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 Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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State of disaster declared to prevent progression to 'total blackout' Fin24 reports that ten months after the national state of disaster for Covid-19 was lifted, SA has entered a new one, this time for load shedding. On Thursday evening, during President Cyril Ramaphosa's State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Cape Town, Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma gazetted a new declaration of a national state of disaster. According to the Government Gazette, it was declared to prevent "the possible progression to total blackout from occurring and taking into account the possibility to augment existing measures already undertaken by the organs of state to deal with electricity supply constraint". Ramaphosa explained: "The state of disaster will enable us to provide practical measures that we need to take to support businesses in the food production, storage and retail supply chain, including for the rollout of generators, solar panels and uninterrupted power supply. Where technically possible, it will enable us to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding. And it will enable us to accelerate energy projects and limit regulatory requirements while maintaining rigorous environmental protections, procurement principles and technical standards." The disaster regulations may help to hasten emergency power procurement – like power ships – as well as procurement of parts and services for Eskom's embattled power stations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Helena Wasserman at Fin24. Read too, Disaster declared amid chaotic scenes at Sona, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). En ook, Ramaphosa kondig ramptoestand aan, by Maroela Media Solidarity announces legal action against state of disaster over energy crisis In a press statement following President Ramaphosa’s announcement in his state of the nation address on Thursday night, trade union Solidarity indicated that it would be instituting legal against the declaration of a national state of disaster to deal with the energy crisis. “Solidarity’s legal team has already started to prepare urgent court documents, and these will be served on the government in the coming days,” Dr Dirk Hermann, Solidarity Chief Executive, advised. “Poor central control landed us in this crisis. Such poor control in even more measures will not get us out of the crisis. Everything the president announced in the State of the Nation Address can already be implemented by using existing legislation. The harsh reality is that all the instruments to solve the crisis are already at the president’s disposal – he simply chooses not to use them. Therefore, a state of disaster is irrational and unnecessary and leaves Solidarity with no option but to litigate,” Hermann advised. “We dare not allow a repeat of the government’s abuse of power that occurred during the Covid-19 state of disaster. […] A state of disaster will not end the energy crisis any faster, but it opens the door to major abuse once again. This is quite simply a lose-lose situation,” Hermann continued. He said Solidarity’s message to the government was a simple one: “We will solve it (the energy crisis) ourselves; move out of the way and allow us to do this.” Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News Ramaphosa to appoint Minister of Electricity as energy crisis is declared a national disaster Engineering News reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that he will be appointing a new Minister of Electricity in The Presidency to coordinate the response to the electricity crisis, which has been officially declared a “national disaster” with immediate effect. In State of the Nation Address on Thursday, the President acknowledged that the country was “in the grips of a profound energy crisis”, which was not only stymying the economic recovery from Covid but also threatening social stability and food security. He indicated: “To deal more effectively and urgently with the challenges that confront us, I will appoint a Minister of Electricity in The Presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee." The Minister will focus full-time on ending loadshedding and ensuring that the Energy Action Plan announced in July last year “was implemented without delay”. In response, state-owned power utility Eskom said it would study the detail in the government gazette to understand the implications of the declaration before it would provide any further comment. It also did not comment on the plan to appoint a Minister of Electricity. Ramaphosa also indicated that shareholder responsibility for Eskom would remain with the Public Enterprises Minister and would not be shifted to the Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, despite reports that the ANC wanted state-owned enterprises (SOEs) moved to their line departments. The restructuring of Eskom was also reaffirmed in the speech, with the President announcing that the National Transmission Company SA (NTCSA) would soon be operational with an independent board. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read too, Ramaphosa to appoint minister of electricity in his office, at TimesLive National Treasury warns power cuts could ignite civil unrest BL Premium reports that National Treasury is the latest government department to have weighed in on the wider implications of load-shedding and rolling blackouts. Addressing a webinar organised by the Public Affairs Research Institute on the effect of load-shedding on municipal services and finances, the Treasury’s local government budget analysis director, Sadesh Ramjathan, said load-shedding was devastating in municipalities and had the potential to “spark community protest and civil unrest”. He noted some municipalities mitigated the load-shedding challenge by buying generators, but these too came with rising diesel costs. “Municipalities are faced with diesel costs that are equally draining their coffers, so they are faced with a double-edged sword in this instance,” Ramjathan pointed out. While the Treasury was assisting municipalities in financial distress due to diminishing financial revenue, he said the “government does not have additional funds to assist them” and that municipalities were not doing enough to collect the billions of rand owed to them for services rendered. Silas Mulaudzi, a sustainable energy specialist at the SA Local Government Association (Salga) told the webinar that load-shedding was the single biggest constraint on SA’s economic growth and the impact on municipalities was huge and included “abnormally high” overtime budgets, loss of sales revenue and jobs, and reduced revenue. Meanwhile, Tracy Ledger and Mahlatse Rampedi, researchers at the institute who co-authored the book Hungry for Electricity, said the reality on the ground for households was dire and that the lack of electricity was a key contributor to poverty on the ground. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Eskom crisis has exposed SA’s municipal crisis, at Mail & Guardian (subscriber access only) Poverty deepening so R350 social relief of distress grant will continue, Ramaphosa announces News24 reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday that the government would continue with the payment of the social relief of distress (SRD) grant of R350. He was sketchy on details, but said Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana would provide more information in his annual budget speech. According to the president, millions of South Africans cannot provide for themselves and their families. To counter the rising cost of living, Ramaphosa said the government would continue the SRD grant, which reaches around 7.8 million people. "We will ensure that existing social grants are increased to cushion the poor against rising inflation. This will be set out in the budget by the minister of finance. Work is under way to develop a mechanism for targeted basic income support for the most vulnerable within our fiscal constraints," he indicated. Ramaphosa added that National Treasury was considering the feasibility of urgent measures to mitigate the impact of load shedding on food prices. Speaking of the poverty faced by many South Africans, Ramaphosa admitted to the growing crisis. According to the president, it was the state's job to provide a minimum level of protection below which no South African fell. "Right now, in our country, there are more than 25 million people who receive some form of income support. In addition, around 2 million indigent households receive free basic water, free basic electricity, and free solid waste removal. Around 60% of our budget is spent on what is known as the social wage, providing various forms of support, basic services, and assistance to households and individuals to combat poverty and hunger," he said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24. Read too, Ramaphosa says basic income support is on the cards, at TimesLive Ramaphosa calls for scrapping of work experience requirement for youth, while employment tax incentive expanded SowetanLive reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeated his call to companies, departments and SOEs to waive the requirement for work experience for young people seeking entry-level positions. Speaking on the government’s plans to encourage youth employment in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the employment tax incentive had been expanded to encourage businesses to hire more young people in large numbers. About other measures to address the dire unemployment numbers among those between the ages of 15 years and 24 years, Ramaphosa reported that last week a new cohort of 150,000 school assistants had started work at more than 22,000 schools, “offering dignity, hope and vital work experience to young people who were unemployed”. Further measures included the Social Employment Fund recruiting 50,000 participants in its next phase to undertake work for the common good, while the revitalised National Youth Service would create a further 36,000 opportunities through non-profit and community-based organisations. Meanwhile, the Department of Home Affairs has appointed the first cohort of 10,000 unemployed young people to digitise more than 340-million paper-based civic records. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Fikile-Ntsikelelo Moya at SowetanLive Cannabis as an economic sector set to put job opportunities on a high SowetanLive reports that a year after President Cyril Ramaphosa punted the cannabis industry as a pathway to creation of jobs, government is still looking at findings ways to regulate the plant for industrial use. During his 2023 state of the nation address on Thursday, Ramaphosa punted hemp and cannabis, also known as dagga in SA, as a new sector that could create new jobs. "Last year we committed to unlocking investment in the hemp and cannabis sector. We are moving to create the enabling conditions for the sector to grow. The department of agriculture land reform and rural development and the department of health will address existing conditions for the cultivation of hemp and cannabis to allow outdoor cultivation and collection of harvests from traditional farmers," Ramaphosa indicated. He went on to state: "This will unlock enormous economic energy in the rural areas of the country, especially in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Urgent work is being finalised by government to create an enabling regulatory framework for a whole plant, all legitimate purposes approach for complimentary medicines, food, cosmetics, and industrial products, aligned to international conventions and best practices." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nomazima Nkosi at SowetanLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Two KZN paramedics robbed at gunpoint while responding to call for help in Shongweni IOL reports that KwaNdengezi SAPS are investigating a case of robbery following an incident in which a 38-year-old ambulance driver and his 42-year-old colleague were allegedly robbed of their belongings and work equipment at Shongweni. The two paramedics were accosted by four armed robbers while on call just after midnight on Wednesday after having responded to a false emergency call about a sick elderly person who needed to be taken to hospital. The paramedics, who work for KZN Emergency Medical Services, arrived in Shongweni at around 12.30am. When they arrived at Shongweni Dam they were flagged down by two men who said they would show them where the sick person lived. On their way there they were accosted by another two men. One of the suspects produced a firearm while the other three were armed with knives. The paramedics were told to lie on the ground and were searched. Their cellphones and medical equipment worth thousands of rand were stolen. The robbers then fled. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jolene Marriah-Maharaj at IOL
Report shows most strikes in 2022 were by state workers over pay, but fewer workers downed tools than in previous years TimesLive reports that workers embarked on at least 86 protected and unprotected labour protest actions in 2022, most of which were in the public service sector over wage disputes. This was reported in a strike barometer released by the Casual Workers Advice Office this week. It found that 48 strikes had been protected while 38 had been wildcat actions, with some 26 of the latter having occurred in the public sector. Seventeen of the 38 unprotected strikes were undertaken by non-unionised workers. The majority of strikes concerned wages and related issues, such as increases, unpaid wages, allowances, benefits and employer failure to abide by collective agreements on wage increases. The second highest trigger – for 22% of strikes – was the demand for permanent employment, and for an end to labour broking. Other reasons were health and safety problems at work, including complaints about short-staffing, dangerous work places and failure of employers to provide appropriate personal protective clothing. Twenty-two of the strikes took place at provincial level, 14 at local government level and 13 at national level. Most strikes occurred in Gauteng. The longest strike was by Giwusa-Fawu members against Clover, which went on for 180 days. But, fewer workers downed tools overall when compared with previous years. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgaugelo Masweneng at BusinessLive
Transport union Untu wants Prasa to be held in contempt of court over failure to honour wage agreement EWN reports that the United National Transport Union (Untu) has applied to the Labour Court to have the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) held in contempt of court after the state-owned company failed to pay backdated salary increases to some of its workers for the 2021/22 financial year. This after Prasa missed last week’s initial deadline to calculate and start payment of the outstanding salaries. The Labour Court recently ordered the agency to honour a three-year wage agreement that provided for employees affiliated with Untu to be paid a 5% wage increase for each financial year between 2020 and 2023. While Prasa has approached the transport union's leaders, calling for a meeting to talk payment plans, the embattled company has failed to abide with parts of the court order. Untu general secretary Cobus van Vuuren said the union also wanted a writ of execution to have Prasa’s bank accounts attached. “If the contempt of court is issued then, of course, there will be an arrest,” he stated. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Nokukhanya Mntambo at EWN
Kalagadi Manganese terminates its membership of Minerals Council over call for removal of Transnet’s Portia Derby Mail & Guardian reports that in the fallout from the public battle between the Minerals Council SA (MCSA) and Transnet chief executive Portia Derby, Kalagadi Manganese has terminated its membership of the mining industry employer organisation (previously called the Chamber of Mines). In a letter to MCSA president Nolitha Fakude, Kalagadi’s executive chair Daphne Mashile-Nkosi stated that the black women-led mining company had had no option but to reconsider its membership. This after the MCSA allegedly failed to consult its membership about Fakude’s decision to write to Transnet board chair Popo Molefe to call for Derby’s removal from the helm of the state logistics company, among other “urgent critical interventions”. “This call for the removal of [one of a] few female corporate leaders is more than just a misrepresentation of us as members but goes against the ethos for which we stand,” Mashile-Nkosi’s letter stated. Fakude’s letter of 4 December 2022 indicated that MCSA members “have lost confidence in the existing Transnet leadership team and we do not think that they have the capability to turnaround the current crisis situation”. Transnet-related logistical constraints have been blamed for commodity producers losing out on R51 billion in exports. According to Mashile-Nkosi, the MCSA failed to inform its members of the letter, despite it holding a meeting a day later with the object of providing an update on its engagements with Transnet. Derby has hit back at the MCSA’s letter, saying that the lobby group’s antagonism towards her stemmed from its opposition to Transnet introducing more junior players on its manganese export lines. The MCSA’s outgoing chief executive Roger Baxter told journalists attending the Mining Indaba that he was encouraged by engagements with Transnet subsequent to the letter. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sarah Smit at Mail & Guardian (subscriber access only)
University of Venda suspends staff member for soliciting bribes from students for admission TimesLive reports that the University of Venda (Univen) has suspended a staff member for allegedly soliciting bribes from prospective students in exchange for admission. The suspension came after a student took to social media to expose messages from a person purporting to be working for the university. The messages indicated that the staff member had the personal details of students and could speed up their placement for a R3,500 fee. Univen spokesperson Takalani Dzaga said the staff member concerned was identified and placed on suspension pending disciplinary action. “Serious measures will be taken against any staff members who are found to be involved in this kind of unethical behaviour that brings the name of the university into disrepute,” Dzaga indicated. The prospective student said she was approached just after submitting her application for a postgraduate certificate. “A few minutes later I got a text from an unknown person saying that if I pay them they will fast-track my admission,” she reported, adding that she no longer felt safe as her information, including that of her next-of-kin, was accessible. The accused staff member apparently asked her to delete the screenshot of their exchange from social media. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at TimesLive
PSA calls on SA Tourism Board to halt probe into identity of whistle-blower over R1bn Spurs deal IOL reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA) has called on the Board of South African Tourism (SAT) to halt its forensic investigation into identifying the whistle-blower who lifted the lid on the proposed R1-billion deal with English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur. The trade union said whistle-blowers needed to be protected to fight and stamp out corruption and shouldn’t be targeted by organisations and state entities. According to the PSA, the forensic investigation was a waste of taxpayers’ money and the Tourism Board should instead be looking at giving protection to the person who leaked the documents. “The protection of whistle-blowers remains key and central to the fight against corruption. The interests of the country and its citizens must be prioritised over self-enrichment schemes disguised as government programmes to improve the country,” said the union. The call by the PSA came after the SAT board said on Wednesday it had launched a probe into the identity of the person who had blown the whistle on the controversial Spurs deal. But, the PSA added that the SAT board was out of touch with reality, had lost the plot and should be looking at scrapping the deal. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi at IOL
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