In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
|
Government raises wage offer to unions for 2023/24 to 7.5% Fin24 reports that the government has improved its wage offer to public servants to 7.5%, thus increasing the prospects of an early settlement to negotiations. A coalition of trade unions that constitute a majority in the Public Sector Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) held a briefing on Wednesday. The unions are seeking a mandate from their members to adjust their wage demand to 7.5%. They include all public sector unions affiliated to the Federation of Trade Unions of SA (Fedusa) and the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu). The unions had already adjusted their original demand of 10% to 8% a week ago. The coalition, which has a 53.9% majority in the chamber, does not include unions that embarked on a strike earlier this month. The strike was over dissatisfaction with the previous round of wage negotiations for 2022/23. That dispute led to the striking unions boycotting the earlier rounds of the 2023/24 wage talks. The striking unions apparently rejoined the chamber last week and attempted, unsuccessfully, to disrupt the new round of talks. A decision taken by the majority coalition will be binding on all labour constituents. Should a settlement be reached, negotiations, which will cover the three years beginning 1 April (other reports indicate a two-year deal), will have been settled in record time. The 7.5% offer is well over the 4.5% increase in wages that was written into the February budget, raising concerns that SA's plans to reduce the budget deficit will be affected. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24. Read too, Public sector unions closer to reaching two-year wage agreement, at TimesLive
‘I'm a woman who's just doing my job', Putco bus driver tells attackers taking advantage of EFF shutdown News24 reports that a Putco bus driver who was forced out of the vehicle by a group of more than 20 men carrying sticks and bricks in Soshanguve, Pretoria on Monday said she believed her attackers took advantage of the shutdown to launch the attack. The 28-year-old woman said the group attacked and hijacked the bus shortly after she assumed her duties. The group of men forced her bus off the road while she was driving along her route, and commandeered the bus. She said she was terrified because the group showed no sympathy for her as a woman. "When I saw the mob, I told myself I'll be brave and face them. I tried to talk to them through the window. Some were understanding and some were not. I said to them, 'I'm a woman who's just doing my job; please don't hurt me'." The employee went on to explain: "They said they won't hurt me and just wanted money. I told them I didn't have any. They then forced me out of the driver's seat. So, I pulled the handbrake and sat in the passenger seat." According to the driver, the men struggled to drive the bus. She asked them if she could get off and they agreed, so “I managed to jump off the bus safely without hurting myself." Shortly thereafter, the police arrived on the scene and most of the men fled. The three men in the bus jumped off the vehicle while it was in motion and ran away, causing the vehicle to ram into stones before stopping in a ditch. A Putco spokesperson said buses were damaged in many parts of Gauteng on Monday. Staff buses were the first to encounter blocked roads and intimidation as they attempted to collect bus drivers wanting to report for duty in the early hours. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshepiso Motloung at News24
SA's economy won’t grow in 2023, says IMF in bleak forecast Fin24 reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday announced a bleak forecast for SA for 2023, with economic growth projected to reach only 0.1%. Its forecast for the medium term is only a little better, with growth of 1.5% expected, well below the 1.7% rate of population growth. This means South Africans will continue to get poorer per capita, with poverty and inequality set to rise. The IMF also disagreed with the National Treasury's budget framework, pointing out that contrary to claims that the budget deficit would narrow, it expected the deficit to widen. The weak growth outlook, which it said was driven by power cuts, lower commodity prices, and an unfavourable global environment, is considerably more pessimistic than the National Treasury in the February budget. It is also more pessimistic than that of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB). In a statement the IMF said: “South Africa's economic and social challenges are mounting, risking stagnation amid an unprecedented energy crisis, increasingly binding infrastructure and logistics bottlenecks, a less favourable external environment, and climate shocks. A recovery in the services sector supported job creation in 2022; however, employment remains below pre-pandemic levels, and unemployment is close to record highs on the back of already high poverty and inequality.” The IMF praised SARB for successfully anchoring inflation expectations and said it expected inflation to fall within the target range of between 3% and 6% by the end of 2023. While the IMF noted that the government was progressing with structural economic reforms, particularly through Operation Vulindlela, it said more reforms were needed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24
Consumer inflation of 7% in February may spell interest rate increase BL Premium reports that consumer inflation rose for the first time in four months in February, partly reflecting rising costs associated with load-shedding and potentially sealing the case for yet another interest rate hike when the SA Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee meets next week. The headline consumer price index (CPI) rose at an annual rate of 7% in February, up from 6.9% in January, Stats SA indicated in a statement on Wednesday. The hotter-than-expected inflation reading is a blow to hard-pressed consumers and businesses. Until February, consumer prices on aggregate had been moderating since peaking at the 13-year high of 7.8% last year. In February, food and non-alcoholic beverages annual inflation hit 13.6% – the highest level since April 2009. The price of maize meal increased by almost 35% over the past year, with a sharp rise of 2.2% between January and February alone. Transport (including fuel prices) also contributed to February's high inflation rate following recent price hikes. But the annual increase in fuel prices slowed to 10.9%, the lowest reading since March 2021. February's inflation numbers included annual price hikes of 5.3% for medical services (doctors, dentists and hospital ward fees). Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andries Mahlangu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Another 50 basis point repo rate hike likely, as inflation back at 7%, at The Citizen (subscriber access only). En ook, Inflasie styg eerste keer in maande, by Maroela Media
KZN sugarcane farmers worry as another sugar mill enters business rescue BL Premium reports that sugar-cane farmers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) are worried they may face delays in payments for their produce as one of the millers, Gledhow, entered business rescue earlier this month. This is less than six months after Tongaat Hulett also went into a similar process. Business rescue is a form of insolvency protection that keeps creditors at bay while practitioners try to save a financially troubled company. The Gledhow mill in KwaDukuza crushes sugar for more than 245 growers who produce more than 1.1-million tonnes of sugar cane a year. This amounts to 6% of the industry’s total output and these growers employ more than 3,400 workers from surrounding communities. Gledhow is owned by a consortium comprising Ushukela Milling (34.9%), Illovo Sugar (30%), the Gledhow Growers Share Trust (25.1%) and Sappi (10%). Gledhow said the company would continue to produce sugar as efficiently as possible, with paying staff salaries a priority, as well as covering cane payments, production and maintenance costs. But SA Canegrowers CEO Thomas Funke said: “From our experience of the Tongaat Hulett process, there remains some trepidation as to the ability of the mill to make timeous grower payments.” Industrial economist Neva Makgetla said the sugar industry in KZN had been in structural decline for decades, in part because the province does not receive enough rain. This makes farmers rely on irrigation, a more costly alternative. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Katharine Child at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Employees retrenched from Randfontein old age home claim unethical dismissal, demand jobs back City Press reports that employees who were retrenched from Mohlakeng Old Age Home in Randfontein, on the West Rand, are demanding to be reinstated, citing unethical dismal by the department of social development and the facility’s administrator. The disgruntled former employees say they were targeted following revelations that they had been deployed to other facilities while money intended for the old age home was being used to pay their salaries. One former employee was hired as an employee of Mohlakeng Old Age Home in August 2019, and in 2021 she was deployed to another old age home in Randfontein, while still drawing a salary from Mohlakeng. She said their retrenchment was “merely because it came to light that, as employees, we had contracts with Mohlakeng but were then working for Friendship Haven”. The multimillion-rand Mohlakeng Old Age Home was completed in 2012, but has remained unoccupied since. It was registered as a nonprofit organisation more than a decade ago, and has received amounts ranging between R1 million and R3 million per year from the government. The department confirmed that staff was deployed to other facilities, but said that this was for them to “acquire practical experience”. Aubrey Mohlaoli, the former financial administrator for Mohlakeng Old Age Home, commented: This [the moving of employees from Mohlakeng to another centre] was disguised as employees being taken for training. But how can that be when staff were hired because they were qualified in their respective positions and had held them for years prior to coming to Mohlakeng?” Questions about the employees’ allegations and retrenchment process were sent to the home’s former administrator, Elbie Botha, but a response was not forthcoming. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Palesa Dlamini at City Press (subscriber access only)
Opposition MPs walk out over inadequate time allowed to consider conflicting opinions on constitutionality of NHI Bill BL Premium reports that opposition MPs on Wednesday walked out of parliament’s health committee in protest after the chair declined their request to postpone deliberations on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill to allow them more time to consider the complexities of the legal advice received last week. MPs received divergent views on the bill from deputy chief state law adviser Ayesha Johaar, who said the bill met constitutional muster, and parliament’s legal adviser Sueanne Isaac, who said the bill was open to constitutional challenge on several fronts. The bill is the ANC-led government’s first piece of enabling legislation for NHI, and contains wide-ranging reforms aimed at achieving universal health coverage. The committee has been considering the bill since 2019 and is in the final stages of its work on the proposed legislation. Once it has finalised its amendments to the bill, it will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval. If passed, the bill will then be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence. Acting committee chair Elvis Siwela declined calls to postpone the meeting, prompting the walkout. ANC MPs then presented their party’s position on the input received last week from the legal and law advisers. They agreed with the position put forward with the state law adviser, saying the bill was rational and in line with the constitution. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Court dismisses brother-in-law’s bid to stop brother’s wife from getting pension death benefit News24 reports that a Gauteng man who believes his sister-in-law had a hand in his brother's death has failed to stop her from getting her husband's pension fund death benefit. It is his belief that his brother, whose death was registered as a result of alcohol poisoning, was murdered. He approached the South Gauteng High Court to stop the Mineworkers Provident Fund from releasing the death benefit to the wife. He brought the application primarily for the benefit of his brother's three children, who are not biologically related to the wife. Although the court made a decision on 28 February, Judge Stuart Wilson gave reasons for his decision on Wednesday. The judge noted that the brother died on 6 January 2023 and that his death certificate stated that he had died of "unnatural causes". He said the problem was that there were no facts in the founding papers to link the woman to her husband's death. What appeared to have aroused the brother’s suspicions was the use of the words "unnatural causes" and "poisoning" on the death certificate and medical certificate. "These are plainly matters of concern, and an investigation of the man's death is no doubt warranted. However, no facts were placed before me to suggest that [the wife] was involved in [her husband's death] or even that his death was the result of any voluntary or culpable act of any other person. The fact of the police investigation was alluded to in the [the brother's] founding affidavit, but the nature and progress of that investigation were not set out,” the judge observed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Botho Molosankwe at News24
UIF warns of scam and phishing attempt regarding a R30,000 payout The Citizen reports that the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) on Wednesday warned South Africans of a scam doing the rounds. A screenshot of a message is circulating on social media and claims that workers employed between 1990 and 2021 may receive claims from the Department of Employment and Labour. As per the fraudulent message, some workers “have the right to receive the benefit of R30,000”. The message also includes a link to an untrusted website and it’s likely a phishing scam. South Africans are urged to “disregard the message upon receipt”. The scam dates back to April 2021 and the message resurfaced this week after causing havoc in January. In December 2022, scammers posing as UIF officials tried to charge applicants a fee for expediting claims. The fund said applying for UIF was a free service and it would never require a payment from a client to fast-track the process. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cheryl Kahla at The Citizen
Tribunal upholds debarment of former Standard Bank staff who ‘dishonestly’ activated MyMo accounts to boost sales BL Premium reports that the Financial Services Tribunal has dismissed applications by former employees of Standard Bank to have their debarment from working in financial services reconsidered, finding they had acted dishonestly. The ruling follows the so-called MyMo debacle last year, that led Standard Bank charging many of its staff with gross misconduct and dishonesty. The applicants had been tasked with selling MyMo accounts. To count as a sale, the account had to be opened by an employee upon a client’s request. The account was then “activated” by the client with a money deposit into the account. Once an account was activated, it would count as a “sale” towards the employee’s sales target. All the applicants bar one admitted they activated MyMo accounts with their own money, which were then recorded as a “sale”. According to Standard Bank, this constituted gross misconduct and acts of dishonesty, which warranted the applicants being debarred from a position that requires trust and honesty. The applicants argued many grounds to challenge their debarment. The tribunal found as follows: “They deliberately and knowingly provided false or misleading information to the bank, without any belief that it could be true. When they irregularly activated the ‘MyMo accounts’ they knew that they were perpetuating an untruth and false circumstance by creating an impression that the ‘MyMo account’ holder had activated their accounts.” The tribunal held that the applicants “cannot be trusted to perform their duties with honesty and integrity”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tauriq Moosa at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Home Affairs senior manager fired for trying to facilitate visas for Gupta associate SowetanLive reports that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has fired a senior manager who tried to facilitate visas for Gupta associate Ashu Chawla and others in the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia. The department’s director of appeals, Major Kobese, was dismissed on Wednesday for unsuccessfully facilitating the undue processing of the permits which Chawla and others did not deserve. The DHA indicated: “The visas which he wanted issued were not issued because officials based in these missions refused to be part of his shenanigans. Kobese was found guilty on three counts of gross misconduct in the execution of his duties in a disciplinary hearing that lasted five months.” The first charge involved him having exerted pressure on the officials of the department to process and issue visas and permits in breach of applicable laws, regulations and standards. The second charge involved him having allowed outside or private individuals and interests to unduly control and influence him in the execution of his duties, which in many instances resulted in some visa applicants getting preferential treatment in respect of their applications. The third charge was that Kobese's grossly inappropriate conduct included paying a bribe. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mpho Sibanyoni at SowetanLive
Former Eskom senior buyer accused of fraud of almost R15m gets R100,000 bail IOL reports that a woman accused of defrauding Eskom of almost R15 million appeared in the Hendrina Magistrate's Court on Wednesday where she was released on R100,000 bail. Thandeka Innocentia Nkosi, aged 42, was arrested last week on charges of theft, fraud and money laundering. Nkosi, who was employed by Eskom as a buyer at one of their power stations, is accused of colluding with service providers to defraud the power utility. Hawks Mpumalanga spokesperson Captain Lucy Sekgotodi said her appearance followed an intensive investigation conducted by Eskom forensic investigators. “After they uncovered the fraud, a case was opened and referred to the Middelburg-based Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation for further exploration. During their probe, it was discovered that during March to April 2013, Nkosi, who was employed by Eskom at Arnot power station as a senior buyer, allegedly colluded with her accomplices, a director of Angel Frost Investment (Pty) Ltd. The accused, acting in concert, defrauded Eskom to the amount of R14 736 882," Sekgotodi indicated. Two additional accused appeared alongside Nkosi. One of the accused was also released on R100,000 bail and a 71-year-old, was released on R30,000. A fourth suspect is on the run and a warrant of arrest was issued against him. The case was postponed to 5 May 2023 to allow police to trace the suspect. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brenda Masilela at IOL. Read too, Woman accused of defrauding Eskom of almost R15m while employed as senior buyer in Mpumalanga, at News24
|
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page