In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Solidarity heads to court to have state of disaster to deal with electricity crisis declared unlawful News24 reports that Solidarity is going to court to launch a legal challenge to the declaration of a state of disaster to deal with the electricity crisis. In a statement on Tuesday, the trade union said the electricity crisis did not meet the definition of a disaster in terms of the relevant legislation. During his state of the nation address (SONA) last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that a state of disaster had been declared and that he would be appointing a minister of electricity in the presidency. However, the chief executive of Solidarity, Dirk Hermann, said the government itself was the cause of the electricity crisis. He stated: “It (the government) cannot declare itself a disaster, thereby obtaining extraordinary powers to address the disaster. Disaster legislation is not meant for government failure. We do not have short memories either. We remember the abuse of power during the Covid-19 state of disaster and how disaster funds were looted. A state of disaster to deal with the electricity crisis is a disaster." He explained that a state of disaster was intended as a temporary intervention – and should only be used when no other option was available. "This means that, if another legislative instrument is available to deal with this state of exception, it must be used," he argued. "All the measures announced in President Ramaphosa's SONA can be implemented by using other statutory instruments. If other instruments do exist, disaster legislation does not apply. If this state of disaster is allowed to continue, a dangerous precedent will be set,” Hermann said Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeanette Chabalala at News24. Lees ook, ‘Rampdemokrasie in SA moet gestuit word’, by Maroela Media. Read Solidarity’s press statement on the above matter at Solidarity News Gwede Mantashe denies belittling new ‘project manager’ electricity minister BL Premium reports that Mineral Resources & Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says his description of the new minister of electricity as a “project manager” does not mean the appointee will have a reduced role and authority. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the new position to deal with SA’s energy crisis in his state of the nation address last week and also declared a national state of disaster. Speaking during Tuesday’s debate on the address, Mantashe said project management meant there would be clear time frames and milestones. “This is not reductionist,” he claimed. The appointment of the minister indicated the sense of urgency and the need to deliver solutions on time as SA could not wait 24 months to solve load-shedding, Mantashe stated. Critics have raised the prospect of a conflict and confusion of roles between the new minister – who has yet to be appointed – Mantashe and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, all of whom would have a role in managing Eskom and load-shedding. They have also pointed out that a relatively junior minister in the presidency would not be able to exercise power over political heavyweights such as Mantashe and Gordhan. Mantashe said the crisis could be solved by implementing four plans over the short and medium term, namely, improving Eskom’s energy availability factor at coal power stations; the purchase of emergency power; the purchase of electricity from neighbouring countries; and improving the skills capacity of Eskom. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Drunk Joburg motorist crashes into cop on Soweto Highway, flees the scene and crashes again IOL reports that a drunk motorist has been arrested by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) after he allegedly crashed into JMPD officer Zwidfhela Daniel Singo on Soweto Highway under the railway bridge in Mzimhlope, Orlando. JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla reported that the motorist fled from the scene after he had bumped into officer Singo and then went on to crash into another vehicle at a traffic circle while being pursued by police. The 55-year-old driver was then arrested and was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless and negligent driving and failing to stop at an accident scene. Preliminary information, according to the JMPD, indicated that Singo had signalled for the vehicle to stop, but the driver failed to do so and crashed into the police officer. Officer Singo sustained serious injuries to the head and back. He was airlifted to Milpark Hospital, and he is currently in a stable condition.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo at IOL. Lees ook, Verkeersman glo deur besopene omgery, by Maroela Media
Up to 15% of Telkom’s workforce to be sacrificed in scramble for cash BL Premium reports that Telkom launched a frenzied scramble for cash on Tuesday, unveiling plans to slash as many as 1,770 jobs and to sell its device credit book. This as rolling power cuts and heavy spending on the mobile network jacked up costs and eroded its profitability. The cuts would amount to 15% of the company’s nearly 11,800 workforce across all divisions, including IT unit Business Connexion, its mobile division, and its property and fibre subsidiaries. The retrenchment process “is intended to ensure the sustainability of the group”, Telkom said, adding that it would also sell its device loan book to an unspecified financial institution to raise R1bn. The frantic plan to manage the cash crunch at SA’s third-largest mobile phone operator comes as its earnings reports in recent months painted a picture of a company that seemed to have reached the ceiling in substantially winning market share in the mobile phone market. It also underscores the impact of power outages on companies with limited cash buffers as they have to increasingly rely on expensive backup power to keep their operations running during blackouts. The company, which warned that core profit fell almost 14% in the year to end-December, has also been hit by rising living costs, which have lowered demand for some products. Telkom said job cuts – likely to hit a nerve with its biggest shareholder, the government – were crucial in helping it to navigate its transformation from a fixed-line operator to a modern telecom operator. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mudiwa Gavaza at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Telkom may retrench 15% of its workforce in latest round, at Fin24 Post Office says Sassa costs partly to blame for financial woes and need to retrench BusinessLive reports that the SA Post Office (SAPO), which is about to conduct mass retrenchments, says its former distribution contract with the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) is partly to blame for the financial woes that have rendered it technically insolvent. The state-owned service, which last made a profit in 2004, said the contract for its branches to disburse various monthly government grants to about 25-million needy citizens cost it about R600m a year. The contract ended in November 2022. “The long queues as a result of grants (especially social relief of distress grants) were detrimental to other services. Customers avoided the queues by choosing different service providers for some of the revenue lines such as motor vehicle licences and financial services,” explained SAPO spokesperson Johan Kruger. Kruger confirmed the company would cut jobs, but said he was unable to give an exact number at it was still consulting affected workers. Staff costs account for 68% of total expenses. The retrenchment notice issued to SAPO employees last week could affect service delivery to rural and poor communities, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned. “They [Post Office management] gave us a notice on Thursday that they want to retrench 6,000 workers nationally,” CWU general secretary Aubrey Tshabalala advised on Monday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive
Nxesi looks to social compacts in specific areas for job creation BL Premium reports that Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi said in parliament on Tuesday that the social compact initiatives mentioned by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his state of the nation (SONA) address last week would be critical for job creation. In his address Ramaphosa had indicated that, while no success had been achieved with forging a comprehensive social compact, a number had been concluded in specific areas. Social partners had also agreed to work on a framework to enable joint action in key areas such as energy, transport and logistics, employment creation and skills development, investment and localisation, social protection, as well as crime and corruption. Nxesi said there was “broad agreement from all the social partners on the eight priority interventions that the president mentioned.” He went on to explain: “Those areas are critical for job creation. We anticipate that five or more economic sector compacts will also come out of this process over and above the other areas where there is an agreement, as happened with the Eskom social compact.” Nxesi advised that consultations were under way with other government departments on a national employment policy that would be finalised this year, after which it would be submitted to the cabinet for approval. An employment creation co-ordinating committee will be established, chaired by the deputy president, which will include economic, infrastructure and employment ministers, organised business, labour and community organisations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Nxesi says employment creation co-ordinating committee in the pipeline BL Premium reports that in parliament on Tuesday, Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxusi advised that an employment creation co-ordinating committee was to be established. It will be chaired by the deputy president and will include economic, infrastructure and employment ministers, organised business, labour and community organisations. The committee will be tasked with ensuring intergovernmental alignment guided by the employment policy, a relevant skills development framework, the extension of social protection to workers and support for work seekers. It will also focus on an ecosystem that promotes sustainable enterprise development, self-employment and positive regulation for the informal sector. The committee will moreover look at a labour migration policy and a legislative framework that manages migration to and from SA to benefit its economic needs. Nexsi also reported that to deal with the regulatory burden on SMMEs, the DEL had tabled a proposed amendment to labour laws with Nedlac. A proposed amendment to the Employment Equity Act would be introduced to enhance the prohibition of unfair discrimination while improving the competitiveness of small businesses employing fewer than 49 employees. Nxesi also reported that the DEL’s inspectorate had referred 5,100 cases for prosecution by the end of the third quarter. The inspectorate had recovered R150m owed to vulnerable and migrant workers who were being exploited, especially on farms and in the retail sector. The Occupational Health and Safety Act would be amended to increase fines and penalties to deter “unscrupulous” employers. Extracted from a longer report by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Labour leaders unhappy about inadequate ‘consultation’ process for energy transition plan BL Premium reports that labour union leaders are dissatisfied with the process followed to include workers’ voices in planning for SA’s energy transition, which they believe will put entire industries at risk of job losses. At a consultation session hosted by the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) on Tuesday to discuss the Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP), union representatives said they felt as if they were made to take part in a “tick-box exercise” in which they were expected to offer input after the fact. Wandisile Pram of Numsa told the commission that for the whole of 2022, when work on the JET-IP was under way, organised labour was not asked to be involved. “Now that [the plan] is finished you rope in organised labour. The manner in which this is being done is not conducive for us to even call this a consultation,” Pram claimed. Nehawu’s Sidney Kgara objected to the timeline for the consultation process and said: “Consultation is about meaningful influence so it must be done to not look like a tick-box exercise. Before COP27 there was a rush over the JET-IP and no meaningful consultation was done. There was no opportunity to make an input [on the plan] before it went to COP27. Consultation cannot now be done after [the plan] has been adopted by the cabinet.” Cosatu’s Lebogang Mulaisi agreed with the objections raised by the unions, acknowledging that “the way things were done was not correct” and that the JET-IP went to COP27 to be presented to global leaders “without having buy-in from organised labour”. The PCC secretariat assured union leaders that the JET-IP could still be amended and said there would be further in-depth and in-person engagements with labour. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Motorists must prepare for steep petrol price hike in March The Citizen reports that after comparatively small fuel price increases in February, motorists are in for a more substantial rise in March. Based on current data tabled by the Central Energy Fund (CEF), consumers relying on petrol will be hardest hit with increases of R1.18 a litre for 93 unleaded and R1.24 a litre for 95 unleaded. As in February, the rises in diesel and illuminating paraffin prices won’t be as excessive, but will nonetheless go up by between 36 and 37 cents a litre and 42 cents a litre respectively. The latest predictions are based on a weakening Rand relative to the US Dollar, in addition to stronger international oil prices. In its most recent reaction on the fuel price, made in the run-up to the February price adjustments, the Automobile Association (AA) said any rise in the fuel price levies, allegedly due to be implemented in April, would be disastrous for consumers reeling from Eskom’s pending electricity price hike as well as escalating living costs. “Consumers continue to be extremely embattled and increases to the two fuel levies will be counter-productive, are ill-timed, and have disastrous outcomes for millions of people already struggling to make ends meet,” the AA said at the time. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen
In looming SANDF payday crisis, soldiers may not get their salaries on time due to faulty air conditioning systems Sunday Times Daily reports that faulty air conditioning systems, vital for the cooling of critical military computer servers, have jeopardised the payment of more than 70,000 SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members’ salaries. An internal department of defence letter dated 6 February 2023 reveals that the servers need to be taken offline to prevent a complete breakdown. SANDF sources described the situation as dire and said the payment of salaries of all junior- to senior-ranked members, including administrative and general support staff, was at risk. Defence force salaries are paid on the 15th of every month. Every SANDF unit has a paymaster representative, but they do not do payroll payments, which are all centralised and run through the computer servers. The servers are situated underground in specially designed and highly secure bunkers within the SAAF headquarters in Pretoria. The systems ensure the payment of permanent and reserve force members and civilian employees. The servers also process allowance payments. Pikkie Greeff of the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) described the situation as “highly concerning” as there was a real risk that no-one within the SANDF would receive their salaries on 15 February. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Graeme Hosken at Sunday Times Daily (subscriber access only)
Deputy director in office of KZN premier accused of presenting false qualifications for R1m per year job IOL reports that a deputy director in the Office of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier has been arrested by the Hawks and charged with fraud for allegedly presenting bogus qualifications to land his job. The 40-year-old suspect was arrested on Monday by the Hawks members from Pietermaritzburg Serious Commercial Crime Investigation. Hawks KZN spokesperson Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo said the suspect applied for a project manager’s post in 2010, and submitted an alleged fraudulent qualification. “He was employed and in 2019 he further applied for a deputy director’s post and was appointed to that post. The Department of Public Administration conducted qualification verification and the suspect failed to submit the original documents as requested. It was discovered that his qualifications were fraudulent and disciplinary steps were instituted against him,” Mhlongo advised. As a result, the Office of the Premier was apparently defrauded of R3,720,422. The suspect will appear in court on 16 February. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jolene Marriah-Maharaj at IOL
SA Tourism acting CFO fails to indicate why he shouldn’t be suspended, board drops probe into who blew whistle on Spurs deal TimesLive reports that acting SA Tourism (SAT) CFO Johan van der Walt has apparently not responded to a notice of intended suspension served on him last week. SAT board chair Thozamile Botha advised on Tuesday that Van der Walt had been served with a notice asking him why he should not be suspended, after preliminary investigations suggested he had not declared his conflict of interest or recused himself from meetings discussing a sponsorship deal with English football team Tottenham Hotspur. Botha indicated on Tuesday that the deadline had been on Monday, and the last time he spoke to SA Tourism he had not heard whether or not Van der Walt had responded. Botha said if there was no response, the board would have to decide on a course of action. Daily Maverick previously reported that Van der Walt had links to an agency set to receive a fee of about R32m to “activate” the sponsorship. According to Van der Walt, he had no financial interest in the agency, WWP Group, but he had done consulting work for it. After the resignation of three SA Tourism board members two weeks ago, Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu last week suggested that the board should be focused on suspending Van der Walt. On Saturday, SAT dropped its forensic investigation into who leaked the document about the planned sponsorship deal. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at BusinessLive. Read too, SA Tourism CFO facing suspension over controversial Tottenham Hotspur deal, at News24. And also, SA Tourism serves conflicted CFO with notice of suspension, drops whistleblower probe into R1bn Spurs deal leak, at IOL
Limpopo teacher arrested for alleged TERS fraud of R7,000 IOL reports that a 30-year-old Limpopo teacher, alleged to have defrauded the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) of R7,000, was arrested by the Hawks on Monday. Maropeng Justin Mashala made his first appearance in the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and was released on free bail. The matter was adjourned to 22 February for further investigations. Mashala is a professional teacher employed by the Department of Education in Limpopo. According to provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke, Mashala had applied for Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) funds from the DEL, but allegedly “used fake particulars to apply for it, and as a result, the department suffered a loss of R7,098.” The matter was initially investigated by the Special Investigating Unit and later referred to the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation. According to a survey by TPN Credit Bureau, 3.6% of teachers have a criminal record, and more than two-thirds have failed to declare their previous convictions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jolene Marriah-Maharaj at IOL
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