In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Jobs of ANC comrades on the line if DA wins cadre deployment court case BL Premium reports that senior government officials appointed through the controversial ANC cadre deployment policy could find themselves out of work if the Democratic Alliance (DA) succeeds in its current court application to have the policy declared unlawful and unconstitutional. The ANC is opposing the application, arguing that it is a futile mission and that the official opposition party has not made out a case for the relief it seeks. ANC head of legal Krish Naidoo commented: “If the application succeeds then the ANC deployment policy would no longer be capable of being enforced and the ANC deployment committee would have to be disbanded. A third consequence is that appointments made in the three years preceding the grant of the declaratory order [and] which are a direct consequence of the dictates of the deployment committee stand to be nullified.” Lawyers representing SA’s two biggest political parties faced off in the High Court in Pretoria on Monday. The DA’s lawyer, Anton Katz, described the policy as a “cancer” that needs to be “chopped” out to enable the government to be a party-neutral institution. The ANC’s lawyer, Les Morison, dismissed the application as a “hopeless” and “defective” exercise. Labour lawyer and analyst Michael Bagraim remarked: “The order would be incredibly interesting. Many of the appointments can be challenged by others that didn’t get appointed because they were not appointed by the politicians. The labour implications are enormous. It could be deemed to be an unfair labour practice and every single appointment would be challenged in due course.” The hearing continues on Tuesday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Kaderaanstellings is ongrondwetlik; lei tot staatskaping – AfriForum, by Maroela Media ANC tells court cadre deployment recommendations are just ‘freedom of speech’ The Citizen reports that the African National Congress (ANC) defended its cadre deployment policy in court on Monday by claiming that the party was allowed to give input on government appointments. In its reply to the court challenge by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC said all political parties had the right to make suggestions on who should be appointed to key positions in the public service. Advocate Les Morrison, ANC’s counsel, told the Pretoria High Court that the ruling party’s deployment committee expected the government to apply its own criteria when making appointments. “The ANC recognises that when one is appointed to government, the first duty is to government and that conflicts of duties must be resolved to government. That is a necessary incidence of employment and employees are obliged to devote their full time and attention to employer and government’s interests, whether government is the employer, to serve all people equally and they are not identical to party interests,” he stated. Morrison also argued that the ANC was practicing its right to freedom of speech when it indicated which candidate it wanted, adding that the party only did so as a recommendation to government. Earlier, the DA disputed the ANC’s argument that the deployment committee merely made recommendations rather than force ministers to appoint cadres that were selected. DA’s counsel, advocate Anton Katz, said the policy itself did not state that the committee’s functions were limited to making recommendations. The DA has asked the court to declare cadre deployment unconstitutional and illegal. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molefe Seeletsa at The Citizen. Read too, ANC has a right to appoint whomever it wants in public service positions, says party counsel, at IOL
SA approaches Karpowership about rapid deployment of ship-mounted electricity generators Bloomberg News reports that according to sources familiar with the situation, SA has made fresh inquiries about securing electricity supply from Turkey’s Karpowership as it battles its worst ever power outages. The approach follows a stalled attempt to procure 1,220 megawatts of emergency power from the company in a process that’s been mired in legal battles. Karpowership could apparently deploy its plants, which produce electricity from ship-mounted generators, to supply between 700 megawatts and 800 megawatts within three months. President Cyril Ramaphosa is under mounting pressure to ease a crisis that has seen the imposition of blackouts for 10 hours a day or longer. While it’s unclear what legal mechanism the government could use to secure energy from Karpowership, a power-crisis committee set up by Ramaphosa said last week that "emergency legislation" was being considered to fast-track electricity supply. The earlier agreement Karpowership secured as part of a 2021 emergency tender for 2,000 megawatts of electricity has been bogged down by lawsuits and challenges by environmental activists. The Department of Minerals and Energy backed the project, but a key complaint has been the 20-year duration of the emergency contract. Karpowership recently refiled an appeal with the environment department and still plans to push ahead with it. That power would be in addition to any secured through the latest inquiries. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Antony Sguazzin at Fin24 Ramaphosa says load-shedding can’t be ended overnight, citizens must be realistic about the challenges TimesLive reports according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, it may be easy to “blame our present woes on dysfunctionality” at Eskom, but a combination of factors have contributed to SA’s power crisis. “As load-shedding continues to wreak havoc on businesses, households and communities, the last thing South Africans want to hear are excuses or unrealistic promises. The demands for an immediate end to power cuts are wholly understandable. Everyone is fed up,” Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly newsletter. He emphasised the importance of recalling the reasons for the situation, so that the government’s response tackled the causes of the crisis and not only the symptoms. The president said the country was in the grip of an energy crisis that had been years in the making. “While we all desperately want to, we cannot end load-shedding overnight. We must be realistic about our challenges and what it is going to take to fix them,” Ramaphosa stated. Lack of investment in new generating capacity, poor power plant maintenance, corruption and criminality, sabotage of infrastructure, rising municipal debt and a lack of suitable skills were the factors cited by the president as contributing to what he called “the perfect storm”. Ramaphosa reported that over the past few days he had held meetings with representatives of labour, business, traditional and religious leaders and the community. He had also met premiers, metro mayors and leaders of political parties and in each of those meetings “I stressed the importance of staying the course instead of coming up with unsustainable short-term solutions.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sisanda Mbolekwa at BusinessLive Economy is exhausted, South Africans can’t afford blackouts for two years, Cosatu warns EWN reports that Cosatu says that SA’s economy is “exhausted” and that consumers can’t afford two years of permanent blackouts. According to the trade union federation, the plan by Eskom for continuous load shedding for two years will be an “unmitigated calamity”. Cosatu was responding to the announcement by Eskom management that it plans to implement load shedding indefinitely for two years. The federation said the plan was something that workers, businesses and the “battered” economy could not afford. Cosatu pointed out that the country's economy was still struggling to emerge from the deepest recession in living memory, a devastating global pandemic, the 2021 July unrest and the last April's devastating floods. The organisation also endorsed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call for April’s 18.65% electricity tariff hike to be suspended and said that Eskom and municipalities needed to listen and comply with the president’s request. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Babalo Ndenze at EWN. See too, Load-shedding could drop a bit this winter, says Eskom, at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Union representing UCT academics says it won't budge on its 6% wage increase demand EWN reports that the University of Cape Town (UCT) academics' union says it won’t budge on its 6% wage increase demand. Talks between UCT management and the union have been ongoing since November 2022. About 84% of the union’s members have rejected the university's 3% salary increase and have voted in favour of a three-day strike. According to the union, the 3% salary increase offered by the institution is an insult to its members. It apparently applied to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Friday for a strike certificate to be issued. But, the CCMA asked the two parties to meet for talks on Tuesday to see if they could find a solution. If talks fail and a strike certificate is granted, the union will be obliged to give the university 48 hours' notice of its intention to strike. The looming strike comes as tertiary institutions prepare to re-open in February. UCT management said it would like to resolve the situation as soon as possible. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntuthuzelo Nene at EWN. See too, Strike at UCT may only happen on Friday, says academics' union, at EWN
BlueRock forced to suspended Kareevlei operations following unscheduled DMRE safety inspection Mining Weekly reports that diamond miner BlueRock Diamonds has suspended operations at its Kareevlei mine following an unscheduled visit by officials of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on 20 January. The officials issued an instruction in terms of Section 54 and Section 55 of the Mines Health and Safety Act that activities at the mine be suspended until contraventions as identified were rectified. Kareevlei is challenging the procedures followed by the officials, as well as the instruction to suspend operations, which BlueRock believes are not consistent with the protocols or requirements of the Act. "It is emphasised that the contraventions which were identified do not place employees or other workers on the site at risk, and management is of the opinion that the instruction to suspend operations is not appropriate given the nature of the findings," BlueRock indicated. The miner added that it was dealing with the matters raised by the DMRE, most of which related to the processing plant. It said corrective action would be completed by 24 January, with the site expected to be operational by 27 January. Read the original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Cost of most grades of fuel expected to rise in February BL Premium reports that following significant petrol and diesel price decreases in January, motorists face a mixed bag next month, with most types of fuel to cost more. Based on data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) on 23 January, the prices of both 93 and 95 petrol will rise by 25c/l with high-sulphur (0.05%) diesel to rise 6c/l on 1 February. Illuminating paraffin is expected to rise 8c/l. Motorists buying low-sulphur (0.005%) diesel are the only ones to get some relief with the price expected to drop 6c/l. The current inland price of 93 unleaded petrol is R21.10, with 95 unleaded priced at R21.40. Inland diesel prices are R21.23 for high sulphur and R21.42 for low sulphur. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Trade union Samatu slams health department for failing to employ doctors who have done community service EWN reports that the South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) has accused the national Department of Health (DOH) of failing to fulfil its commitment to employ doctors who have completed their statutory community service. It said that this would have a devastating impact on the future growth of the health profession, as it might deter people from wanting to become doctors. The union will stage a protest on Thursday over the unemployment of doctors in the country. According to Samatu's Cedric Sihlangu, many doctors were moving abroad to find employment. “Our concern is that this is, indeed, discouraging, especially for our matriculants who are aspiring to become doctors one day and work in the healthcare space where finding a job in health is not as easy as it used to be. So, it, then, becomes a point of one reconsidering if they initially wanted to become a doctor,” he noted. But, the DOH claimed it had never made a commitment to employ doctors. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Tanya Petersen at EWN
Mpumalanga teacher suspended over accusations of sexually molesting young boys IOL reports that the Mpumalanga Department of Education has suspended a teacher after reports emerged that he had allegedly molested young boys at a school in KwaMhlanga. According to the SABC, a teacher at Siboniwe Primary School at Phola Park in KwaMhlanga was arrested and was due to appear in the KwaMhlanga Magistrate’s Court on Monday afternoon. Mpumalanga Department of Education spokesperson Jasper Zwane said officials were sent to the school to talk to the principal and a report was subsequently received. The department then decided to suspend the teacher in question. “The department will send a team of officials from the psychosocial section to render counselling to the affected learners. The department condemns this in the strongest terms possible. The department further encourages parents to inform it in the event that they suspect any form of abuse against children from any of our schools and this will help to root out such unwarranted tendencies,” Zwane told the SABC. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Sibuliso Duba at IOL
Metrorail resumes partial commuter service to Eerste River after three years GroundUp reports that Metrorail last week resumed a limited service between Eerste River and Bellville. Passengers wanting to go to Cape Town have to change trains in Bellville. The service had been suspended since the first Covid lockdown in 2020. Commuters indicated that they were happy that trains were operating again. Peter Solomons, who was travelling from Mutual to Eerste River, said: “Without a train, life has been difficult for my family as we usually travel on trains for both business and leisure. Train is affordable and safe. Today, I spent R18 on a return trip; with a taxi I needed R40 a day for a one-way trip. I can now feel the money in my pocket.” He said many people were still unaware that trains were back. But, the service is limited. The first train leaves Eerste River for Bellville at 5:10am, then there are trains at 6:45, 9, 11:45am and 1:55, 3:50 and 6pm. Previously, the busiest train was at 6am to go to work, but there is currently no service at that hour. There is a similar problem in the afternoon when people want to return home. Prasa spokesperson Zinobulali Mihi said the time table would be adjusted as commuters returned and numbers increased. Mihi added that plans were underway to repair the Strand Line and restore it to service. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tariro Washinyira at Moneyweb
Mantashe’s axing of Peter Becker as a board member of National Nuclear Regulator ruled unlawful BL Premium reports that Department of Mineral Resources & Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe’s axing of a nonexecutive director on the National Nuclear Regulator’s board has been declared unlawful and unconstitutional and set aside by the Western Cape High Court. Mantashe fired Peter Becker in February 2022 after the board member expressed critical views on the desirability of nuclear energy. He was quoted in an article in Energize, which was published in June 2021. The article was published before Backer had performed duties as a board director. Becker was inducted as a member of the board on 8 July 2021, after concluding an individual performance agreement. He represented communities that might be affected by nuclear activities on the board. Becker convened a two-hour virtual meeting with civil society organisations on 22 July 2021, and apparently “did not do so as a representative of the board, and did not purport to do so as a representative of the board”. The meeting was attended by a group of more than 35 activists from organisations concerned with radiation and nuclear safety issues. A legal firm recommended Becker’s discharge from the board on 6 July 2021 and board chair Thapelo Motshudi wrote to Mantashe the next day requesting that he should act based on the legal opinion. Mantashe suspended Becker on 18 January 2022 before axing him from the board on 25 February 2022. In the judgment delivered on Thursday, Judge Mantame declared Mantashe’s decision to discharge Becker “unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid in terms of section 172 (1)(a) of the constitution. The reasons and decision of the minister to discharge Becker from his office as a director of the board is reviewable and set aside.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Mantashe wrongfully fired activist from nuclear regulator board, court rules, at Fin24
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