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.
|
Abuse of cadre deployment policy no reason to ditch it, ANC’s counsel tells court BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal representative argued in the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday that the fact that a policy might be abused was not enough to have it declared invalid and unconstitutional. Advocate Adila Hassim said the ANC’s cadre deployment policy was not government policy and that it was for the governing party to decide what it should do with its own internal policies. The Democratic Alliance (DA) approached the court for an order to declare the cadre deployment policy unconstitutional. The policy, which has been blamed for a slew of service delivery challenges, corruption, malfeasance and fraud, has been employed by the ANC to help fast-track transformation and assist with implementing its policies in the public service. During the second day of argument on Tuesday, Hassim said the DA had not made a case that the policy infringed on the right to equality. He said that a policy might be abused was “not cause for a declaration of invalidity. When a law is abused, it doesn’t follow that the law is unconstitutional. It’s the case of the abuse that must be addressed.” In his reply, the DA’s legal representative, advocate Anton Katz, sought to explain what the DA’s application was about, namely that the policy was unconstitutional and it undermined the notion of a multiparty government. But Katz added that the DA did not want to cause “chaos” and pointed out that the justices could make the order prospective instead of retrospective. “We are here to stop [cadre deployment] happening in future,” he said. Judgment was reserved. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Judgement reserved in DA's legal challenge against ANC’s cadre deployment policy, at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
KZN policeman, wife and two children killed as gunmen ambush family in their car News24 reports that gunmen killed a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police officer, his wife and two children while they were seated in their car in Port Edward on Saturday. Warrant Officer Roger Mavundla, his wife and three children, aged 10 to 17, were ambushed, police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda reported. "The officer, his wife and two children sustained fatal wounds and died on the scene, while a third child is being treated at a local hospital," said Netshiunda. Police top brass were expected to visit the slain officer's family on Tuesday. The delegation was due to include Police Minister Bheki Cele and national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola. Twenty-two police officers were killed between July and September 2022. In Cape Town, an officer from Muizenberg police station was stabbed to death in Khayelitsha on Saturday evening. In Barberton, Mpumalanga, a man was arrested hours after Flying Squad members were attacked. Two officers were shot at when they stopped to offer assistance to a motorist whose vehicle had broken down on the N4 in eMalahleni. One of the officers was wounded. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Nicole McCain at News24. Lees ook, Polisiebeampte en sy gesin vermoor, by Maroela Media Supermarket employee stabbed to death on Sunday at East London mall Cape Times reports that Checkers staff and customers who witnessed the murder of an employee at a supermarket in Vincent Balfour Park, East London, have been offered trauma counselling following the incident on Sunday. The employee was stabbed to death inside the shop. Security officers managed to arrest the fleeing suspect. A police spokesperson said that at around 8.30am the police attended to a complaint of a stabbing and on arrival found a 36-year-old woman lying on her back in a pool of blood. “The suspect, aged 31 years old, entered the shop as a customer and attacked the victim who was busy working in the aisles. Suddenly a scream from the aisles was heard by the staff members and the security officers on duty. The victim came running towards the tills being chased by the suspect who repeatedly stabbed her. Security officers tried to intervene however the suspect ran out of the shop with the knife in his hand. They apprehended him and handed him over to police. The murder weapon was also recovered.” A security officer also sustained a stab wound and is in a stable condition after having been taken to hospital. The suspect was also taken to hospital for treatment and is under police guard. A murder case has been opened and is under investigation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zintle Mdaka at Cape Times. See too, Supermarket employee stabbed to death in front of customers at Eastern Cape mall, at News24 African Farmers’ Association urges farmers to protect workers during heatwave TimesLive reports that the African Farmers' Association of SA (Afasa) has asked farmers to take precautionary measures in light of the heatwave that has struck the country. This followed an alert issued by the SA Weather Service, especially in respect of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. “We urge all our farmers to take extra caution in ensuring that farmworkers are not subjected to these extreme weather conditions,” Afasa president Jabulani Mthembu said on Tuesday. He added that the farming community was devastated by the deaths of seven farmworkers in Northern Cape last week, allegedly from heatstroke. “We therefore encourage farmers to come up with innovative ways of protecting their workers, ensuring that they remain hydrated by always making safe drinking water accessible, changing shifts to minimise exposure to the sun, and, where possible, focusing on under-shelter activities during the day,” Mthembu said. With the heatwave persisting in certain parts of the country, the government also urged South Africans to take extra cautions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at SowetanLive Probe into deadly Boksburg tanker explosion may take longer than expected, says legal expert EWN reports that Tuesday marked a month since the tragic Boksburg explosion and legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala has suggested that investigations into the tragic blast might take longer than expected. He said police had to ensure they had sufficient evidence to establish a strong court case against accused parties. Forty-one people were killed when a gas tanker exploded near the Tambo Memorial Hospital on Christmas Eve after it was wedged under a railway bridge. The blast left scores of people with critical injuries and damaged municipal infrastructure. Zikalala said although investigations into the explosion were taking a long time, it is important for the state to not rush the matter to court. He explained that this was to avoid the case being dropped again, as it was when the gas tanker driver was released from jail due to insufficient evidence. Zikalala said the police would have to first establish who to charge and prove that the party could have reacted better to mitigate the impact of the blast. Meanwhile, the police have opened another docket that has been handed over to the senior state prosecutor, who will determine whether the information in the docket was presented fairly and was fit for the court. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Alpha Ramushwana at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Broad coalition in court action to fight Eskom’s tariff increase BL Premium reports that a coalition of trade unions, political parties and informal businesses have filed an application in the North Gauteng High Court to halt the implementation of the above-inflation tariff increases granted to Eskom by the energy regulator. Build One SA’s (Bosa’s) Sbu Zondi said papers were served on Tuesday morning in the court, requesting a hearing to take place on 28 February. The energy crisis has affected SA’s economic growth and has resulted in job losses, business closures and increasing inflation. In a notice of motion, the applicants, which include the UDM, ActionSA, Bosa, IFP, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and the Soweto Action Committee among others, seek an order for President Cyril Ramaphosa to produce the government’s plan to alleviate the “adverse impact of load-shedding” on public health, and education and employment. If successful, the president will be given seven days to do so. The broad coalition wants the court to declare that the failure by Eskom and the government to ensure the provision of uninterrupted and reliable electricity supply has violated several rights of the applicants. These include rights to equality, dignity, life, freedom of economic activity, health care, sufficient food and water, education, and access to courts, among others. The coalition also wants Ramaphosa to produce his administration’s plan to implement the just-energy transition from reliance on coal to renewable energy; the agreements reached with any foreign country in respect of SA’s commitments to just energy transition, and any financial commitments the country has made under those agreements. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Eskom hits back at Ramaphosa on electricity tariff increase, says costs don't just disappear Engineering News reports that Eskom has pointed out that those "aggrieved" by the upcoming 18.65% electricity tariff hike would have to lodge a court application to challenge the energy regulator's decision. This was indicated days after President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates at the ANC’s Free State provincial conference that he had asked the power utility to halt the tariff hike amid ongoing load-shedding. The tariff is set to kick in April. Eskom pointed out that the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) was the only authority in the country that could set the price that consumers could be charged for electricity. Nersa also followed an "exhaustive" public participation process to get input from different stakeholders and considered the costs that Eskom would incur before deciding on the final outcome. "If Eskom does not recover from the consumer, then the burden on the taxpayer increases. Thus efficient costs will need to be recovered – they do not just disappear," the power utility said. University of Johannesburg Professor Hartmut Winkler, who focuses on energy matters, similarly highlighted Nersa's role in setting the electricity price. He warned that if Eskom adhered to the president's request, it would set a precedent for the price increase to be halted again in future. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News Eskom is paying for the sins of the past, De Ruyter tells MPs SowetanLive reports that Eskom boss André de Ruyter has blamed previous government administrations and executives for rolling electricity blackouts, saying the power utility was paying for the sins of the past. On the other hand, Eskom is aiming to improve Eskom's energy availability factor (EAF) from the current 58% to 65% by the end of March 2024, and 70% by the end of March 2025. As the country endured continuing outages, Eskom's leadership appeared before parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday. The utility’s chair, Mpho Makwana, said the target was to recover 1,862MW in 2023 and 6,000MW in the next 24 months with an intensified effort at the top six power stations. “It is in this context that we are here this morning, a context in which we feel we are making breakthroughs,” he said. De Ruyter said while they appreciated the extreme frustration caused to many South Africans by load-shedding, the damage to the economy and the impatience with finding urgent solutions, it was fair to point out that the current situation was not a new development. He traced it back to 1998 when an energy white paper recorded that Eskom was asking for new capacity to be added urgently. “In its wisdom, government at the time disagreed and said it had other priorities and that the money required to add new capacity should be allocated to other needs. We then had no option but to create virtual capacity – by deferring maintenance, postponing midlife refurbishments and by running our plants harder than the international norm would indicate,” De Ruyter explained. He said it was difficult to estimate when exactly load-shedding would end, but could say “the risk of load-shedding will diminish in the next 18 months”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andisiwe Makinana at SowetanLive. See too, Eskom CEO André de Ruyter hints at load shedding relief by end of March, at News24 (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Hawks nab three suspected illegal miners in Limpopo, seize chrome stockpile and mining equipment worth R3.5m TimesLive reports that the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) in Limpopo arrested three suspected illegal miners and seized equipment and chrome valued at R3.5m at Bohalatladi on Monday night. “The operation was spearheaded by the Limpopo Hawks' serious organised crime Investigation members assisted by the National Intervention Unit (NIU) based in Pretoria. When the team pounced on the suspects, they were busy with their illegal activities and immediately placed under arrest,” a Hawks spokesperson reported. During the operation, two large excavators, one tipper truck and a large chrome stockpile with an estimated value of R3.5m were confiscated. All three accused are expected to appear before the local magistrate's court on Wednesday. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLive
Security company contracted to North West health department accused of UIF fraud, unfair treatment of employees The Citizen reports that more than 200 security guards employed by Mazaxa construction and projects, contracted to the North West Department of Health, have accusing the company of a range of transgressions. These include defrauding them of Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contributions, not paying bonuses or providing uniforms and unfair treatment at the workplace. According to a security employee, the security company was not compliant with a range of requirements. “The company gave us uniforms when they first arrived here in July 2021. They deduct UIF money but the department of labour says that we are not paying UIF. We don’t pay provident funds because the company does not want to contribute. We have notified the department of health but they do not seem to be doing anything about these issues,” the source claimed. The DOH refuted the claims. Another security officer said the company did not pay for maternity leave or annual leave. The DOH claimed it were not aware of this and said UIF was being paid, although they have not seen evidence. The security company, based in Limpopo, did not comment on questions sent to its head office and to the operational manager. Verification of compliance with labour matters was set for February and March 2023 and transgressions would be tackled, DOH spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kenneth Moeng Mokgatlhe at The Citizen
PSA condemns Limpopo health MEC for chastising clinic staff publicly TimesLive reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) in Limpopo has condemned Dr Phophi Ramathuba, provincial MEC for health, for her approach in dealing with service delivery at health facilities. In several videos that have gone viral, Ramathuba was filmed scolding some nurses and clinic management for their poor management of a clinic. PSA chairperson John Teffo said while the union supported the provision of quality health service to the public, it should not be done at the expense of the dignity of workers. “The MEC seems to have forgotten the basic leadership principle of 'praising in public and disciplining in private', as she is playing to the gallery to create the impression that she is working and workers are not. We condemn the Limpopo MEC of health's approach of shouting and disrespecting employees in front of patients, who will tomorrow speak rudely with the same employees,” Teffo remarked. He said that if Ramathuba was serious about improving health services, she should start by filling vacant posts in the province, especially at management level. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLive
Joburg primary school teacher dismissed for sexual assault of male teen during private maths lessons TimesLive reports that a Johannesburg primary school teacher has been dismissed after admitting to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old pupil during private maths lessons. The former teacher from EP Baumann Primary School in Johannesburg was dismissed following a ruling by the Education Labour Relations Council last week. The award came after the teacher's guilty plea in which he admitted to repeatedly fondling a male pupil, from another school, whom he was tutoring in maths last year. In her analysis of mitigating and aggravating factors, commissioner Mmamahlola Gloria Rabyanyana indicated: “The objective is to protect and safeguard the future and dignity of young learners. [The teacher] had committed the offences on four separate occasions with no intention of refraining from same, until the victim reported the incidents. The victim's pushing of his hand away from the private parts failed to deter him from repeating the act. It was not an isolated incident but a habit. In my view, [the teacher] is a habitual offender. I find him unsuitable to work with children.” The teacher was found guilty of sexually assaulting a pupil and dismissed. His name will be entered in part B of the National Child Protection Register. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at TimesLive
|
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page