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.
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Numsa threatens bus strike ahead of Easter weekend TimesLive reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) is threatening to embark on a strike in the bus sector ahead of the Easter weekend if employers do not put a “meaningful” wage offer on the table. The union is negotiating with employers represented by the SA Bus Employers Association and the Commuter Bus Employer's Organisation. On Monday, the union proposed an urgent meeting with employers, preferably within the next 48 hours, and indicated the “ball is in their court if they wish to avert a disaster”. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said: “We have been trying to negotiate with employers since January through the SA Road Passenger Bargaining Council and we declared a dispute in February, but employers are stubbornly refusing to give workers a meaningful increase.” She added that the employers' refusal to negotiate health insurance benefits had prompted the potential of a strike. According to Numsa, the employers want the issue of health insurance (or primary healthcare as it is referred to in the proposed agreement) to be dealt with at a company or plant level, and not at the National Bargaining Forum. Workers in the sector apparently do not have medical aid or insurance. Numsa said the only official proposal on the table was the mediators' proposal which includes a two-year agreement from April 2023 to 31 March 2025 for a 7% increase for year one and year two on the minimum wage and all employees receiving a 7% increase on all allowances for two years. Numsa has, however, rejected this proposal. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at SowetanLive. Read too, Numsa bus strike looms ahead of hectic Easter travel period, at City Press. En ook, Busstaking dreig voor Paasnaweek, by Maroela Media
Following CCMA finding, UCT wage negotiations with Employees’ Union to start soon GroundUp reports that wage negotiations between the University of Cape Town (UCT) and one of its largest representative unions – the UCT Employees’ Union – will commence soon. This after negotiations deadlocked earlier this year. The union mostly represents non-academic staff responsible for administration, technical work and management at the university. They are known as professional, administrative and support service (PASS) staff. According to the Employees’ Union, management had been refusing to come to the bargaining table over several issues related to salary increases. The dispute was then referred to the CCMA. In a recent CCMA award, commissioner Maureen de Beer confirmed that UCT had indeed refused to bargain with the union. She recommended that both parties should return to wage negotiations, and that all pay classes be included in one bargaining unit at the next year’s wage negotiations. UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola told GroundUp that the university had committed to bargain with the union’s PASS staff “in the spirit of maintaining good labour relations”. Union representative Samuel Chetty advised that the UCT Employees Union had already sent its bargaining demands to the university, which included salary increases and non-salary demands. He said they have already discussed the terms of reference for the negotiations and expected the bargaining to start soon. Chetty indicated that the union supported the CCMA’s suggestion that a single bargaining unit be formed to include the “lowest payclass to the highest payclass” at the university. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liezl Human at GroundUp
Man suspected of killing nurse outside Gqeberha hospital found dead News24 reports that a man believed to have shot dead a Life St George's Hospital nurse outside a Gqeberha hospital after she finished a 12-hour shift, has been found dead. The nurse, Carol Ann Magielies, 49, was killed on Sunday night while she was on her way to her transport home. The gunman fled on foot. Life Healthcare Group CEO Adam Pyle said Magielies had succumbed to her injuries after a suspected domestic violence-related shooting outside the hospital. "Tragically, the employee was shot while leaving the premises to get transport home after concluding her shift. Our heartfelt and sincere condolences go out to her family, friends and the Life St George's Hospital team," Pyle said. He indicated that the group's employee wellness programme was rolling out trauma counselling to all hospital staff. A police spokesperson reported that the suspect, 51-year-old Elgin Maghienda, approached residents of a nearby informal structure about an hour after Magielies had been shot, looking for shelter for the night. He was allowed to stay overnight. On Monday, the residents left him behind when they went to the shops and upon their return at about 11:00, they found Maghienda dead. The firearm used was also recovered on the scene and will be sent to the forensics for analysis. No foul play is suspected. An inquest docket has been opened. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24
Outcry over exemption granted to Eskom, with Cosatu warning of more state capture Fin24 reports that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will on Wednesday brief Parliament on the reasons why he granted Eskom an exemption from aspects of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). But, ANC alliance partner Cosatu and others lashed out at the move. According to the exemption, which was gazetted last week, Eskom won't have to disclose irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure – unless it's due to corruption – in its annual financial statements for three years. This is part of the utility's drive to achieve an unqualified audit and boost its credit ratings. Treasury is also concerned that a qualified audit opinion will trigger Eskom's loan covenants and increase Eskom's cost of borrowing. A similar exemption was provided to Transnet last year. In a strongly worded response, Cosatu demanded an immediate halt to the exemption, calling it "a green light to criminals that they can go feast and loot with impunity at Eskom and Transnet". The labour federation said: "We find it staggering and alarming that the people who are entrusted with managing the national resources are indulging these two poster boys [Eskom and Transnet] of mismanagement who are known for flouting processes and failing to comply with regulations and procedures. It is even more bizarre that this decision was taken to try to outwit and impress the rating agencies and lull them into writing glowing reviews of Eskom and Transnet.” Cosatu accused Treasury of facilitating another round of state capture, and said that it has been enabling the crisis at Eskom by bailing out the power utility without ensuring that proper governance was implemented. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24. Lees ook, Groot agterdog oor Eskom-kwytskelding, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Instability in Gauteng metros compromising local government, warns Samwu Sunday Times Daily reports that the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) in Gauteng has lamented the political instability in Gauteng’s three metros, saying it has compromised the working environment for its members, weakened labour relations and created more space for corruption. Speaking after a media briefing, provincial secretary Mpho Tladinyane said that since the start of coalition governments, councils in the province have not performed their functions effectively. Since the beginning of the year, all the three metros have changed political leadership after motions of no confidence were put to mayors and speakers causing political instability. Tladinyane said some workers lost their jobs as new political leadership came into the picture. “In Johannesburg, 130 workers were dismissed when a new mayor [Mpho Phalatse] came in. In Tshwane, 19 employees were dismissed for similar reasons. Where there is political instability, there is corruption. Senior officials take advantage of the instability and flout procurement rules,” Tladinyane stated. He added: “We have also seen non-functioning of local labour forums where we are supposed to finalise collective agreements, discuss overtime and other labour issues. Those forums are not functional because they remove a mayor today, when the other one comes he brings a new team and you start negotiating from scratch.” Samwu also made serous allegations against the human settlements department of the City of Johannesburg, accusing it of flouting supply chain legislation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Penwell Dlamini at Sunday Times Daily (subscriber access only). Read too, Samwu threatens CoJ with mass action over corruption allegations, at EWN
Solid cut in diesel prices for April, with small adjustments for petrol Fin24 reports that the diesel price was cut by over 73c a litre on Wednesday, with a marginal 1c decrease in 93 unleaded petrol, and a 2c increase in 95. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced a 73.58c decrease for diesel with 0.05% sulphur, while 0.005% sulphur dropped by 74.58c a litre. The price of a litre of 95 unleaded petrol increased to R22.97 in Gauteng on Wednesday. A year ago, 95-octane petrol retailed for R21.60 in Gauteng. The diesel price fell lkto around R20.89 a litre in Gauteng. A year ago, diesel sold for more than R21. Fuel prices are largely determined by the oil price, as well as the strength of the rand – as oil is priced in dollars. While the Brent oil price has fallen from above $84 a barrel to below $80 over the past month, the rand has taken a big knock this month. In recent days it has been steadying, getting a major lift following a bigger-than-expected interest rate hike last week Thursday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Ahmed Areff at Fin24, Lees ook, Skrale verligting vir motoriste voor Paasnaweek, by Maroela Media
SANDF in urgent need of redress and money for arms, even as salaries keep ballooning News24 reports that SA’s defence force is deteriorating fast, but annually millions more are being spent on salaries, leaving little to no funds for much-needed prime equipment and training. Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Defence has concluded that the SA National Defence Force's (SANDF) level of defence readiness, including its conventional and secondary military roles, is deteriorating and that it is in urgent need of redress to prevent the loss of capabilities and conventional obsolescence. This was indicated in the committee's Midterm Strategic Review report, which covers matters related to the SANDF's transformation, integration, equity, morale and defence readiness. The committee noted that a combination of maintenance constraints and a lack of investment in new prime mission equipment impacted directly on the level force readiness. MPs noted the 1998 defence review pegged the defence personnel budget at 40% of the total budget, with 30% to be spent on operating costs and the remaining 30% to be spent on capital costs. This was commonly referred to as the 40:30:30 ratio. Yet by 2022, the Department of Defence was expected to spend 68.7% of its allocation on cost of employment (CoE). “The implication thereof is a significant reduction in funds available for spending on operations and equipment. Given the high operational demand of the SANDF and the increased spending on CoE, this leaves little funds available for equipment maintenance, upgrades and acquisition, which impacts negatively on defence readiness," the report warns. However, despite the lack of maintained equipment, the government is increasingly calling on the SANDF to assist with law and order. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24
SARS clamps down on bogus refunds, luxury cars, 'exotic' transactions, and staff incentives Fin24 reports that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) earned more than R5 billion from 854 audits, including lifestyle audits, over the past year and it is planning to clamp down on a range of activities – including staff incentives, tax refunds and "exotic" transactions. In its overview for the 2022/23 tax year, SARS said it collected R5.4 billion from audits, including lifestyle audits, probes into religious entities and the auditing of luxury vehicles. Vehicles have become a "very fashionable" way to launder money, the tax agency noted on Monday. SARS said it also noticed an increased abuse of employment tax incentives, and was increasing its audits of those schemes. Commissioner Edward Kieswetter warned that there was a growing trend of "exotic transactions" in the form of complex business arrangements, which resulted not only in lost tax revenues for a particular year but a permanent erosion of the tax base. This is now a huge focus area for SARS. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, SARS audited tenders for personal protective equipment, with 13 audits producing R555 million this year. According to SARS data, tax compliance continued to improve and the tax register grew by 5.4% over the past year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Londiwe Buthelezi at Fin24 (subscriber access only). Read too, SARS revenue collection an amazing feat, says National Treasury, at City Press
Seifsa concerned about number of artisans in SA Engineering News reports that Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) human capital and skill development executive Zizile Lushaba has warned that a functioning economy must have a sufficient number of artisans in order to fulfil its economic potential. “From energy and water to transport and logistics, all key sectors of the economy are dependent on a ready supply of artisans,” she pointed out. According to the requirements of the government’s National Development Plan (NDP) and White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, SA should be producing 30 000 qualified artisans a year by 2030. “This will remain a pipe dream if there is no synergy, strategy and agreed action plan between the main role-players to see the Decade of the Artisan campaign being achieved,” Lushaba warned. She noted that the Department of Home Affairs had made a concerted effort to attract critical skills to the country by adding seven trades to the latest critical skills list, which was released in August 2022. The inclusion of trades in the critical skills list highlighted the shortage of these skills and afforded foreign nationals with these skills an opportunity to apply for critical skills work visas, Lushaba explained. “This may appear contradictory, when considering the country’s unacceptably high levels of unemployment; however, the issue is that these are skills the economy urgently needs and are not readily available locally,” she clarified. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News
Directors of Eastern Cape economic agency face delinquency application after firing CEO City Press reports that the clock is ticking on the directors of an economic agency in the Eastern Cape, who face delinquency litigation from their own CEO. This after interim board members of the Amathole Economic Development Agency (Aspire) took a decision to fire CEO Akhona Tinta with immediate effect last week. Aspire is a promotion and implementation agency of the Amathole District Municipality. Tinta, through her lawyers, gave the Aspire directors 72 hours to retract their decision or face a delinquency application. By Friday morning, the Aspire directors had allegedly not responded to her demand. Aspire took a decision last week to dismiss Tinta for the second time – following an initial attempt by the Amathole District Municipality last year. Tinta approached the East London High Court and successfully interdicted the municipality’s decision to terminate her contract on 13 October 2022. The court issued an interim order setting aside her dismissal. The matter is set to be heard on 11 April. According to Tinta’s legal team, Aspire was part of the pending litigation between herself and the municipality and, as the fifth respondent, had undertaken to abide by high court decisions. Her legal team said the board’s decision to terminate her contract while the same issue was still subject to a high court determination was putting the cart before the horse, and was indicative of frantic panic on the board’s part to dispose of her contract. This, the team claimed, smacked of a ploy to pre-empt the outcome of the pending litigation. Read the full original of the detailed report in the above regard by Msindisi Fengu at City Press
Advocate briefed to represent state institutions in various cases arrested in Joburg on fraud charges News24 reports that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrest of advocate Hassan Ebrahim Kajee, a lawyer for the Office of the State Attorney. He was arrested by the Hawks on Saturday on charges of fraud. On Monday, Kajee, who was appointed to represent the State in various cases, appeared in the Johannesburg Regional Court. He was granted R20,000 bail, and his case was postponed to 25 May. According to the SIU, Kajee allegedly inflated invoices, invoiced for services not rendered and overcharged for services rendered. "Furthermore, advocate Kajee [allegedly] would bill that he worked more hours daily than actual hours in the day and invoiced for work on different matters simultaneously," the SIU claimed. It added that it was pursuing a civil case in the Special Tribunal against Kajee to recover approximately R27 million for damages the state suffered "because of an alleged corrupt and collusive relationship between himself and a former high-ranking member of the Office of the State Attorney". Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Jeanette Chabalala at News24. Lees ook, Prokureur steel glo R27 miljoen by die staat, by Maroela Media
Increase in sexual offences in South African schools a big concern The Star reports that in the past three years, more than 452 cases of sexual misconduct have been reported to the SA Council for Educators (Sace). The 2022 crime statistics show that 294 of the reported rapes took place at school. According to AfriForum, it is clear that the criminal justice system is failing victims of sexual offences and the organisation has advised schools, teachers, parents, and learners to act pro-actively against sexual bullying behaviour. Leandie Bräsler, AfriForum’s manager for Youth Leadership, commented on the statistics: "These figures are alarming, and it is important that these cases are thoroughly investigated. In South Africa, sexual crimes and bullying are increasing daily. Schools must be a safe haven for children as well as for teachers, where they can focus on academics." AfriForum’s Private Prosecutions Unit Director, advocate Phyllis Vorster, blamed social justice and security for not doing much to fight the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV). "These statistics prove that the President, Minister of Justice, SAPS, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and courts’ promises to prioritise cases of gender-based violence and sexual offences with minor victims are only paying lip service to the public," calimed Vorster. She added: "The application of the law in schools is disciplinary action. Our view is that we must ensure that the law becomes predictable. If the law is predictable and there is a predictable outcome when violations take place, it will be a good deterrent. The law must then also be applicable to both the perpetrator and the victim to prevent false accusations." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntombi Nkosi at The Star
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