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 Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Putco to suspend services from Thursday because Gauteng hasn't paid subsidy TimesLive reports that Putco says it will suspend its services from Thursday until further notice, due to diesel shortages as a result of an unpaid subsidy by the Gauteng government. The bus company said it had not received its March subsidy from the Gauteng department of roads and transport and as a result, it was experiencing a diesel shortage. Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the bus company was working closely with the government to ensure that payments were processed as soon as possible to avoid a prolonged service disruption. Should the situation improve, stakeholders will be informed timeously. Meanwhile, the Gauteng department of roads and transport said payments to Putco for a portion of March had been processed and would reflect on the bus operator’s bank account by Monday. The department explained that delays in processing subsidised bus operators’ payments for March 2023 were as a result of a widely known procedure in terms of which the Public Transport Operating Grant (PTOG) was only transferred to the province by the national department of transport in the first week of May each financial year. The department said it was working with the bus company to find a solution to ensure minimal, if any, service disruption and inconvenience to passengers. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLive
Suspect arrested after sergeant shot dead in Motherwell court on Wednesday TimesLive reports that a man was arrested soon after a 41-year-old police officer was shot dead at the Motherwell Magistrate's Court in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on Wednesday morning. The suspect entered the court building at about 9.20am and disarmed the sergeant, who was serving as a court orderly, before fatally shooting him with the firearm. He then fled on foot. Members of the anti-gang unit who were patrolling the area immediately responded and were alerted by a taxi driver that the suspect, still with the firearm, was in his taxi. The suspect opened fire on the police, who returned fire. The suspect was wounded and was transported to hospital under police guard. Police recovered the state-owned firearm. Commuters who were in the taxi were not injured during the crossfire. In a separate incident in East London, a manhunt continues for a group of suspects who shot and killed another sergeant who was responding to an armed robbery at the Fidelity premises on Monday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLive. Lees ook, Polisieman in hof doodgeskiet, by Maroela Media Gauteng calls on communities to collaborate with 4,000 recently-deployed wardens, but serious concerns raised News24 reports that despite widespread criticism, the Gauteng legislature’s community safety committee has come out in defence of a recently launched crime prevention unit, saying that the project would likely reduce crime throughout the province. On Monday, 4,000 wardens were deployed in townships, informal settlements, and hostels. The community safety department has spent R450 million on the initiative. On Sunday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko held a parade to introduce the wardens, who will work alongside law enforcement. But, following the parade, the programme was not only criticised by the public but by political parties as well. The DA in Gauteng described the wardens as "inexperienced" and "ill-equipped" and advised Lesufi to learn from the DA-led Western Cape Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) programme. In a statement on Tuesday, DA community safety spokesperson Crezane Bosch said the party had submitted questions to the Gauteng legislature to find out if Lesufi had followed national regulatory processes. Bosch said: “We can't afford to have wardens on the streets that do not comply with the regulations because they will become a danger to the lives of the Gauteng residents.” Following the launch, ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba also chipped in on Twitter, saying he had concerns about the project and labelled it "a recipe for disaster". His tweet read: "I have serious concerns about this initiative by @Lesufi. One cannot take unemployed youth and give them 3 months of training, equip them with guns, and then deploy them to fight crime. And without an operational command centre to oversee them." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malaika Ditabo at News24
Murder of two nurses, allegedly by a cop, leaves union Denosa shocked News24 reports that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) has expressed shock at the death of two nurses in Mpumalanga, allegedly at the hands of a police officer. Denosa spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo said on Wednesday that they were horrified about the frequent acts of gender-based violence and femicide against nurses. According to a police statement, the incident happened on Tuesday during a family meeting held to resolve a domestic violence incident between the 37-year-old police officer and his wife, Nomthandazo Mnisi. Present at the meeting were the suspect, his mother and uncle as well as Mnisi and her two siblings, Colisile and elder brother Denis Mkhatshwa. The suspect is a constable stationed at the Masoyi police station. Mnisi worked as a nurse at the Marite Clinic. Colisile had recently started working as a nurse at Matekwane Hospital. The police statement indicated: “During deliberations, the suspect rose, went to his bedroom, and returned with a service pistol. He started firing at the victims, killing all three from his wife's family. Delihlazo said the sad loss of two of its members was devastating. He added: "For the nursing profession and the community, the loss is equally deeper because the nurses have been lost at a time when the country is experiencing a severe shortage of nurses. This is due to the low student intake to study nursing, and Mpumalanga only has one college. The fact that these nurses are lost to a policeman, another public servant, speaks so much about the psychological challenges that the men in blue face, which needs to be resolved.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yoliswa Sobuwa at News24
Fort Hare University questions poor police work in death of protection unit member whose vehicle was rammed at the weekend SowetanLive reports that the University of Fort Hare (UFH) has raised concern about alleged poor police work around the death of a member of its protection unit whose vehicle was rammed at the weekend. Msingath Langa died in a car crash on Sunday after a bakkie rammed into his vehicle along Cambridge Road in Qonce, Eastern Cape. UFH spokesperson JP Roodt said there was lack of basic and fundamental procedural forensic protocols at the crime scene. He claimed: “No accident reports were taken or filed before the vehicles were moved. We have established the Qonce police station omitted to document the vehicle registration details of the car that rammed into Mr Langa’s car in the station’s OB [occurrence book]. Concerningly, authorities failed to take blood tests to determine if this was a case of drunken driving or deliberate, despite the fact the driver was delivered to the police through a civil arrest by our protection services. While authorities knew the identity of the driver allegedly responsible on Sunday, they only made an arrest today. These developments, in our opinion, are highly suspicious. The university formally requests an investigation into police conduct.” Langa, who worked for the university from 2013, was a key witness in the murder cases of two colleagues in which five people have been arrested. The five are accused of being involved in the January attempted murder of vice-chancellor Prof Sakhela Buhlungu, which led to the death of his bodyguard Mboneli Vesele. They also face a murder charge for the death of the university’s fleet manager, Petrus Roets, who was shot and killed in his car at the Gonubie off-ramp outside East London. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Sibiya at BusinessLive Allegations by union of torture by police amid investigation of assassinations at University of Fort Hare TimesLive reports that the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) claims that a member, who is an employee at the University of Fort Hare (UFH), was tortured by a group of police. According to the Fedusa affiliate, its member was kidnapped from his East London home in the presence of his family and allegedly tortured for hours as a possible murder suspect by people who identified themselves as police. The general secretary of NTEU, Grant Abbott, addressed the media on Wednesday along with representatives of Fedusa because they wanted to bring the matter to the public’s attention. He said the alleged torture happened on Sunday, 23 April against the backdrop of the investigations into assassinations at UFH. The union refused to divulge the identity of its member, insisting it would compromise the charges they have against the alleged torturers. Abbott said the member was kidnapped, assaulted and tortured, threatened and subsequently released with a threat of death should the incident be reported to the authorities. The union reported that it had conducted a comprehensive private investigation which led to the discovery of numerous other victims who had been kidnapped and tortured in a similar fashion by the same group of police members. “It is not known whether this group of police is operating outside the law, and is thus rogue in nature or whether it is some or other covert unit that has exceeded its authority. But in any event, it constitutes disturbing behaviour and the perpetrators need to be brought to book,” said Abbott Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at TimesLive
Team leader killed on 30 April in fall-of-ground at Harmony’s Kusasalethu mine Mining Weekly reports that Harmony Gold Mining has reported the death of an employee owing to a seismic-induced fall-of-ground (FoG) event at its Kusasalethu mine, near Carletonville, on 30 April. CEO Peter Steenkamp expressed the company’s condolences to the family of the deceased, who was integral to the Kusasalethu team as a night shift team leader. Steenkamp said he was deeply disappointed by this loss of life, especially considering the significant efforts Harmony had made to foster a safety culture within the organisation. Safety continued to be at the core of the company’s values, Steenkamp noted. Work in the affected section of the mine has been temporarily ceased, while a comprehensive internal investigation is underway. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly. Lees ook, Skofbestuurder sterf by Kusasalethu-myn, by Maroela Media Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Ex-Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer returns to spearhead crucial projects BL Premium reports that former Eskom chief operating officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer, who retired at the end of April, has signed a contract to stay on at the power utility to oversee some of its most crucial projects, including getting all units at Medupi and Kusile online. Eskom confirmed on Wednesday that Oberholzer, who had worked at the utility for about 30 years, would remain on in a new role. Oberholzer was appointed as Eskom’s first COO in 2018 and the board does not intend to fill the role left vacant after his retirement. “[Oberholzer] is on contract to manage the steam generator replace project at Koeberg, as well as the return to service and commissioning of Kusile and Medupi’s outstanding generation units,” said Eskom interim spokesperson Daphne Mokwena. Getting the roughly 3,200MW from Kusile and 800MW from Medupi online is central to Eskom’s generation recovery project to improve the output performance of the fleet from where it now stands at about 53% to 65% by the end of March next year. Finalising the commissioning and return to service of units now offline at Kusile and Medupi, and getting both generation units at Koeberg back online, would add enough power to prevent about six stages of load-shedding. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Jan Oberholzer bly langer by Eskom, by Maroela Media Eskom welcomes sentence ordering former Kriel finance manager to pay back stolen money TimesLive reports that in a recent landmark judgment, a former Eskom employee was ordered to repay all the money he stole from the power utility when he was employed as a finance manager at Kriel power station. Sifiso Masina was found guilty by the Kriel Magistrate's Court on 26 April and sentenced to eight years in prison, wholly suspended for five years, on certain conditions, including that he must repay Eskom. The power utility suffered a financial loss of R513,630 after Masina created invoices in 2012 and submitted them for payment for work that was not done. The court ordered that Masina make an immediate payment of R30,000 and 48 instalments of R10,000 a month until April 2027 to settle the balance. Masina was caught after an internal investigation was conducted by Eskom. “He resigned from Eskom with immediate effect on November 27 2012 pending a disciplinary process after a forensic investigation into financial misconduct had been concluded,” Eskom indicated. Masina was then found guilty on all charges of financial misconduct during a disciplinary hearing that was conducted in his absence in December 2012. A criminal case was then opened with police. Masina pleaded guilty to the charges in July last year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto at TimesLive. Lees ook, Oud-Eskom-werker moet gesteelde geld terugbetaal, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Workplace equity delinquents to be barred from state contracts, warns Nxesi BL Premium reports that Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi said in the National Assembly on Wednesday that companies that failed to comply with the Employment Equity Amendment Act would be barred from doing business with the state. The Act provides for the setting of numerical targets for different economic sectors. He had been asked what methodology or criteria he would use to determine the numerical targets. Nxesi said sector stakeholder engagements had been concluded and the employment equity numerical targets for each sector would soon be published in the Government Gazette for 30 days for public comment. A number of proposals had been made by stakeholders that were being consolidated. The law would first be applied by using corrective measures, but if there was resistance by companies it would be applied very harshly. “We have to ensure that transformation cannot be frustrated. We are ready to fight this one, we are ready to fight because it will benefit the majority of our people, including those who are unemployed. What we cannot allow is for people to protect the privileges of the past,” Nxesi stated. This was positive discrimination or affirmative action, Nxesi said, but the DA’s Michael Cardo asserted that the numerical targets were a form of job reservation and quota. “This law is a vicious piece of social engineering and gives you [Nxesi] powers incompatible with a free-market economy and will deter investors, strangle growth and kill jobs,” Cardo asserted. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
NPA drops murder charge in Thabo Bester's prison escape because of paperwork confusion News24 reports that contradictory reports on Bereng Mpholo's cause of death have prompted the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to drop its case – at least, for now – that he was murdered to enable rapist and killer Thabo Bester to fake his death and escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre . According to law enforcement and prosecution sources, investigations have uncovered documentation recording three different causes of death for the 32-year-old father, namely unnatural, natural and unspecified. And, while an autopsy conducted on the young man have determined he died from blunt force trauma to the right side of his head, the NPA has elected not to persist with a murder charge in relation to his death until the contradictions in these documents are investigated and explained. The State does not name Bereng Mpholo in its charge sheet against Bester, his doctor girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana and her father Zolile Sekeleni, former G4S prison warders Senohe Matsoara and Motenyane Masukela, CCTV technician Teboho Lipholo and former Mangaung Correctional Centre control room operators Nastassja Jansen and Tieho Makhotsa. Instead, in the 16 charges it is pursuing against these accused, the NPA alleges an unidentified body – later identified by the police as being that of Bereng Mpholo – was set alight in Bester's cell to create the false impression he had died in jail, when he had, in fact, escaped. The accused will appear on 11 and 12 May for bail hearings and will remain in custody. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karyn Maughan & Alex Patrick at News24 (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Dr. Nandi bly nog langer agter tralies, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Former bank employee gets an effective 20-year sentence for theft; pension forfeited to the bank News24 reports that a former bank employee was sentenced to an effective 20 years' imprisonment after he stole more than R500,000 over three days. In addition, his pension benefits have been forfeited to the bank as compensation for the loss the bank incurred. According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, Thokozani Goodwill Ndlovu received his employer's recognition when he was entrusted with taking care of the day-to-day operation of the ATMs. "The 35-year-old Ndlovu used [that] trust to enrich himself instead of rendering loyal service to his employer and clients," he indicated. The bank discovered that more than half a million rand had gone missing within three days in November 2018 and an internal investigation identified Ndlovu as the prime suspect. The bank then laid a formal charge with the SA Police Service in Volksrust, which conducted an investigation that led to Ndlovu's arrest in March 2019. Ndlovu was sentenced to 10 years each behind bars for two of the three counts of theft against him, and five years' imprisonment for the third count of theft, which will run concurrently with the sentence imposed for the second theft count. "Out of 25 years' imprisonment, he is expected to serve 20 years behind bars, and the Volksrust Regional Court further ruled that his pension be forfeited to the bank to compensate the loss incurred," Mohlala said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshepiso Motloung at News24
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