In our Friday morning roundup, see summaries of our selection of recent South African labour-related reports.
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Prasa ordered to pay hundreds of millions to employees for breaking 2021 wage agreement Fin24 reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), which is under severe financial stress, has been ordered by the Labour Court to pay employees hundreds of millions of rands for failing to honour the wage agreement in 2021. The increase will also raise the baseline of the wage bill for 2022/23 by 5%. The increase is payable to members of the United National Transport Union (UNTU), the majority union, but Prasa will find it difficult not to extend the increase to the rest of the bargaining unit. A three-year wage agreement for 5% per annum was signed in 2020/21. In March 2021 and 2022, Prasa reneged on the increases. The court gave Prasa until 3 February to inform UNTU members of the quantum due to them. In a letter to members, UNTU general secretary Cobus van Rooyen said Prasa management had requested to meet with UNTU to discuss a payment plan. “The battle is won but the war is not over, if Prasa chooses to fight this Labour Court ruling UNTU will continue the fight with great vigour,” Van Rooyen indicated. He also said that the union planned further court action in respect of the increases for the 2022/23 year. In a statement late Thursday, Prasa advised as follows: "The Remuneration Committee chairperson, advocate Smanga Sethene, will be joined by Prasa management in a meeting with UNTU representatives in the coming week to find an amicable agreement that balances the needs of our employees and the sustainability of the business in the face of inflation and the soaring cost of living." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24
Government awaiting legal advice on declaring a state of disaster on electricity crisis TimesLive reports that according to Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, the government is seeking legal advice on declaring a national state of disaster on the Eskom energy crisis. “Investigations are being done and I hope that we can be advised as quickly as possible in a manner that is consistent with the crisis. We have been asking for the advice and they have been looking at it,” Gungubele advised. The discussion on declaration was at the top of the agenda at the two-day cabinet lekgotla in Pretoria on Thursday and Friday. Speaking on the sidelines, Gungubele said the meeting would deliberate on the energy crisis, the state of service delivery, crime and the economy, among other issues. “There is a strong desire in government to find ways of ending load-shedding as quickly as possible. A lot of interventions are taking place, be it sourcing energy from outside, fast-tracking emergency power, skills and upping the ante on maintaining the plants. But there is a call that wouldn’t a disaster declaration help us jump other processes which sometimes do not help with the response to the situation. We do not have a response yet on whether there is a legal base for us to declare a disaster,” Gungubele indicated. Resolutions taken at the lekgotla will inform President Cyril Ramaphosa's state of the nation address next Thursday in Cape Town. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amanda Khoza at TimesLive Eskom chief operating officer job to be scrapped after Jan Oberholzer retires in April Fin24 reports that according to Eskom director Mteto Nyati, the power utility’s board plans to scrap the position of chief operating officer (COO). Jan Oberholzer was appointed as the utility's first COO in 2018. He retires in April. The board has decided to cancel the position, given that Eskom will be unbundled into three divisions (generation, transmission and distribution). "This phenomenon of COO is (also) something that is new in Eskom," Nyati pointed out. Following CEO André de Ruyter's resignation in December, a company appointed to find a replacement will apparently present a long list of candidates to the board's nomination committee within the next two weeks. A short list will then be compiled. In response to pronouncements by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula that the ruling party wanted to end load shedding by the end of 2023 by reprioritising the national budget and declaring a national state of disaster, Nyati said the board was sticking to a two-year plan. Last month, the new Eskom board confirmed a plan that aimed to improve the Eskom coal fleet's Energy Availability Factor (EAF) to a "desirable level" in two years. According to Nyati, the Eskom board has not been pressured by government to change its plan. "We are open to any ideas … that will help us to move us the timeline to earlier. [But] at this time, we have a clear plan … [and] that is a two-year plan," he indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Helena Wasserman & Lameez Omarjee at Fin24 Eskom staff to continue to get performance-based incentives for working on load-shedding Sunday Times Daily reports that Eskom will be incentivising staff members who have been hard at work to keep the lights on despite a continued forecast of blackouts. This was the third out of Eskom’s top five priorities in dealing with the energy crisis, Eskom board member Mteto Nyati indicated on Thursday. Speaking during an update on the electricity challenges, he said the incentives, such as salary increases and promotions, would be performance-based to boost better behaviour among staff. “We have a number of employees in Eskom who are doing a good job. If you treat them the same way as people who are not applying themselves, you have a problem and have people with low morale. We need to give management the tools they need to drive the behaviour we are looking for ... and the tools they need to differentiate based on performance,” he pointed out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at Sunday Times Daily (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Ficksburg pupils hold teachers and cops hostage over schoolmate’s ‘suicide’ after being bullied by a teacher TimesLive reports that teachers and police officers were held hostage at a school in the Free State after a schoolmate allegedly committed suicide after being bullied by a teacher. The incident happened in the Maqheleng area in Ficksburg where pupils from surrounding schools converged on Tlotlisong Secondary School on Thursday. “Police officers were called to the scene but the pupils turned to violence. They held two police officers and teachers’ hostage inside the school,” police spokesperson Warrant Officer Peter Mabizela indicated. He added: “It is reported that the child left a suicide note to say what caused the death and then the learners at the school picketed and it became violent.” The pupils overturned a police vehicle, which prompted a call for three more police vehicles to the scene, which the pupils pelted with stones. “The station commander sent more units to the scene and they were able to disperse the pupils,” Mabizela said. Five minors were arrested for public violence and will appear in court soon after consulting social workers. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at TimesLive
Six of the 21 Stilfontein alleged illegal miners arrested in October to apply for bail in February TimesLive reports that the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on Thursday postponed the case against 21 suspected illegal miners to 15 February for bail applications and further investigations. Twenty of the suspects were arrested by the Hawks at a mineshaft in Stilfontein, North West, in October last year after weeks of surveillance of alleged illegal mining activities. Fifteen AK-47 rifles, six hunting rifles, two shotguns, one R5 rifle, boxes of ammunition, explosives and an undisclosed amount of money were seized. The last accused, who was arrested at his home, is suspected of transporting food and goods to illegal miners on site. His vehicle was seized. On Thursday, the attorney representing six of the accused requested a postponement to prepare a bail application. Two of the six applicants are from Lesotho, one from Swaziland and three are South Africans. One accused is out on R5,000 bail, while 14 have not applied for bail. The preliminary charges encompass conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of illegal firearms and ammunition and contravention of the Immigration Act. The possibility of additional charges has not been not ruled out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLive Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Cosatu, Mamelodi taxi association and EFF lament persistent fuel price increases TimesLive reports that reacting to the 1 February fuel price hikes, Cosatu, a taxi association and the EFF warned that persistent price increases would push more people into poverty. From Wednesday, petrol prices increased by 28c/l, diesel with 0.05% sulphur went up by 9c/l and paraffin by 58.00c/l. Diesel with 0.005% sulphur decreased by 0.84 c/l. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the increases were bad news for all South Africans, but are even worse for poor families. “Poor households are already struggling to survive under these difficult conditions and an increase in the price of paraffin will leave many worse off,” Pamla said. He lamented that many people were drowning in debt and the fuel increase on top of the recent electricity price hike, and rising food prices and interest rates would make it even harder for workers to support their families. “It will push thousands of workers to default on their loans and risk losing their homes, cars and other possessions. This will also threaten the sustainability of thousands of SMMEs and place their employees in danger of losing their meagre wages and being retrenched,” Pamla noted. He appealed to the government to provide relief to commuters and the economy by lowering fuel taxes. Mpho Mukhari from the Mamelodi Local & Long Distance Taxi Association said that that fuel price hikes were devastating. “The hike of petrol and diesel is killing the business. The drivers are working for fuel, they spend from R4,000-R5,000 a week for fuel. he sad part is that they are not even making that money,” Mukhari said. The EFF pointed out that that “many workers will not be able to travel to work as they will not be able to afford transportation”. The party called for an immediate halt on any form of increase until there was a substantive review of the fuel levy.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessLive
Transnet rail workers accidentally received double pay in January after company’s switch to new bankers Fin24 reports that Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) accidentally paid most of its employees twice in January due to an error that occurred when switching to new bankers. TFR has 26,000 employees and a monthly wage bill of over R1 billion. Employees who banked with FNB and RMB were not affected. Apparently, the fault was quickly rectified and, in most cases, rescinded. If that has not happened, the money will seemingly be taken from employees' February salaries. But trade unions, which met with management on Wednesday, said on Thursday that that was not the agreement reached and that workers could repay the money in instalments over the calendar year by arrangement with their human resource managers. In a letter to members of the United National Transport Union (UNTU), general secretary Cobus van Vuuren said: “After some deliberation, it was concluded that management would engage with the affected employees and inform them of the payment arrangements to pay the money back. Even though management’s intention was to deduct the money from the affected employees in this financial year, it was agreed that employees who do not have the money, due to unforeseen circumstances, would be given the opportunity to consult with their respective HR manager in order to make suitable payment arrangements.” Satawu’s Jack Mazibuko agreed with that interpretation. He said that employees would definitely receive their full February salary and could either sell their leave days or repay the money in instalments. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24 Union calls for Thembelihle municipality in Northern Cape, which hasn’t paid January salaries, to be placed under administration IOL reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in the Northern Cape says that hundreds of workers at Thembelihle Local Municipality have not been paid their January salaries. According to the union, the municipal manager and chief financial officer resigned late last year and as a result the municipality had no officials to sign off salary payments. The municipality is run by a coalition of the EFF, DA, Community Forum and FF+, which came to power in November 2021. In a statement on Thursday, Samwu said: “The municipality which covers areas such as Hopetown, Orania and Strydenburg has for the last four months been on autopilot, without executive leadership which has resulted in limited service delivery and more worryingly, the non-payment of workers’ salaries for the month of January. […] Workers at the municipality had as a result not received their January 2023 salaries, while third parties such as medical aid and pension fund payments had been in arrears for over a year.” Samwu called for the municipality to be placed under administration by the provincial government. “The current councillors have proven to be hopelessly unable to fulfil their duties and as such, an administrator should be appointed to oversee the general administration of the municipality. If needs be, the municipality should be dissolved, and fresh elections held to elect people who have the interests of workers and residents at heart,” the union said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sihle Mavuso at IOL
Two Wolmaransstad police officers accused of taking R1,000 bribe to destroy docket granted R500 bail IOL reports that two police sergeants accused of soliciting a bribe of R1,000 in exchange for destroying a docket in Wolmaransstad, North West, were arrested by the Provincial Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit (ACIU) on Tuesday. Sergeant Orapeleng Sekane and Sergeant Pogiso Chacha work as court orderlies at the Wolmaransstad Magistrate’s Court. North West police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone indicated: “The pair reportedly solicited R1,000 from a malicious damage to property accused on condition that they destroy the docket, which was registered in August 2021. A notice to appear was eventually issued against the man after he failed to appear in court. It was upon confrontation by one of the man's relatives on Monday, 30 January 2023, that the police officers decided to pay back the money. The matter was reported to the police and that culminated in the arrest of the pair during an undercover operation.” The two were released on a R500 bail each and the case against them was postponed to 3 March. They will also be investigated in terms of the SA Police Service (SAPS) Discipline Regulations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molaole Montsho at IOL Former Limpopo police detective found guilty of corruption for soliciting bribes IOL reports that former police detective, Thabo Ezekiel Maputla, was found guilty of corruption at the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday. He will be sentenced on 7 February. A Hawks spokesperson reported: “On 25 August 2014, Maputla who was a detective Warrant Officer at SAPS Westerburg contacted four suspects in a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm that he was investigating. When the suspects arrived at Westernburg police station, Maputla told them they were under arrest, but they can pay R500 each for bail. The suspects paid a total of R2,000 to Maputla while they were still kept in the police holding cells. On the very same day, Maputla booked out one of the suspects for ‘investigation’ and they went to his house where he demanded a further R2,500 for bail from his wife.” Maputla was paid the R2,500 and they went back to the police station where he released all the four suspects and issued them with bail receipts of R500 each. The matter was reported to the police and Maputla was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation members. Maputla is currently serving a jail term on another unrelated corruption case." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molaole Montsho at IOL (scroll down)
In a ‘staggering increase in attacks', 72 MyCiTi busses stoned over three months in Cape Town TimesLive reports that a “staggering increase in attacks” – in particular along the N2 Express routes serving passengers from Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha in Cape Town – has seen 72 MyCiTi passenger buses stoned and damaged over the past three months. Urban mobility MMC Rob Quintas said on Thursday: “The effect on commuters is devastating. We cannot operate buses with smashed windows and must withdraw the bus from service. That means the trips scheduled for that bus are missed or delayed for as long as the bus is in for repairs. Commuters don’t arrive at work or school on time and there are long queues at stations and stops because the full fleet is not operational due to vandalism.” The buses were stoned between 1 November and 31 January. Damaged vehicles are taken out of service for up to two days to replace broken windows and windshields at a cost of R7,000 to R10,000 each, depending on the size. “The cost to replace and repair the damage to our MyCiTi fleet is shocking. Then there is the indirect cost to commuters – the residents who lose out on an income because they are late for work or spend hours longer commuting, waiting in queues, because we do not have enough buses to transport them,” said Quintas. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at TimesLive Commuters relieved as trains return to Parow, one of Cape Town’s busiest stations GroundUp reports that the resumption of train services from Parow Station on Metrorail’s Northern Line in Cape Town has come as much-needed financial relief to people in the surrounding communities. Prior to being closed at the start of the Covid lockdown in March 2020, Parow was one of the busiest stations. During the closure, commuters had to walk to Tygerberg and Elsies River in order to catch a train to Cape Town. A single taxi trip along this 30 minute walking route costs about R14. In March last year it was reported that Metrorail had brought back trains to the Northern Line via Goodwood, but trains were not stopping at Parow. Trains still do not stop at Degrendale Station on the Parow North Montevista route. In a statement on 30 January, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) advised that the re-introduced service would only be available during the week for now. “We will give further updates as we monitor and improve the service,” it indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tariro Washinyira at GroundUp
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