In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Survey shows ‘very poor’ visa regime mess ‘harming job creation efforts’ BL Premium reports that according to Western Cape MEC for finance & economic opportunities Mireille Wenger, decisive action is required to address challenges pertaining to SA’s “very poor” visa regime that is blighting investment and job creation efforts. Organised business has repeatedly raised concerns about the delays in processing visas, which it says harms investment and economic growth. To gather more specific information on challenges experienced by business on the issue, the provincial department of economic development & tourism conducted a survey at the end of November 2022. A total of 133 responses were received from businesses in a range of sectors. In a statement on Monday, Wenger reported as follows on the results: “A critical finding of this survey was that 78% of respondents rated the immigration application system in SA as very poor compared to other countries the respondents have operations in. Another deeply concerning finding was that 26% of businesses moved their operations overseas, costing countless jobs in SA, as a result of the serious challenges they faced with the national visa system.” The survey found the main reason respondents required a visa was for work purposes, “to employ critical skills that are not available in SA, and because their businesses need to employ foreign staff”. The top three visas applied for were work visa (19%), critical skills work visa (18%) and immigration visa (15%). The top three complaints with SA’s visa application systems pertained to delays in the approval process, applicants not receiving feedback on their applications and lack of an escalation mechanism for complaints. The top three measures taken by the respondents to address the challenges experienced with the visa application process were moving operations abroad (26%), employing fewer staff (17%) and scaling down operations (17%). Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
‘Drunk’ driver ploughs into three JMPD officers and two members of public in Noordgesig The Star reports that on Friday evening, three Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officers and two male members of the public were ploughed into by an alleged drunk driver. JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said that the three officers, Tarquine Marks, Lebogang Makungo and Tsakane Sambo from the JMPD Rea Vaya Unit, were recording an accident and controlling traffic at Eden Cuyler Drive and Soweto Highway in Noordgesig when an alleged drunken driver who was travelling in a Kia Sportage ploughed into them and two members of the public who were assisting the officers at the accident scene. "The officers sustained serious injuries, and they were transported to Milpark Hospital. The two members of the public also sustained serious injuries. They were taken to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital," Fihla reported. According to the JMPD, Sambo was discharged from the hospital, while Marks and Makungo were in stable condition and were being monitored by medical experts. The motorist was arrested and detained at Diepkloof SAPS for driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless and negligent driving. He was scheduled to appear at the Orlando Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chulumanco Mahamba at The Star
Eskom mum over CEO shortlist The Citizen reports that state-owned power utility Eskom has declined to comment on its final candidate shortlist for group chief executive (GCE). There is much anticipation to see who will take the reins of Eskom at a time when it is attempting to rebuild its reputation after former CEO André de Ruyter resigned and left the parastatal abruptly in February. He was replaced by former Eskom chief financial officer Calib Cassim, who took on the position on an interim basis. Eskom on Monday indicated that it had been receiving queries regarding some “leaked information” on the GCE final shortlist. Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the entity was concerned about the leaked information and dissociated itself from it. “We would like to confirm that the information regarding the shortlist of the candidates for the GCE position has not been communicated. As a principle, Eskom does not provide details of the candidates until we have made an appointment. This is because discretion and confidentiality is essential when hiring executive candidates. We can confirm at this stage that we have concluded the interviews and will announce the successful candidate at the appropriate time,” Mokwena said. In April, Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana indicated that the parastatal was closing in on its decision on whom to appoint as the new CEO. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen. Lees ook, Eskom ontken kortlys oor nuwe hoof, by Maroela Media. And also, Eskom chair: Leaked candidate list undermines interview process, at Mail & Guardian Solidarity’s preferred candidate for Eskom’s top job is Dan Marokane In a statement on Monday, Solidarity indicated that its preferred candidate for the Eskom CEO job was Dan Marokane, with Ayanda Noah as second choice. This after the shortlist for the Eskom CEO post was leaked. According to the trade union, both Marokane and Noah have sufficient management experience and the required technical knowledge gained as part of their engineering-related background. It said that both candidates’ work experience, within and outside of Eskom, bore testimony to sound judgment and well-considered executive decisions. “The best chief executive for Eskom is the one who will be prepared to steer the energy utility without tolerating political interference or bowing the knee to the ANC government’s misdemeanour. Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter proved that this is no easy task,” Solidarity Chief Executive Dr Dirk Hermann noted. He went on to indicate: “It is for this very reason that Solidarity supports Marokane’s appointment. In addition to his qualification and experience, he has already proven that he will not hesitate to act in Eskom’s best interests, even if it means losing favour with politicians.” Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Solidarity News
Over 50 Eskom vandalism, theft-related arrests made since January, Mashatile reports News24 reports that Deputy President Paul Mashatile has heaped praise on the joint Eskom and National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) security committee formed to tackle vandalism of Eskom infrastructure. He reported that since its formation, more than 50 suspected vandals have been arrested. "We [the government] have adopted an integrated security approach in collaboration with law enforcement agencies. To address infrastructure and associated crimes that affect Eskom's operations, Eskom and Natjoints established what we called the energy security priority committee and more than 50 infrastructure-related arrests have been made since January of this year," Mashatile said at an ANC treasurer-general's business breakfast in the North West on Monday. In February, Eskom said theft and vandalism of its infrastructure were at "disastrous levels," leading to prolonged outages and putting lives at risk because essential services were threatened. Mashatile said the government needed to ensure that Eskom infrastructure was protected at all costs as it forged ahead with trying to ensure that load shedding was ended. He added that government's approach going forward would focus on "improving Eskom's operational efficiency, bringing more power to the grid from other sources of energy such as solar, gas, renewables; and strengthening demand management measures including taking more people out of the Eskom grid". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Juniour Khumalo at News24 Eskom employees back at work, despite being caught red-handed in 2021 stealing fuel City Press reports that more than two years after the manager of Eskom's Tutuka Power Station outside Standerton caught members of a syndicate red-handed while they were stealing fuel oil, 16 out of the 22 Eskom workers who were suspended at the time have returned to their positions. Four individuals were dismissed, and two others were suspended pending the outcome of disciplinary hearings. The manager's intuition led to the suspension of 20 Eskom employees, but only one-fifth of the alleged culprits were implicated. The incident at the Tutuka Power Station, where theft has been ongoing for years, came into the spotlight again recently. According to former Eskom CEO André De Ruyter's book Truth To Power, Sello Mametja discovered thieves siphoning off fuel oil in the early hours of 21 April 2021 before they drove away with their full load. Mametja took immediate action by chasing the vehicle in his own car, accompanied by a security guard, without fully realising the personal risk involved. He blocked the truck and subsequent investigations revealed that it was the work of an organised crime syndicate. According to De Ruyter, two members of an organised crime syndicate were in the vehicle and Mametja had been unaware of just how dangerous the characters he was chasing were. Fortunately for Mametja, the men in the tanker offered little resistance when he and the security guard pulled them over. Following Mametja's intervention, 20 Eskom workers were suspended, and two were arrested for fraud, corruption and theft. Sello Mametja, fearing for his life, started wearing a bulletproof vest and had bodyguards assigned for himself and his family. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizanne Kok at City Press (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Denosa defends nurses' cardboard box improvisation, says government long knew of incubator shortage TimesLIVE reports that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) in the North West has hit back at the provincial health department's reaction to reports of newborn babies being placed in boxes at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital, labelling it nothing more than an attempt to throw burdened health workers under the bus. North West health MEC Madoda Sambatha on Friday expressed his shock after images emerged on social media showing newborn babies in the hospital's neonatal section sleeping in cardboard boxes instead of incubators or crib beds. Sambatha said arrangements were being made to send additional cribs to the hospital and that an investigation into the matter would be launched. Denosa on Monday took exception to Sambatha's stance and stated: “As a matter of context, the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the hospital, which is the ICU for infants soon after their birth, has been short of 20 incubators and cribs for a long period of time now, with no sign of these coming. The unit, which had more than 55 babies on the day in question, has 25 incubators, looked after by only seven nurses. The matter of procuring the incubators and cribs has been with procurement for a long time. Denosa would like to see the MEC focusing on those who are supposed to ensure the incubators and cribs are procured, which are not the nurses as that is not their function.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khanyisile Ngcobo at SowetanLive. Read too, Newborns in cardboard boxes: North West Health MEC blames nurses, at The Citizen ‘Voetsek’, union Haitu tells Gauteng Health MEC after she interdicted student nurses from protesting IOL reports that the Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (Haitu) has reacted angrily to the interim interdict to stop student nurses’ protests that the South Gauteng High Court granted to the Gauteng Department of Health. “We say ‘voetsek’ to the Gauteng MEC (Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko) for abusing the courts, in order to run away from her responsibilities towards R171 (curriculum) students,” said Haitu provincial chairperson Bafana Tshabalala. “The anger of students is justifiable. The department abruptly informed student nurses that their contracts come to an end on the 31st of May. These are students who will be the first cohort and finalists of the R171 curriculum, and there are no plans in place to support these students until they sit for board exams in November,” Tshabalala pointed out. He said Haitu had been in talks with some officials in the department of health and had sent the department emails about the issues. “We have also participated in marches and protests with the students, in the hope that we can find a solution to this crisis which would benefit both parties. It is clear that the MEC does not want to give us an audience and has now resorted to using her power and political influence to intimidate students through the courts,” Tshabalala said. He added that the students’ demands were reasonable and the union did not believe the department was being truthful when it claimed that to retain 167 students would cost R77 million. Haitu said the union would be challenging the court interdict and would be applying for a “mega march” on 31 May. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jonisayi Maromo at IOL
Input on NHI Bill ‘swept aside’, legal challenge likely The Citizen reports that after the parliamentary portfolio committee (PPC) on health decided last week to go ahead with the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, medical aid scheme Discovery Health noted that the Bill would “highly and likely” be legally challenged on various constitutional grounds. Despite pushback and growing concern over some of its provisions, parliament said the committee considered and adopted the NHI Bill last Thursday. The Bill aims to provide universal access to healthcare in SA. Discovery Health noted the approval of the amended draft of the Bill and CEO Ryan Noach commented: “We are surprised that the PPC approved the largely unchanged amended Bill, despite material concerns raised by almost all the opposition parties at the committee and, further to this, the significant constitutional concerns which were raised by the parliamentary legal advisor, which seem to have been ignored.” Noach said it was disappointing to note the meaningful contributions from multiple stakeholders to the draft Bill had been effectively disregarded, with the amended version showing little variation from the original draft. He added that it was particularly concerning that the inputs of the healthcare professionals, who were core and essential to the delivery of care, were not being given the appropriate weight and attention in the amendments to the Bill. Noach also pointed out that the input from the National Treasury had not been disclosed, nor debated, and the funding of the Bill remained unclear. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lunga Simelane at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
Denel restructuring continues despite allegations of malfeasance in Labour Court application City Press reports that the Department of Public Enterprises insists that it will continue with the controversial restructuring of crippled state defence company, Denel Group, despite accusations being levelled against Minister Pravin Gordhan as the person behind the crucial decisions regarding which of the entity’s assets to sell and to whom. The startling allegations are contained in detailed court documents filed in an urgent application at the Labour Court last week, wherein Sello Ntsihlele, suspended CEO of Denel Dynamics (a subsidiary of Denel Group), has accused Gordhan and Denel board chairperson Gloria Serobe of orchestrating his ousting because of his opposition to alleged unlawful instructions from the pair. Ntshihlele is asking the Labour Court to interdict Denel Group from forging ahead with disciplinary action against him because he refused to implement Gordhan and Serobe’s instruction to give newly appointed chief restructuring officer, Riaz Saloojee, unfettered access to company systems as a whole. In his affidavit, Ntsihlele claims Gordhan and Serobe set the tone for his demise when they not only parachuted Saloojee into his position as a board appointment but also warned that those who would not toe the line and follow the board’s instructions would be cut from the organisation. The suspended chief executive alleges that Gordhan – as the chairperson of a meeting on 18 August 2022 – told those in attendance to start filling out resignation forms if they did not agree with his approaches to restructuring of the company. Gordhan retaliated last week, saying that Ntsihlele’s disciplinary process was the prerogative of the board of directors “which must do its work and see it to its logical conclusion without interference or any other attempt to deflect attention from the real issues that pertain to stabilising Denel”. Ntsihlele is facing 24 charges of insubordination. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nkululeko Ncana at City Press (subscriber access only)
North West's Ditsobotla municipality can't pay staff salaries for May due to poor revenue collection from provincial department News24 reports that the ANC provincial leadership in the North West says poor revenue collection by the Ditsobotla Local Municipality is to blame for its inability to meet financial obligations which include paying staff salaries for May. Ditsobotla is unable to meet its financial obligations and provide basic services to residents. It is one of the most poorly-run municipalities in the North West, with most residents living without access to running water. The council was dissolved in 2022, and fresh by-elections were held. The ANC campaigned hard, with President Cyril Ramaphosa pledging to residents in the area in early December that infighting by ANC members would be resolved. But despite the ANC's return to power in the municipality, things have remained the same. An internal memo to the municipality's staff stated they should not expect their May salaries until further notice. The municipality's acting manager Mamrena Lehoko said it was putting systems in place to try and cushion the financial burden. At the weekend, Cogta MEC Nono Maloyi indicated that the provincial government had sent staff to assist the municipality. He said the bulk of Ditsobotla's financial problems stemmed from provincial government departments operating in the municipality owing it money. He said the municipality would pressure those departments to pay its debts urgently. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Zintle Mahlati at News24
Construction sector employment equity battle brews Moneyweb reports that a battle is brewing between the construction industry and the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) over recently published regulations under the Employment Equity Amendment Act. The regulations, published earlier this month, contain controversial provisions, including the imposition of employment equity targets on various sectors of the economy. Stefanutti Stocks CEO Russell Crawford advised last week that the construction industry was preparing a submission to be sent to DEL Minister Thulas Nxesi objecting to the Employment Equity Amendment Act “and the fact the targets set for the construction sector were set without any meaningful consultation or supported by scientific data”. Prior to the amendment, employers were able to choose their own targets based on race, gender and disability provided the plan would result in reasonable progress to correct the effects of past and ongoing discrimination in the work place. However, the draft regulations identify various economic sectors and propose percentage equity targets for each. Consulting Engineers SA (Cesa) CEO Chris Campbell highlighted several challenges regarding the regulations, but added that Casa members were divided regarding their views on the regulations, as some entities were quite happy with the proposed targets while others believed they were not achievable, even within the next five years. He claimed the proposed targets out for public comment were “laughable because some of the targets that have been set don’t add up to 100%”. Constitutional expert Professor Pierre de Vos recently describing the targets in the draft regulations as “an incoherent mess”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Roy Cokayne at Moneyweb
Clerk gets 10 years in jail for stealing R6.6m from Coega Development Corporation through ‘ghost’ intern scam News24 reports that an administrative clerk has been handed a 10-year jail term for stealing R6.6 million from the Eastern Cape government-owned Coega Development Corporation. For nine years, Bathandwa Matikinca duped the corporation into paying millions of rands into accounts of "ghost" interns he created. Matikinca would forward names of non-existing interns to a service provider hired by Coega to pay the stipends of interns undergoing in-service training at the corporation. The names were those of people who had already completed their training at Coega and had left the programme, but the accounts into which the funds were paid were held in Matikinca’s name. He also paid funds into his wife's bank account. The Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit uncovered the scam, which ran between March 2013 and February 2021. Matikinca worked as a learner support officer who coordinated the in-service training programme. He was convicted on 1 March 2023. The Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday sentenced Matikinca to 10 years' imprisonment for fraud. He also received five years' imprisonment for money laundering. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently, meaning Matikinca will spend a decade in jail. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24
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