In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 21 April 2023.
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SA’s deepening youth joblessness crisis City Press writes that young people in SA are at the coalface of the country’s unemployment crisis, with some suggesting that two in three people between the ages of 15 and 34 are out of work. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey showed that 61% of young people in that age group were unemployed in the last three months of last year, although that figure is likely to be about 70%, if the expanded unemployment rate is considered. Bad economic policies, poor economic growth and lack of foresight by government since democracy have exacerbated the legacy of apartheid, say experts. In Soweto, many young people have fallen prey to substance misuse (narcotics and alcohol) to cope with the pain of having no job – and no prospect of obtaining one for a long time. Locals say that children as young as 13 in the township have resorted to prostitution to afford food or their next fix. Sipho Hlongwane is one such individual. He survives by washing people’s sneakers or doing odd jobs for a few rands at a time. Without matric or any other qualifications, Hlongwane is homeless and goes to bed hungry most nights. He falls into the 15% (2.6 million) of South Africans who lack sufficient food and the 6% (1.1 million) who experience severely inadequate access to it, according to the 2021 Focus on Food Inadequacy and Hunger report from Stats SA. Speaking at the SA Investment Conference last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the formation of a national skills fund from multiple sources that would provide R800 million to fund training for unemployed young people in digital skills. Ravi Naidoo, head of the Youth Employment Service (YES), agreed that a focus on skilling young people in information technology was what the economy needed. The organisation has placed 100,000 young people in private companies since its inception four years Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dimakatso Leshoro at City Press (subscriber access only). Read too, Creating employment for young people now more important than ever, at The Citizen
Two cops shot, service pistols taken, in separate Pretoria incidents at the weekend TimesLive reports that police have launched a manhunt for suspects behind the shooting of two police officers who had their service pistols taken in separate incidents in Pretoria at the weekend. In the first incident, an off-duty constable arrived home in Soshanguve extension 8 just after midnight on Saturday morning. He was approached by armed suspects who gunned him down at his home and took his service pistol. The constable died upon arrival at hospital. Later that evening, a police captain was shot and injured during a shoot-out on Sefakgo Makgatho Drive near the N1 highway in Montana. The officer and his colleague were accosted by two armed criminals who shot at them before leaving the scene with the captain’s service pistol. Pro Med EMS said they arrived at the scene at about 7.30pm and found the police officer with multiple gunshot wounds. National police commissioner general Fannie Masemola said police officers in provinces where gun violence was prevalent were working around the clock to ensure illegal firearms were seized and confiscated while tracing wanted suspects. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at TimesLive Man arrested after assaulting a nurse at Limpopo clinic over sick note News24 reports that a patient demanding to be assisted at Relela Clinic in Bolobedu, outside of Tzaneen, has been arrested after he allegedly assaulted a nurse. It is alleged that the man had visited the clinic to get a sick note to produce to his employer despite not having been treated at the clinic. He had ostensibly bought medication at a chemist. According to the Limpopo Department of Health, the man stormed into the consultation room where the nurse was assisting another patient and demanded to be assisted immediately. The altercation occurred after the nurse requested the patient to queue just like any other person. He allegedly grabbed her by the skirt. "He attempted [to hit] her with a brick, but he was blocked by other patients," department spokesperson Neil Shikwambana indicated. "The onslaught against healthcare professionals needs to be stopped now, because one day we will wake up with no one to take care of us when we are sick because no one wants to work in an environment where they don't feel safe. The community must stand up," said Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Unions confirm rejection of Eskom’s 3.75% wage offer With the first round of Eskom wage negotiations having been concluded last week, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Solidarity have confirmed that they have rejected Eskom’s offer of a 3.75% increase. The negotiations will span three rounds of talks, with the next round due to start on 8 May. NUM and Numsa want a 15% pay rise, while Solidarity is demanding an increase of 3% above the average inflation rate, which surged to 7.1% in March. Numsa is demanding a two-year wage deal, while NUM and Solidarity want a single-term agreement. Eskom has refused to consider a multiyear wage agreement. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena claimed the 3.75% offer was “reasonable” given the utility’s financial and operational position. Meantime, Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis criticised the Eskom negotiating team for treating the wage talks lightly, saying the Eskom team had been “unprepared”, “destructive” and being generally sloppy during the first round of talks. The union leaders have accused Eskom’s GM for people relations, Thulane Ngele, of making “sarcastic” comments during talks and they want him removed from the Eskom negotiating team. “Ngele is toxic and his utterances are very provocative... He has no idea what meaningful engagement is, and he is rude and obnoxious in the manner that he communicates with labour in this forum,” claimed the unions. Union leaders reiterated that they thought Ngele was “dangerous and not the right person to help us to reach an amicable agreement during these wage talks”. Based on reports at Engineering News and BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Vakbonde verwerp Eskom-loonaanbod, by Maroela Media Debt-relief conditions imposed by Treasury on Eskom pay hikes reckless, say unions BL Premium reports that trade unions demanding above-inflation pay rises at Eskom have launched a scathing attack on the Treasury for being “reckless” in attaching stringent conditions to its multibillion rand debt relief for the ailing power utility. Eskom, which relies on government bailouts to power the economy, has debt of more than R420bn. The government has said it will provide it with debt relief of R254bn over the next three years to enable Eskom to meet its full debt and interest payments. However, one of the conditions National Treasury attached to the debt relief plan is that Eskom may not implement remuneration adjustments that “negatively affect its overall financial position and sustainability” over the three-year debt relief period. In a joint media briefing by leaders of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Solidarity on Friday, Numsa’s Mac Chavalala criticised the Treasury for “beginning to behave like the World Bank in terms of the conditions attached in assisting Eskom”. Numsa’s Mbuso Ngubane said the Treasury’s conditions attached to the debt relief were “unfair” as workers had not received decent pay for years. Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis said any offer below consumer price inflation “is something we cannot even consider taking back to our members”. He criticised the Eskom negotiating team for treating the wage talks lightly, saying the Eskom team was “unprepared”, “destructive” and being generally sloppy during the first round of talks, which began on 19 April. The second round of talks resumes on 8 May. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Ramokgopa's 18-month plan to prevent total economic collapse News24 reports that Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has finally publicly shared his plans to end the energy crisis, after first tabling it to the ANC national working committee and national executive committee (NEC). During an hour-and-a-half-long engagement with the media at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Ramokgopa presented an 18-month plan to create about 12,000MW of additional electricity capacity. He claimed this would counter the increased electricity demand his department foresees during winter and ensure that there wasn't a total collapse of the economy. Ramokgopa indicated that the immediate interventions to be implemented within the next six months included reducing Eskom infrastructure sabotage, purchasing diesel worth around R30 billion, improving the efficiency of underperforming power stations and reducing maintenance work, particularly during peak demand. "Even with the proposed intervention, we will not stop load shedding, but we seek to ensure that the economy continues to sustain itself. We want to ensure that the levels of load shedding still make it possible for major industries to operate… so that there is no collapse of the South African economy," Ramokgopa stated. He advised that the ANC NEC had approved his plans to request assistance from specialists to improve the performance of Eskom's fleet of 15 coal-fired power stations. "We seek to work with the private sector, particularly experts, to improve the performance of our power stations," Ramokgopa indicated. In particular, the Medupi and Kusile power stations were a priority. The addition of renewable power into the grid was another priority, said Ramokgopa, who indicated that Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe was finalising power purchase agreements. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Juniour Khumalo at News24. Read too, Inside Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s six-month plan to ease power cuts, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Capitec amends policy on executive incentives following shareholder dissatisfaction Business Times reports that Capitec has changed its executive remuneration policy after shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with the discretion allowed in the vesting of incentives for management. In its annual report released last week, Danie Meintjies, chair of the bank’s remuneration committee, reported that shareholders had expressed concern that performance conditions for management were “not sufficiently challenging”, and that the vesting of the 2018 long-term incentive grants in 2022 had been based on the performance of the two years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Following extensive engagement with our shareholders, we resolved to no longer apply any discretion to the vesting requirements and subsequently included the 2021 financial year in the measurement of performance of the 2019 grant, at the end of 2023,” Meintjies advised. Capitec’s remuneration committee met shareholders in the months after its AGM in May last year when the remuneration policy and implementation reports received 79.08% and 52.54% of total votes respectively. In the year ended February 2023, Capitec paid its executive directors R114m, including R62m for CEO Gerrie Fourie, down from R92m a year earlier. Andre du Plessis, one of the bank’s co-founders who retired as CFO last year, received R31m, down from R60m a year earlier. Kwanele Ngogela of shareholder activist group Just Share said changes to Capitec’s remuneration policy reflected a growing awareness among investors that wage differentials in the SA labour market remained unjustifiably high. “Shareholder disgruntlement and demand for greater accountability and transparency on executive pay is justified,” he stated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku at Business Times (subscriber access only)
Blade Nzimande and deputy cross swords over 'hogging of the limelight' Sunday Times reports that an extraordinary row has broken out between higher education minister Blade Nzimande and his deputy, Buti Manamela, over who gets media coverage of the department’s activities. Nzimande has accused Manamela of “hogging the limelight” and relegating him to the sidelines in public engagements. He is angry at Manamela for holding events and meetings, even inviting President Cyril Ramaphosa without informing Nzimande. An outreach programme in Limpopo that was not covered live because of technical issues was the “last straw” for Nzimande. He commented: “I want to be honest, I was angry, very angry. I wasn’t covered on Friday by the [department] and it’s not the first time. In many instances I am speaking [at one place] and the deputy minister [who is speaking elsewhere] is covered. It’s causing tension between myself and the deputy minister, deliberately.” So enraged was Nzimande that he called a meeting with his communications team where he read them the riot act and demanded answers as to why his own department was “sabotaging” him. Nzimande has now issued a directive to Manamela, telling him that all communications on public events needs to go via his office for approval. But Manamela is not backing down, telling Nzimande they were both appointed by Ramaphosa and he would not stand for “schoolboy daily monitoring” by Nzimande. Responding, Nzimande said Manamela appeared to be confused and should familiarise himself with the constitution and the legislative framework which underpinned the role of a cabinet minister and executive authority. “This will help you understand the fact that there is only one minister and one executive authority in the ministry,” Nzimande asserted. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amanda Khoza at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)
Former CEO Moffat Qithi’s R15m damages claim could drain Boxing SA City Press reports that cash-strapped Boxing SA (BSA) could be forced to use more than half of its R22.7 million budget for the 2023/24 financial year to pay damages to Moffat Qithi, the organisation’s former CEO. He got the R1 million-a-year job in 2011 and is demanding R15 million from BSA. Qithi has been embroiled in a prolonged lawsuit since BSA suspended him in 2013 for failing to disclose his criminal record, among a raft of other charges. He apparently rejected an R8 million settlement offer tabled by BSA two weeks ago. A disciplinary tribunal in 2015 found Qithi guilty of all 11 charges he faced, including gross dishonesty, fraud and unauthorised personal use of a BSA credit card. The tribunal recommended that BSA should fire Qithi with immediate effect. Qithi approached the CCMA for unfair dismissal and won the case in November 2018. At the time, the CCMA ordered Qithi be paid R3.9 million plus interest for a period from 2015 to 2018 and be reinstated to his job as CEO. BSA filed a review application in the Labour Court in February 2019. The application was dismissed in August last year with BSA being ordered to pay for Qithi’s costs. Then, in November, BSA again filed leave to appeal, this time approaching the Constitutional Court. The appeal was dismissed in February. On Wednesday, BSA chairperson Luthando Jack told MPs that BSA was still engaged in protracted litigation by Qithi. He indicated that BSA was, however, engaging with Qithi’s legal representatives to reach an out-of-court settlement. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tiisetso Malepa at City Press (subscriber access only)
Two Eskom employees and fuel tanker driver arrested for fraud and theft The Citizen reports that the SA Police Services (SAPS) Illicit Mining and Economic Infrastructure Task Team last week arrested two Eskom employees and a fuel tanker driver for fraud and theft. According to Eskom on Friday, the police were observing various fuel trucks at Kendal Power Station when they noticed a fuel tanker approaching from the power station. The truck was stopped and inspected, close to a petrol station in Ogies. “On inspection, it was established that the tanker contained a full load of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO). During questioning, the driver presented a weighbridge slip confirming delivery of the fuel,” Eskom indicated. The driver was instructed to proceed back to the Kendal Power Station where the tanker was e-weighed. It was established that only 1,680kg of fuel had been offloaded instead of the full consignment. Eskom suffered a loss of approximately R300,000. The driver was arrested and a criminal case of fraud and theft was opened at the Ogies Police Station. He was released on R2,000 bail after making an appearance in the Ogies Magistrate’s Court last Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, two Eskom plant operators from Kendal linked to the matter were also arrested and are expected to apply for bail on Monday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Vhahangwele Nemakonde at The Citizen. Lees ook, Twee Eskom-werkers, trokdrywer vas vir bedrog en diefstal, by Maroela Media. And also, Eskom workers who allegedly stole fuel worth R300,000 due in court on Monday, at EWN NPA granted provisional restraint order valued at R583m against assets of ex-ABB employees, Eskom subcontracting companies IOL reports that the National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit has been awarded a provisional restraint order valued at R583.8m against former employees of ABB South Africa (ZAABB), their wives and two Eskom subcontracting companies. The Gauteng High Court granted the order on Thursday, and it has been served and enforced against the six accused. At the height of state capture, the Swiss company was allegedly irregularly awarded a R2.2bin control and instrumentation contract at Eskom’s Kusile Power Station in 2015 after allegedly colluding with Eskom officials. It has since repaid some R2.5 billion back into state coffers in reparations to SA. NPA Investigating Directorate spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, explained that former ZAABB employees, Mohammed Essop Mooidheen and Vernon Pillay, their wives Raeesa Mooidheen and Aradhna Pillay, Eskom subcontractor Impulse International (in liquidation) and Indiwize Construction, were facing charges of corruption, money laundering, fraud, forgery and uttering. “The offences were allegedly committed in relation to contract prices in 2016 and 2017 between ZAABB, as a subcontractor of Eskom, and Impulse. It is alleged that the contract was unlawfully concluded and that the contract price was inflated,” Seboka said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brenda Masilela at IOL. Lees ook, Beperkingsbevel van halfmiljard teen Eskom-subkontrakteurs, by Maroela Media Financial manager at North West maize-mill company up for fraud of R9.1m Mail & Guardian reports that a North West maize-mill company was fleeced of more than R9 million allegedly by its financial manager, whom the state claims used his three bank accounts for “payments” from non-existent service providers. Reginald Scholtz, 57, appeared in the Mmabatho specialised commercial crimes court, sitting in Delareyville, on 12 March to face 61 counts of fraud for allegedly stealing money from his employer, Botselo Mills. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) claims that Scholtz created alleged fictitious service providers for Botselo Mills, and would “pay” the supposed fake companies, but would allegedly divert the funds to bank accounts belonging to him. “As a group financial manager, the accused had access to bank accounts belonging to the company. The accused was authorised to transact on these accounts, but within the company’s banking system,” reads the draft charge sheet. “The accused gave out and pretended to the company that the [Standard Bank, FNB and Absa] bank accounts were and/or belonged to the service providers of [Botselo Mills]. This he did while knowing that the [Standard Bank, FNB and Absa] accounts were his own personal bank accounts and not those of the companies and/or service providers of [Botselo Mills], and were not created for payment reasons,” the state asserts. Scholtz will return to court on 3 May. He was released on R10,000 bail with strict conditions, including that he had to report to his nearest police station every Monday between 6am and 6pm. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khaya Koko at Mail & Guardian Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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