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 roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 2 June 2023.
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High-ranking Eskom executive linked to sabotage at targeted power stations City Press reports that the police are seeking to arrest an Eskom executive with top-secret security clearance whom, they believe, may be central to engineering and staging breakdowns at targeted power stations, resulting in crippling countrywide blackouts. High-level discussions have reportedly been taking place between ministers in the security cluster over serious allegations made against the executive. The person is suspected of having strategically coopted hand-picked engineers into a plot to facilitate breakdowns of power generation units at strategic power stations, while they profited from multiple income streams flowing from these manipulated crises. Leaked WhatsApp messages between the strategically placed Eskom executive and a forensic auditor seem to indicate a relationship between the two that had been established over some time and that they had previously successfully engineered breakdowns at targeted power stations. The messages also reveal the executive actively discussing strategies for sabotaging the entity’s power stations. The pair called the plan “operation sabotage”. It has been confirmed that the cellphone number displayed in the texts belongs to the suspected Eskom executive, who could soon be facing serious criminal charges. In its response to questions about the allegations levelled against the executive, Eskom’s spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the organisation had no knowledge of any wrongdoing committed by the individual. “At this stage, [the executive] is not a person of interest to Eskom. We’d also like to add that [the individual] has been vetted by the SSA and cleared for top-secret security,” she stated. Read the full original of the astonishing report in the above regard by Nkululeko Ncana at City Press (subscriber access only). Read too, Top Eskom executive linked to sabotage at power stations, at BusinessLive
Eskom and unions to meet one last time on 13 and 14 June in bid to ‘find each other’ over wage increases BL Premium reports that Eskom management and leaders of three unions demanding higher wages at the ailing power utility will engage in an extended negotiation process after parties could not reach agreement during the final round of talks in May. Representatives of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Solidarity, together with Eskom negotiators, are set to meet at the central bargaining forum on 13 and 14 June for a final session in the hope for a wage deal. “If we don’t agree then it will be a CCMA issue, but we are very confident that we will agree [on a wage deal],” Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said. Eskom employees are essential service workers, meaning they cannot go on strike. But this did not stop disgruntled workers from embarking on a wildcat wage strike that deepened the electricity supply crisis in July 2022. The unlawful industrial action saw Eskom management caving in to the workers’ demands by signing a 7% across-the-board wage deal, which added R1bn to Eskom’s salary bill. As matters reportedly stand, Eskom has offered a 5.25% wage increase, while the NUM is demanding 11%, Numsa is at 12% and Solidarity is at 9.5%. NUM chief negotiator Olehile Kgware said on Friday: “We are hoping that Eskom will table a sound, reasonable offer when we meet again on June 13 and June 14, which we can sell to our members. Our members are highly agitated ... as they are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.” The NUM held its national shop stewards’ council meeting on Thursday and an official who attended reported that “workers are angry and will from [June 8] be holding pickets across all power stations in the country” in support of their wage demands. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Eskom deploys former employees, 'industry professionals' from Monday to various power stations News24 reports that a team of experts supported by the Resource Mobilisation Fund (RMF) will be deployed to power stations across South Africa starting from Monday, 5 June, according to minister in the presidency responsible for electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. He gave an update on the progress regarding the energy action plan on Friday. The team will focus on power stations with low energy availability factors (EAF). These will include Matla, Kriel, Majuba, and Kendal power stations. The RMF, which has already raised R100 million from businesses and philanthropies since its launch in March, will provide technical support and capacity to the National Energy Crisis Committee (Necom) in an effort to end load shedding. The experts, consisting of former Eskom employees and industry professionals, will be allocated according to their specialities. Ramokgopa expressed confidence in the demand management support programme, which aims to claw back megawatts without disrupting households' electricity supply. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sthembiso Lebuso at City Press. Lees ook, Oud-Eskom-werkers, kenners begin met werk by kragstasies, by Maroela Media
Whistle-blower gunned down shortly before she was due to give evidence against former police officers Sunday Tribune reports that the Department of Home Affairs employee who was shot in Tongaat a week ago had been due to testify against former Durban Point police officers who had allegedly extorted money from her after illegally arresting her fiancé. Phumelele Ndlovu had been scheduled to give evidence at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on 13 June, but the men who had allegedly been threatening her life succeeded in silencing her. Her family, friends and colleagues gathered at her place of work on Thursday to celebrate her life and the role she played as a mother, sister and a dedicated worker. Ndlovu’s fiancé, Ntuthuko Dlamini, recalled that an investigation launched by police against their own led to the officers’ suspension and eventually their dismissal. But, he added: “Her problems started when she had to testify. She received visitations from unknown men a couple of times who were threatening her to drop the case. If I had not insisted that she take these police who took the bribe to task, maybe she would still be alive.” A week ago, Ndlovu was found dead in her car on Gopalall Hurbans Road with six gunshot wounds to her body and one to her head. A source close to the case pointed out that the police were aware of the death threats and said the death was a result of their negligence. A security guard who works at a business close to where Ndlovu was killed, and who witnessed the attack, said it was devastating to see a man killing a woman in the manner that he did, in the middle of the street. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lethu Nxumalo & Simangaliso Ntshangase at Sunday Tribune Uber/Bolt drivers declare no-go areas in Joburg after three cars torched at Maponya Mall on Thursday night IOL reports that panicked e-hailing drivers from Uber and Bolt say taxi operators have ramped up their fight against them, with several no-go areas being shared on Friday, mostly around taxi ranks and malls in Joburg. This followed the torching and stoning of vehicles owned by e-hailing operators at the Maponya Mall in Soweto on Thursday night. At least three cars were torched at the mall while four others, including private cars mistaken for e-hailing operators, were severely damaged when a group of about 30 people believed to be taxi operators attacked the e-hailing operators. On Friday, several areas around Joburg, mainly taxi ranks and shopping malls, were declared as unsafe and no-go areas by the fearful drivers. These included: Bree Taxi Rank, Johannesburg; Boulders Shopping Centre, Midrand; OR Tambo International Airport vicinity; Kempton Park vicinity; Eastgate Shopping Centre, Bedfordview; and Trade Route Mall, Lenasia. “They are going straight to where the e-hailing drivers are assembled and they are beating whoever they can find, be careful guys,” warned one e-hailing driver on social media. Uber spokesperson Lorraine Onduru expressed distress at the events at Maponya Mall on Thursday night and indicated: "We take any incident of this nature very seriously and our safety team is investigating these incidents as a matter of urgency.” Uber said it was in contact with the police and would assist them in their investigation. Bolt’s Takura Malaba said the violence faced by e-hailing drivers was a matter of great concern, and the safety of passengers and drivers was of utmost importance. Bolt said it believed it was not in competition with minibus taxis and advised that it would share information about danger hotspots with drivers who would be able to decline trips if they are concerned about the pick-up location’s safety. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sihle Mlambo at IOL. Read too, Security tightened on Friday as e-hailing drivers gather at Maponya Mall, following violent attacks and torching of vehicles, at News24. En ook, Uber-bestuurders aangeval, voertuie aan die brand gesteek, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
City Power terminates 110 teams of contractors, hires new 'higher standard' teams News24 reports that City Power terminated 110 teams of contractors in the City of Johannesburg on Wednesday, sparking fears that residents would suffer even more amid ongoing load shedding and power outages. However, spokesperson Isaac Mangena said new contractors had already started working on Thursday. "The new contractors will be held to higher standards, and customers will see some of the changes in the work done for them. Some previous contractors were not credited by industry bodies to do certain work on our network, which is the loophole that City Power is closing. The new contractors are ... qualified and credited to provide 10 key solutions, which is really to reduce the amount of time we spend on outages and save us on resources," Mangena indicated. He went on to report that the term of the old contractors ended three years ago and was renewed on a three-month basis until new contractors could be sourced. Mangena said most of the new contractors had worked with City Power on bigger projects such as electrification and maintenance. Ward 73 Councilor Eleanor Hugget commented that that while the old contractors often didn't do a good job, they did help. "While these contractors often did a shoddy job, they at least could get out to an outage to see what was happening. And they had a repair truck,” she observed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshepiso Motloung at News24
Nedbank starts search for new CEO, Mike Brown to continue in role until appointment is made BL Premium reports that Nedbank has started the search for a new CEO to replace Mike Brown, who has been at the helm since 2010 and an executive director since 2004. “Nedbank has a strong track-record of effective leadership succession, and this process will consider both internal and external candidates. Mike, who is 57 years of age, continues to enjoy the total confidence of shareholders and the board. He will continue in his current CEO role until such time as a successor has been chosen and will retire after an appointment has been made and a suitable handover process has been completed,” the banking group advised on Friday. In other leadership changes, Friday was the first day on the job for new chair Daniel Mminele. Commenting on the reporting period, Nedbank noted that international and domestic economic growth had slowed, followed by high inflation and the resultant interest rate hikes. On home soil, this was worsened by intensified load-shedding as SA’s power crisis and problems at the state-owned power utility Eskom continued. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nico Gous at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Rupert’s Richemont rewards top brass handsomely after record profit BL Premium reports that top brass at Johann Rupert-controlled Swiss luxury goods group Richemont, particularly the company’s CFO Burkhart Grund, were rewarded handsomely after the group posted a record profit of €5bn in the year to end-March. This performance saw the group pay Grund Sf12.9m (R276m at Saturday’s exchange rate), up from the Sf8.6m he earned the previous year. Grund’s pay was bumped up by an additional €2.3m in the current year. The group said: “The discretionary award recognises exceptional performance over a number of years which the committee considered had not been properly reflected in previous remuneration awards.” Richemont’s CEO Jérôme Lambert was paid Sf7.9m (R169m), up from the Sf7.4m in the previous financial year. As group chair, Rupert, who founded the company in the eighties, was paid Sf3m. Nonexecutive directors, including former Absa boss Maria Ramos, were paid Sf3.4m (R72m) collectively. Clay Brendish, chair of the compensation committee, observed as follows in the annual report: “The ability of the group to attract and retain key talents in order to achieve the group’s strategic objectives has never been more important.” The group said that Ramos, a compensation committee member, would step down at the end of March 2025, after nearly 15 years on the board. Richemont owns luxury watch brands such as Cartier, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre, Montblanc and Panerai. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Richemont CFO earned R280 million last year - more than the CEO, at Fin24 Raising of salary cap in SA rugby is all about player retention Sunday Times reports that news of a pending increased salary cap for the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions comes as huge relief as the game buckles under financial strain. Given their limited budgets and squad sizes, the country’s franchise coaches who compete in Europe have lamented their inability to compete on three fronts. Their resources are stretched, competing in the Champions Cup, the United Rugby Championship and the Currie Cup. Squad sizes look set to increase from 45 to 53 but the primary reason for raising the salary cap from R67.2m to R85m per annum is rooted in quality, not quantity. Clubs in the Top 14 are also facing the pinch, especially as they struggle to rake in pre-lockdown profits. Increasingly they are offloading star players or offering them significant pay cuts. Though the local cap increase has not officially been announced yet, SA Rugby president Mark Alexander noted: “If there is to be an increase, it will be with the aim of keeping our top players in the country.” Under proposals that have still to be ratified, the salary cap is in for a significant rise. Raising the cap to R85m and increasing the squad number to 53 will be a big deal, but perhaps not as significant as the proposal that each franchise be allowed at least four players who aren’t bound by the constraints of the salary cap. The SA Rugby Employers Organisation (Sareo) arrived at the new numbers with My Players, the players’ representative body that is supposed to sign off on it. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liam Del Carme at Sunday Times Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Emfuleni employees call for national and provincial government intervention amid delayed salary payments The Citizen reports that angry employees of the Emfuleni Local Municipality in the south of Johannesburg embarked on sporadic protest actions in recent days, demanding their salary payments for the month of May. Several roads leading to the municipality offices were barricaded with rocks and burning tyres. The SA Municipal Workers’ Union’s Rhau Mphahlele said the situation of delayed salary payments has now happened for the third time since the start of this year. Mphahlele called on the employer to engage Rand Water and Eskom to find a lasting solution to their debt dispute as it was impacting badly on workers. “As we speak, workers are being paid but as the union we are still going to engage in mapping out the way forward because this situation is forever recurring,” he indicated. “The continuation of the bank account attachments by Rand Water and Eskom means that no services will be rendered to our communities, and this is why we are also calling on Provincial and National Governments to step in and assist this municipality as a matter of urgency,” Mphahlele added. He expressed the view that if the situation was not arrested soon, the whole institution would totally collapse. Emfuleni is currently under the leadership of the ANC through a minority government. In a statement issued on Monday, the municipality apologised to all employees for the delays, saying the municipality was currently going through turbulent times. A spokesperson said they continued to look forward to collaborating with Eskom, Rand Water and all other creditors “in finding solutions that serve the interests of communities while maintaining a positive and cordial relationship.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Stephen Tau at The Citizen Sassa security guards beg for food while employer lives large City Press reports that despite living a lavish life, businessperson Leeroy Sidambe has allegedly still failed to pay the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) guards employed by his company, the Sakhile Ezweni Group. The employees have resorted to speaking out and requesting help, despite being threatened with dismissal if they protest or fail to show up for work. This month could be the third in which they don’t receive their full salaries, which they get in small, irregular amounts as and when Sidambe decides to pay them. A source close to the security guards said they were struggling and two have been evicted from their houses because they could no longer afford to pay rent. “This has been going on for a long time. Sidambe used to pay them on the 7th or 8th of the month, but now he’s [making irregular payments] again. Some of the guys don’t even have money for transport. This man needs to be put in his place or government should give someone else the tender, because he’s failing [to uphold his commitments],” said the source. Although Sidambe finally paid the guards on 31 May, they did not receive the full amount due to them, as they were still owed the balance of April’s salaries. The guards apparently received no explanation or any other communication about this. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nompumelelo Magagula at City Press
Former payroll supervisor at Newcastle Municipality sentenced to eight years for R3.1m fraud News24 reports that the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Durban has sentenced a former Newcastle Municipality employee to eight years behind bars after she was found guilty of fraud surpassing R3.1 million. Deidre Van Rooyen worked as a payroll supervisor overseeing the day-to-day running of the salaries office in the municipality. Her responsibility included the payment of salaries from the municipality bank account. After an in-depth investigation by the National Clean Audit Task Team of the Hawks into manipulation of the salary and bank system, Van Rooyen was arrested on 22 October 2020. Hawks spokesperson Colonel Philani Nkwalase indicated: "[She] received undue payments in excess of her ordinary salary. Further investigation linked her banking details to additional four salary profiles of previous employees who left the employment." Further investigations unearthed 88 fraudulent salaries created over eight years from February 2012 to June 2020, totalling an amount of more than R3 million. In May last year, van Rooyen pleaded guilty to all 88 counts of fraud. She forfeited her pension to the Newcastle Municipality and repaid the balance of the amount in full by other financial means. The Court sentenced Van Rooyen to ten years imprisonment, of which two years were suspended for a period of five years with stringent conditions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisalee Solomons at News24. Lees ook, Vrou bedrieg munisipaliteit uit meer as R3 miljoen, by Maroela Media
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