In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Home Affairs, border posts to be hit as 235,000 PSA members plan to strike on Thursday Fin24 reports that that the Public Servants Association (PSA) maintains that its strike in the public service will commence on Thursday, while the government said it would have measures in place to mitigate the impact of the industrial action. The union has 235,000 members and warned that its planned strike would hit home affairs, the transport department and SA border controls in particular. Government will be unilaterally implementing a 3% wage hike this month, while the PSA is demanding 6.5%. Only the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) has accepted government's 3% wage offer, while other Cosatu affiliates want a 10% increase. The PSA’s Reuben Maleka confirmed that the PSA strike would "definitely" take place on Thursday. The PSA said that if the strike became protracted, it had a fund in place to pay striking members. However, some in government only expect a one-day strike. Maleka said the union would also march to the National Treasury to register its umbrage at Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana setting an average 3.1% increase to the public service wage bill in his Medium-term Budget Policy Statement in October. Meanwhile, public service unions affiliated with Cosatu, namely Nehawu, Denosa and Popcru, will hold a briefing on Wednesday to announce their plans after being awarded certificates permitting strikes. Acting Minister of Public Service and Administration, Thulas Nxesi, will reply orally to questions about the wage talks in Parliament on Wednesday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
Fall-of-ground incident claims life of employee at Harmony’s Tshepong North mine Mining Weekly writes that gold producer Harmony Gold reports that an employee was killed in a fall-of-ground incident at its Tshepong North mine, in the Free State, on 7 November. The relevant authorities have been informed and a comprehensive internal investigation is under way. “We mourn this loss of life during a period where every effort is made to ensure that our mines are safe. We extend our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of the deceased. A day of mourning will be observed at the mine, in honour of our colleague,” Harmony CEO Peter Steenkamp said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. Lees ook, Myner sterf tydens grondstorting by Vrystaat-myn, by Maroela Media Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Most South Africans need about two thirds of salary to pay debts, 2022 index reveals The Citizen reports that according to DebtBusters’ 2022 Debt Index for the third quarter, most income groups need about two thirds of their take home salary to pay their debts. Debt counselling enquiries increased by 30% compared to the same period a year ago, indicating the financial stress consumers are currently experiencing. With no meaningful increase in real income, the combination of rising interest rates and inflation is choking consumers who are borrowing more in an attempt to find breathing space. Consumers earning more than R20,000 per month have the highest total debt to annual net income ratio at 150%, which means they are under the most financial pressure. Debt exposure also significantly increased for consumers earning less than R5,000 per month, with a debt-to-income ratio of 87%. This group still requires 65% of its income to pay debt per month. Over the past six years average net incomes were flat and this means that in real terms most South Africans had 33% less buying power in 2022 compared to 2016, resulting in the need to supplement this income with unsecured borrowing. Unsurprisingly, consumers have on average 26% more unsecured debt in 2022 compared to 2016. Those earning more than R20,000 per month have unsecured debt levels of 50% higher than in 2016. This growth in average debt is also supported by National Credit Regulator (NCR) data. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ina Opperman at The Citizen (subscriber access only). Read too, Consumers feel pinch of rising cost of debt servicing, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Cosatu bemoans National Treasury’s decision to scrap B-BBEE policy at SOEs EWN reports that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on Tuesday bemoaned National Treasury's decision to scrap the preferential procurement regulations. National Treasury's move will see state-owned entities (SOEs) doing away with the controversial Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was set to detail the government's plan to scrap the BEE policy at SOEs on Tuesday afternoon. The big changes, which were gazetted recently, will allow SOEs to determine their preferential procurement policies. Transnet and Eskom are among SOEs that may no longer need to be BEE-compliant. The implication is that the government no longer needs to enforce a clause to require certain sectors to purchase local goods. The changes will take effect in January. Cosatu said this will have a dire impact on the local business owners. The federation believes the move will slow down the bid for economic transformation. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Nokukhanya Mntambo at EWN. Read too, Godongwana: temporary procurement rules no threat to BEE, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Unions warn of retrenchments at Post Office, with 40% of jobs at stake Fin24 reports that according to unions, SA Post Office (SAPO) workers have been informed that the struggling entity will start with large-scale retrenchments. Earlier this year, Treasury projected that the number of SAPO employees would shrink from 16,275 in 2021/22 to a projected 10,254 in 2024/25, which would mean that 40% of positions might be cut. SAPO faces severe financial challenges, and has been struggling to pay staff medical aid contributions and its debts. It suffered a R2.3 billion loss in 2020/2021, with its revenue rapidly declining. According to Communication Workers Union (CWU) general secretary Aubrey Tshabalala, SAPO said it would start consulting unions on section 189 retrenchments this week. "In the previous week, the same management approached us with a proposal of cutting salaries by 50% and reducing working days to four days a week. CWU rejects this move by management noting that SAPO failed to process voluntarily severance package[s] because it had no money to pay," said Tshabalala. An internal CWU notice indicated that the union's leaders met to assess its readiness of a "fight back campaign" and study the response of the ballot voting for a possible strike. Cosatu, the umbrella federation of the CWU, called on the government to intervene in the plans to cut 6,000 jobs. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khulekani Magubane at Fin24
Eskom launches crowdsourcing platform to address skills shortage Moneyweb reports that Eskom has launched a crowdsourcing digital platform that it hopes will draw in new hires with the critical electrical and engineering skills it needs to address its operational challenges. “A digital platform and governance mechanism have been designed and implemented to reap the full benefits of the diversity of skills across the country through the crowdsourcing of these skills into the business,” Eskom indicated in a statement on Tuesday. It said the crowdsourcing route, which differed from traditional recruitment, was triggered by specific technical challenges. “[This] is not linked to a permanent position, and it targets a talent pool that consists of highly skilled and experienced persons,” Eskom explained. The utility is looking for highly skilled electricity generation experts such as engineers, power plant operators, artisans and technicians. It has already managed to attract 238 individuals, 135 of whom have been shortlisted as potential candidates. Around 25 candidates have been selected for the first phase of the crowdsourcing intake. “These individuals will commence work between November and December 2022. Additional recruitment will take place as and when required by the business, to meet specific technical needs,” Eskom advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntando Thukwana at Moneyweb. Lees ook, Eskom soek jóú kundigheid, by Maroela Media
SAPU insists cops will take leave in December, despite Bheki Cele’s festive season ban IOL reports that the SA Policing Union (Sapu) has rubbished remarks attributed to Police Minister, General Bheki Cele that, in a bid to boost law enforcement over the festive season, police officers will not be allowed to take leave from 5 December until the end of January next year. That period is often accompanied with a high crime rate. “Unilaterally to come and say no police officer will go on leave, that is irresponsible, unlawful and irrational. Policing always goes on. Maybe this is his first festive season, but he will come across our members on holiday at the beaches. They will go and greet him, saying ‘hi minister, we are on leave even though you said we are not supposed to go on leave’,” Sapu spokesperson Lesiba Thobakgale told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika. He said the remarks made by Cele had upset the union. “We are warning the national commissioner, that he must not comply with that unlawful instruction. The instruction issued by the minister is an illegal instruction. If the national commissioner will try to implement that instruction, we will challenge it to the letter,” he warned. Thobakgale went on to indicate: “Those who have their leave plans submitted, they included December, those whose leaves have been approved … they will go on leave.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo at IOL. Lees ook, ‘Sien jou op vakansie, minister Cele’, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
UCT staff urged to speak freely to independent panel set up to probe top brass TimesLive reports that the hearings into allegations of misconduct against the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT), Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng, and the chair of council, Babalwa Ngonyama, will be held off campus and in camera. This is one of the clauses in the terms of reference for a five-member independent panel that was adopted by UCT's council during a stormy meeting that ended at 1am on Tuesday. Three retired judges were selected to serve on the panel, to be chaired by a senior retired judge. Their names are expected to be made public only after they accept nomination. The panel and university will ensure that no witness suffers any adverse repercussions. The panel has been tasked with investigating whether Phakeng and Nongyama misled faculty boards, senate and/or the council concerning former deputy vice-chancellor Prof Lis Lange’s availability for a second term and the reasons she did not pursue it. Ngonyama is said to have told a senate meeting in September that Lange, who was the deputy vice-chancellor of teaching and learning, wanted to leave for personal reasons but she strongly disputed this in a letter, insisting that Ngonyama forced her to resign. The panel’s scope includes investigating all matters related to executive relationships, including the number of, and reasons for, resignations within and beyond the executive, “with due consideration of reasons for this”. It will also speak to any current or departed staff and/or members of the current or previous councils regardless of whether they had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) at the time they left. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Prega Govender at TimesLive (subscriber access only)
Skills gap in renewable energy presents challenges, opportunities Engineering News writes that there is a definite skills gap in the country’s renewable energy and associated industries, as SA looks to meet ambitious 2030 greenhouse-gas emission reduction and renewable energy targets. So the country must prioritise identifying what is lacking across the entire value chain and use certain mechanism to ensure that this gap is bridged. This was the key message from speakers in CTU Training Solutions’ webinar, held in collaboration with the SA Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) and the SA Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) on Tuesday. CSIR senior researcher Dr Lorren Haywood pointed out that with the renewable energy growing rapidly, there was a definite skills shortage, which presented an opportunity to design sustainable solutions to mitigate this. G7 Renewable Energies chief commercial officer Dr Clinton Carter Brown noted that there was a skills gap in the country as a whole. He said the renewable energy industry provided a good opportunity to address this, given that there was no shortage of good projects being pursued. However, he said that getting the projects implemented was the real challenge. Therefore, what was needed was skills and a deep understanding of areas like project management and finance, besides others, to ensure that projects were bankable and were realised. Brown highlighted considerable opportunity for skills development in this regard, with the need for seasoned senior people to guide and mentor more junior staff into these processes. This could mean bringing in skills from older industries and leveraging them for the new industries. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Two traffic cops, labour department employee arrested in Gauteng in separate corruption cases News24 reports that two traffic officers and a Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) employee have been arrested in connection with two separate corruption cases in Gauteng. On Sunday, two Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) officers were arrested for allegedly soliciting a bribe from a motorist accused of speeding in Centurion. Further investigations are still under way. Those arrests came days after a DEL official was arrested in connection with corruption. The 35-year-old was arrested in Germiston on Friday after allegedly demanding "spot fines" from a construction company after he claimed it was non-compliant. The company reported the matter to the police, and the official was arrested when he visited the site on Friday, allegedly to collect money. He was found in possession of cash he had demanded from the complainant and will be charged with corruption and extortion. The suspects are expected to appear in court soon. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Nicole McCain at News24 JMPD reacts to video of one of its officers receiving R1,800 in cash from motorist IOL reports that the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) says it has noted a video circulating on social media of a JMPD officer receiving about R1,800 from an unknown individual. From the video footage, the officer in JMPD uniform is seen receiving money while sitting in a parked car. The unidentified motorist narrating in the video, while driving to the police officer and handing over the money, mentions repeatedly that he is going to hand over R1,800 to the police officer. “I am going to enter his car now, and he is going to take the money,” the man says. As soon as he enters the police officer’s white vehicle, the officer asks him: “Why did you take so long?” JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said it was not known under what circumstances the policeman received the money. “The JMPD is requesting the individual who recorded this video to come forward, so Internal Affairs can get a better context of the incident and that further action may be taken,” Fihla advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo and watch the video clip at IOL Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Crime Intelligence boss allegedly robbed by a sex worker of his firearm, laptop while his wife was away IOL reports that allegations that Crime Intelligence (CI) boss Major General Philani Lushaba lied about how he lost his state firearm and laptop have surfaced. It was previously reported that Lushaba told police that he had been a victim of a house robbery on 5 August. He opened a case of theft at a police station in Tshwane. According to News24, Lushaba allegedly told police that he left his house on the evening of 5 August, and when he returned he went to bed. He claimed his house was in order, but when he woke up, his cellphone and laptop worth R75,000 were missing. There was no mention of the firearm having been stolen. However, claims that a sex worker whom he brought to his house while his wife was away on business in fact robbed him have now been revealed by News24. CI officers managed to trace the laptop and firearm, and that’s when the circumstances regarding their disappearance were uncovered. Although Police Minister Bheki Cele’s office said he was aware of the matter, there was no mention about whether Lushaba would face charges of perjury and defeating the ends of justice. The Independent Policing Union of SA has called on National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola to suspend Lushaba and take disciplinary steps against him. Police confirmed that the theft case opened by Lushaba was being investigated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jolene Marriah-Maharaj at IOL
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