pointed out in his memo. This could cost it billions of rands. A direct comparison with competitor Clicks Group is instructive, as they operate in the same sector. According to its 2021 sustainability report, Clicks has five white male managers out of 12 in top management, and 31 white male senior managers out of a total of 92. Dis-Chem has not a single black executive director. At board level, Clicks is also ahead. Last week, trade union Solidarity said it planned to take Dis-Chem to the Labour Court because the policy “goes beyond what the Employment Equity Act allows”. It has not yet confirmed whether it has served papers on Dis-Chem. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Moneyweb
Kgetlengrivier residents approach court to jail municipal manager for failing to fix broken water and sewage systems Moneyweb reports that residents of Kgetlengrivier in North West are back in court after winning a spectacular judgment in December 2020 that forced the local municipality to hand over control of the area’s broken water and sewage systems to the residents’ association. This time they want the North West High Court to jail the Kgetlengrivier municipal manager, Joseph Mogale, for failing to comply with the 2020 high court judgment that he be jailed for 90 days, suspended on condition that he fix the municipal water and sewage systems within 10 weeks. The Kgetlengrivier Concerned Residents (KCR) association argues that Mogale is in contempt of court for failing to comply with the order. It was the residents, not the municipality, who restored services to the local community after forking out close to R17 million of their own money to restore water and sewage systems to full operation. Most of that money has since been repaid by the North West provincial government. The delivery of those municipal services has since been returned to the municipality by order of the same court, but once again residents complain of taps that run for only a few hours a day, and sewage spilling onto streets and nearby rivers – the very complaints the led to the original 2020 judgment. The residents are appealing the court’s later decision to overturn the original decision. Carel van Heerden, KCR chair, explained: “This December 2020 order was overturned by another judge, and we were ordered to hand back control of the water and sewage systems to the local municipality. The result has been catastrophic. Water flows for just a few hours a day, and sewage spills are commonplace, reversing the excellent work we residents did when we had control of those services. We believe the municipal manger must be held to account and jailed, as per the original court order.” A jail sentence of 90 days was imposed on the municipal manager for each breach (sewage and water supply) of the 2020 order, which the residents now want the court to enforce. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ciaran Ryan at Moneyweb
Public enterprises director-general wants ConCourt to declare his suspension unlawful, unconstitutional News24 reports that the suspended director-general (DG) of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Kgathatso Tlhakudi, has applied to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) to have his suspension declared unlawful and unconstitutional. A Labour Court ruling in October confirmed his suspension. In papers filed in the ConCourt, Tlhakudi argued that President Cyril Ramaphosa, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan have no authority to extend his suspension. Tlhakudi also lamented that the suspension, which has lasted more than 60 days, violated his constitutional rights to dignity and trade, and threatened his job security and reputation. In his view, appealing the matter at the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) would mean a long delay, considering the expiration of his term in July of next year. Tlhakudi was suspended on 22 June after an unknown whistleblower laid a corruption complaint via a national anti-corruption line, alleging he had failed to follow due process in the appointment of a candidate for a vacancy in the department. Gordhan forwarded the complaint to the Presidency and Ramaphosa appointed Lamola to deal with the matter. On Tuesday, Tlhakudi said his suspension was malicious and based on corruption. He claimed that Gordhan targeted him because he had spoken out against corruption and the sale of SAA, which the minister handled like a "pension benefit intended to benefit him and a few people picked unlawfully". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Bhengu at News24
Dismissed guards who were hoodwinked into disrupting exam ask UCT to insource them GroundUp reports that about 40 people picketed outside the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) Bremner Building on Tuesday in support of security guards who were sacked after they disrupted an examination in June. Last month, GroundUp reported on how former student activist Sibusiso Mpendulo had deceived the guards for years, falsely claiming to be a lawyer, taking their money, forging a court order, and promising to fight for them to be insourced by the university. He then led them to disrupt exams, which resulted in 31 workers being dismissed. On 12 October, the guards, their families and Students Representative Council (SRC) members held a picket asking students for forgiveness and to support their plea to be insourced by UCT. The picket on Tuesday followed a letter dated 25 October from Dr Reno Morar, UCT’s chief operating officer (COO), which indicated that the 31 security officers had been employed by the Groote Schuur Community Improvement District (GSCID) and a private company, Securitas, to manage the public spaces and places in the vicinity of UCT and not on the university campuses. But, according to the dismissed workers, the majority of the guards patrolled and were stationed on UCT property. In their memo on Tuesday, the dismissed workers said that Morar’s letter failed to provide adequate evidence of a difference between the workers and campus security. For this reason the workers believed the university’s failure to insource them was “arbitrary” and “unfair discrimination”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tariro Washinyira at GroundUp
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