In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Fedusa reports that President has agreed to declaring 27 December a paid public holiday The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) issued a press release on Thursday announcing that it had successfully petitioned the Presidency to declare 27 December a paid public holiday. Some months ago, the federation requested President Cyril Ramaphosa to review the December holidays calendar after realising that Christmas Day was on a Sunday, while Day of Goodwill was on a Monday. In the absence of any decision, this would have seen South African workers losing out on a paid holiday as 27 December would have been an ordinary working day. The Act stipulates that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following it shall be a public holiday. This means that Christmas Day's holiday is on Monday the 26th, which is already a holiday, meaning that workers would have been denied an extra day on 27 December. “Fedusa is pleased that President Ramaphosa has heeded the workers' pleas, further giving us comfort about his commitment to the yet-to-be-realised social compact. As a federation that believes in consultative processes, the decision could not have come at a better time following weeks of discussions with the President's office over the matter,” the federation stated.
It won’t get better for the next six to 12 months, Eskom spokesperson warns Moneyweb reports that Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha sent a clear message on Wednesday that the current intense load shedding – which means six to eight hours without electricity every day for all South Africans – is unlikely to improve in the next six to 12 months. Unless Eskom improved on its current record of returning units late from maintenance, this period might be even longer, warned Chris Yelland of EE Business Intelligence. On Wednesday afternoon, about half of Eskom’s generating capacity was offline, with almost 5,000 megawatts (MW) out on planned maintenance and 19,052MW unavailable due to breakdowns. Eskom issued a statement saying Stage 6 would continue until Friday morning at 05:00, whereafter it would be reduced to Stage 5 until Saturday morning. On Wednesday night, the popular load shedding app EskomSePush calculated that South Africans have been exposed to 192,720 minutes of load shedding in 2022. “That’s 200% more than any other year,” it pointed out. Yelland asked why there was silence from government’s National Electricity Crisis Committee. Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer recently told journalists that the committee met regularly every week. But Yelland noted: “It seems like the National Electricity Crisis Committee and its workstreams are following the path of other ‘War Room’ initiatives, getting bogged down in government-led bureaucratic committee meetings and talk, instead of a focus on immediate implementation actions.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Moneyweb ‘Only God can save us’, says energy expert Ted Blom as he tells Mzansi to brace for Stage 8 load shedding IOL reports that energy expert, Ted Blom, believes South Africans should brace for higher stages of load shedding. "Stage 8 is very possible, given (the) Koeberg (situation) will lead to Stage 7 automatically unless a miracle happens. There is no diesel cushion to break the free fall. Only God can save us," he warned. In an alert on Wednesday morning, Eskom spokesperson Sikhonathi Mantshantsha said Stage 6 load shedding would be implemented until further notice. "This is due to a high number of breakdowns since midnight, as well as the requirement to strictly preserve the remaining emergency generation reserves. Eskom will publish a full statement in due course," he indicated. Less than six hours earlier, Eskom pushed load shedding to Stage 4 owing to further breakdowns and delayed returns of generating units to service. Unit 1 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station will be shut down for maintenance on Thursday. Meanwhile, Stats SA has reported that 2022 saw the quality and standard of living of most households decrease, with households dealing with price hikes that did not match salary increases, higher interest rates, continuous load shedding, increasing crime and weak employment prospects. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Se-Anne Rall at IOL
Family devastated after KwaDukuza traffic cop killed at roadblock on Tuesday TimesLIVE reports that the family of KwaDukuza traffic officer Supt Collin Sibusiso Zulu, 54, who was run over during a roadblock on Tuesday, want the law to take its course. Zulu was stationed on the R102 between Darnall and KwaDukuza CBD when a bakkie crashed into him on Tuesday morning. Zulu's brother Thokozani said: "We are shattered. We would have never thought my brother would die doing something that brought him fufillment.” The father of two, who comes from the rural Maphumulo area, left a glowing record at the municipality. KwaDukuza mayor Lindile Nhaca said: “We are deeply disturbed by the untimely passing. Death has once again robbed us of another dedicated and experienced servant of the people.” Zulu started working as a protection officer in the traffic department in 1994 and in 2011 became assistant superintendent. Police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said a 31-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after the accident. He said reports indicated that the suspect drove into oncoming traffic and collided with another vehicle, pushing it up against the officer. Investigations are underway. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mfundo Mkhize at TimesLIVE Correctional Services vows to take action after inmates stab warders at East London prison TimesLIVE reports that the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has vowed to take action against the inmates who stabbed prison warders at the St Albans correctional centre in the Eastern Cape. Spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo advised that two inmates stabbed three officials on Wednesday morning. The incident took place during the serving of breakfast at the medium B section of the prison. “Behaviour of this nature cannot go unpunished, hence the department will utilise available measures in law to take action against the perpetrators,” Nxcumalo indicated. “A full-scale investigation will be conducted internally, and a criminal case is to be registered with the SAPS. We would like to wish our officials a speedy recovery, and necessary support is being provided,” he added. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Protests as Richards Bay Coal Terminal cancels former Gupta mine Optimum's export allocation, putting 2,000 contractor jobs at risk Fin24 reports that the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has cancelled the valuable export allocation held by the formerly Gupta-owned Optimum Coal Mine (OCM), prompting an outcry from mining contractors who claim some 2,000 jobs are at risk. Optimum was placed in business rescue in 2018. A notice received by the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of Optimum Coal Terminal (OCT) – the business in which the export allocation is held – advised that OCM has to cease exporting coal through the terminal by no later than 31 January 2023. According to the letter sent last week by RBCT CEO Alan Waller to the National Union of Mineworkers’ (NUM’s) Highveld branch, the decision followed a "detailed review and assessment" which concluded that the benefit of selling coal through Optimum's export entitlement was not accruing to Optimum but to contractors. The letter also claimed that Optimum had failed to comply with the RBCT Shareholders' Agreement. Optimum's BRPs have allowed contractors to mine mini-pits and to use the export allocation. The inability to make use of Optimum's export allocation will force the contractors to cease all mining activity, placing strain on their collective 2,000 employees. On Wednesday, employees of contractors protested outside the gates of the Optimum mine in Pullens Hope. Richard Mguzulu, NUM branch secretary for Optimum, said employees had been served with retrenchment notices in terms of section 189 of the Labour Relations Act on Tuesday and Wednesday, and were frustrated. News of the export allocation being cancelled hit hard for Bongi Mahlangu, a contractor at Optimum, who said decision was unfair to those business people trying to eke out a living around the mine. "All of those that sit on that [RBCT] board, they are directly involved … because if they stop the allocation of the train, it’s not like it’s going to sit there. They are going to allocate it for themselves," she claimed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn & Bianke Neethling at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Labour Appeal Court rejects bid by two steel sector employers to interdict wage deal BL Premium reports that two employer associations in the steel industry are considering approaching the Constitutional Court after the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) rejected their application to appeal a multi-term wage deal being extended by the Metals and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) to the entire sector. The National Employers Association of SA (Neasa) and the SA Engineers’ and Founders’ Association (Saefa) had sought to appeal a Labour Court ruling that upheld a 2021 agreement between the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) for workers to get annual increases of 6% until the end of 2024. Neasa and Saefa claimed their members were unable to afford the increases and risked going out of business as a result, but the LAC dismissed their application on 30 November, saying it had no reasonable prospects of success. Neasa CEO Gerhard Papenfus commented: “We’ve lost the case. I think it’s poor judgment. They gave us the judgment in two paragraphs, with the first saying they are turning down our application, and the second saying they won’t give us any reasons. I am shocked by the ruling to say the least. That leaves us with an appeal to the Constitutional Court. We are considering that option, or we will lodge a full-scale attack on Section 32 of Labour Relations Act that makes the extension of (bargaining council) wage agreements possible. We are saying that can’t happen. So, those are the two options we will be considering in the new year.” Numsa’s Irvin Jim said his union welcomed the “triple defeat” suffered by Neasa and Saefa, which he characterised as “right-wing employers”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Cosatu won’t be supporting Ramaphosa’s re-election campaign, to remain neutral on ANC leadership issues BL Premium reports that Cosatu, which became the first alliance partner to support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s successful campaign for the ANC presidency in 2017, has resolved not to support his bid for re-election as ANC leader during the party’s national elective conference, starting on 16 December. “That’s because we have not had a discussion about it. Normally, we would discuss the matter at our congress or central executive committee (CEC), where there would be a robust discussion. This time around, workers were seized with so many things that they needed to attend to, rather than prioritising a discussion about the ANC,” said Cosatu first deputy president Mike Shingange. In a statement on Wednesday, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the federation had decided to remain neutral on issues of leadership and focus on conference policy outcomes and organisational resolutions. “Cosatu, therefore, will not be campaigning for any candidate but will support all those elected by the conference,” he indicated. The federation, which has a membership of 1.6-million and has always supported the ANC during elections since 1994, is angry after the government refused to implement the last leg of a three-year wage deal signed in 2018. Relations between Cosatu and the governing ANC took a further turn for the worse in November when public service & administration acting minister Thulas Nxesi unilaterally implemented a final, revised 3% wage increase for public servants. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Cosatu says calls for Ramaphosa to step aside are premature TimesLIVE reports that ANC alliance partner Cosatu believes those calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign from his position after the adverse findings of the section 89 independent panel report on the Phala Phala debacle are jumping the gun. The panel last week found Ramaphosa has an impeachable case to answer over the theft of dollars at his farm in Limpopo. Some sections of the ANC – and many parties represented in parliament – want Ramaphosa to step down, but the calls were rejected by the governing party’s national executive committee (NEC) on Monday. The NEC resolved to allow Ramaphosa the opportunity to take the report on review in court. Ramaphosa filed his judicial review application in the Constitutional Court on Monday. Cosatu commented as follows: “We believe the calls for the president to step aside are premature, considering the report is yet to be subjected to scrutiny and has not been processed and finalised. It is only fair and just for him to be given an opportunity to read and dissect the report with his legal team to ensure in the end justice prevails. We urge members of the ANC not to be tempted to use this incomplete process to opportunistically fight their internal battles in the build-up to the party’s 55th national conference. According to Cosatu, the ANC “needs to focus on the myriad challenges bedevilling it and genuinely commit to a robust process of renewal.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard at SowetanLive
Joburg City finance department employees evicted from offices after 'rent not paid' TimesLIVE reports that City of Johannesburg group finance employees were evicted from their offices on Wednesday afternoon due to the city's alleged failure to pay rent. The employees, occupying at least four floors in the building situated at 75 Helen Joseph Street in the city centre, were ordered to leave their offices during working hours. This came amid the financial crisis plaguing the DA-led multiparty government, with a number of attempts at getting council to approve a R2bn loan to “fix the cashflow mismatches” proving unsuccessful. An employee at the revenue services department indicated that the eviction was “abruptly” communicated by their operational managers. “We were not given even an hour to evacuate the building. We did not even have time to source transportation to take our office belongings. They told us the city has not been paying rent for eight months or so, and the landlord started switching off electricity supply on Tuesday,” the employee reported. He went on to say: “The city is not providing data for employees and is expecting us to take desktop machines to our residential areas. They are not considering the security threat in council property being removed from official premises to our private properties where security is not as tight. We find it very discomforting to operate in this way.” Staff representative Karabo Ramahuma said the eviction was likely to have an adverse effect on service delivery. Allegedly, employees with Wi-Fi connections in their houses have been told to work from home, while those without such connections will be made to “squat” in alternative buildings rented by the city. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sisanda Mbolekwa at TimesLIVE
Labour Court rules that ConCourt didn’t legalise weed in the workplace and employers can enforce zero-tolerance policies GroundUp reports that the decriminalisation of cannabis for private use does not include the workplace, a Johannesburg Labour Court judge has ruled. Judge Connie Prinsloo, in a recent ruling, said submissions by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) that the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) had ruled that cannabis was no longer a “drug” but just a “plant or a herb” were wrong. She said the ConCourt “Prince” judgment in 2018 did not offer any protection to employees against disciplinary action should they contravene company policies or disciplinary codes. Moreover, the apex court had not said cannabis was no longer a drug, as the union had argued, but had merely allowed for its personal consumption, in private, by adults. The case before Judge Prinsloo was a review of the dismissal of two PFG Building Glass employees in October 2020 who had tested positive for cannabis while on duty. The National Bargaining Council for the Chemical Industry had found their dismissal to be fair. But, the union argued it was unfair since cannabis was not a drug according to the ConCourt. The company, through its witnesses, presented evidence that being under the influence of alcohol or drugs within the workplace was an offence for which dismissal was the prescribed sanction for the first offence. The company followed the Occupational Health and Safety Act and had a zero-tolerance policy towards alcohol and drugs. Judge Prinsloo said it was evident that the union and the employees had confused issues relating to the decriminalisation of the use of cannabis in private and the rights of employers to take disciplinary action against an employee who contravened a disciplinary code. The company was entitled to set its own standards of conduct and dismissal was an appropriate sanction, she said, dismissing the review. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton and access the full judgment at GroundUp
Six years in jail for former Thohoyandou prosecutor who took R6,000 to make case go away TimesLIVE reports that a former prosecutor at Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court who in 2020 accepted a R6,000 bribe to make a docket disappear was sentenced to a six-year prison term on Wednesday. Leonard Makhado Ratshilumela, 50, was convicted and sentenced by the Giyani Specialised Commercial Crimes Court after he pleaded guilty of corruption in October. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi indicated: “This follows an incident in May 2020, when Ratshilumela was arrested at Thavhani Mall in Thohoyandou by the Hawks during an undercover operation for an alleged bribe to make the case disappear. He demanded R6,000 gratification from the parent of the accused who was facing charges of reckless and negligent driving.” In his plea, Ratshilumela submitted he accepted the bribe with the intention of destroying the docket of the reckless and negligent driving charges against the minor child, instead of referring the case to the child justice court. Ratshilumela is also facing four counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He allegedly attempted to kill the witnesses in the corruption case by burning their house with petrol. He will appear in the Sibasa Regional Court on 24 January 2023 for trial. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at TimesLIVE Ex-game rangers sentenced to seven years for poaching-related offences TimesLIVE reports that the Skukuza Regional Court in Mpumalanga has convicted and sentenced two former game rangers to seven years' imprisonment for poaching-related offences. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said in February 2019 Hendrick Experience Silinda and Musa Mlambo were on duty when regional rangers received information about poachers about to enter the Kruger National Park with the assistance of the Skukuza rangers. “They went to the camp where the two officials were deployed and started searching. They found Silinda and Mlambo in possession of a hunting rifle, ammunition, a silencer and three hunting knives,” said Nyuswa. The pair pleaded not guilty and claimed they were framed. But, the arresting officers testified about how they found the rifle, which did not belong to SANParks, hidden in their tent. The pair were convicted of possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with a serial number obliterated, possession of ammunition and possession of hunting knives. They were sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment each. The court ordered some of the sentences to run concurrently so the effective sentence is seven years' imprisonment each. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLIVE. Lees ook, Voormalige veldwagters gevonnis oor wapens in wildtuin, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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