In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Sizeable petrol, diesel price cuts announced for Wednesday Fin24 reports that the petrol price (both 93 and 95 unleaded) will be cut by 71c a litre on Wednesday, while diesel will be lowered by either 80c or 84c a litre depending on the sulphur content. Illuminating paraffin will be 43c a litre cheaper. The latest change will bring the price of a litre of 95 unleaded petrol to R22.63 in Gauteng, compared to R24.17 a year before – and a record price of R26.74 in July last year. The wholesale diesel price will now be R19.31 a litre in Gauteng. As recently as in November last year, diesel cost close to R25.50. South African fuel prices are largely determined by international oil costs and the rand exchange rate, as oil is priced in dollars. The rand took a large hit to a record low following US accusation that Russia received arms from SA, but the average Brent crude oil price fell from $82.20 to $75.90 a barrel. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Helena Wasserman at Fin24. Lees ook, Daling in brandstofpryse wink, by Maroela Media
Eskom burnt up R8bn of diesel in April and May for emergency power BL Premium reports that Eskom has spent almost R8bn on diesel to power emergency generation reserves in April and May. That rate puts it on track to surpass in this fiscal year what the utility spent in the previous two fiscal years combined as it struggles with the worst load-shedding in its history. With few other short-term solutions available, both Eskom and electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa have said that the utility would have to rely on its diesel-power open-cycle gas turbines – meant to be used for emergencies or during peak demand periods – to compensate for the poor performance of its coal-fired generation fleet and ease load-shedding during the winter months. Eskom said it spent R2.34bn in April and R3.19bn in May on running its own open-cycle gas turbines and R2.3bn on privately owned ones over the two months. According to Ramokgopa, at the rate at which Eskom is now burning through diesel to run the open-cycle gas turbines, it is likely that the R30bn the utility has available for diesel this financial year (until end-March 2024) will be insufficient. The high consumption of diesel is a result of Eskom’s inability to maintain its ageing coal-fired power stations, some of which have been targeted by saboteurs and corrupt contractors and run on an electricity availability factor of around 56%. It heaps pressure on Ramokgopa to make good on his promises to end load-shedding and the utility’s board to ramp up Eskom’s electricity availability factor to 75% over the next two years. Last week Ramokgopa said they did not have any estimate yet of how much additional funding Eskom would need as it ramped up the use of the open-cycle gas turbines to prevent a “worst case scenario” where load-shedding would have to be escalated beyond stage 6. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
KZN security officer rescued after plunging down 30m cliff on Saturday TimesLIVE reports that rescue teams were activated on Saturday after a security officer fell down a 30m cliff in Verulam, north of Durban. Medi Response said paramedics and search and rescue teams were called to the area and found a male security officer in extreme pain lying at the bottom of the cliff. "Medi Response rescue personnel and the eThekweni fire department set up an integrated rope system to gain access to the patient. Once the patient was stabilised by advanced life support paramedics, he was brought up the cliff with the rope system," Medi Response reported. Apparently, the officer lost his balance and fell. He was taken to hospital. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Suthentira Govender at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Sadtu not abandoning its case against Cosatu over backing of SACP in elections, but will give time for possible resolution City Press reports that leaders at Cosatu have indicated that the trade union federation cannot afford a public legal battle with one of its affiliates, the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu), which is pushing for a reversal of a resolution for workers to back the plan by the SA Communist Party (SACP) to contest future elections on its own. This comes as the teachers’ union, which is one of the biggest under Cosatu’s umbrella, refuses to abandon its legal action against the federation before the Labour Court, where it is seeking to have the resolution to support the SACP’s plan declared invalid and unlawful. The legal tussle was among the issues discussed at Cosatu’s recent three-day central executive committee (CEC) meeting, where Sadtu’s stance was criticised by other unions. Cosatu general secretary Solly Phetoe reported that the CEC tried to persuade Sadtu to allow the matter to be resolved politically, without approaching the courts. He said: “We’ve decided that this matter needs to be discussed internally, politically. We can’t be fighting one of our unions in public. […] I don’t know if it’s going to withdraw its legal action. I think that will depend on how this internal process goes.” While four of Cosatu’s affiliates, including its biggest one Nehawu, have filed notices to oppose Sadtu’s legal action, Phetoe said Cosatu itself had not done so. Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke stressed that, while his union would not abandon its court action, it was giving Cosatu time to resolve the contentions raised regarding the constitutional breaches of the SACP-backing resolution. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siviwe Feketha at City Press (subscriber access only)
SA Post Office applies for business rescue in effort to save ‘essential service’ BL Premium reports that the SA Post Office (Sapo), which was put in provisional liquidation in February, has applied to the courts to be placed in business rescue, which woulf enable it to avoid further lawsuits by unpaid creditors and perhaps escape liquidation. Sapo spokesperson Suzie Khumalo said on Friday that a formal application had been made for business rescue. The court hearing is set down for 4 July. This comes after communications and digital technologies minister Mondli Gungubele told the state-owned company’s provisional liquidators by letter in May that the cabinet supported the move. He urged them not to make any “precipitous decisions” that might lead to Sapo going under. The letter also indicated that should the business rescue proceed, the R2.4bn bailout announced by the Treasury in February would be made available to Sapo, possibly along with additional funds. However, fear has been raised that going into business rescue could lead to the demise of Postbank. Provisional liquidator Anton Shaban said in papers filed with the court that business rescue and final liquidation could mean Postbank would not receive most of the R4bn it was owed. Shaban argued against Sapo being placed in final liquidation as it provided an essential service to SA citizens, including the delivery of parcels and postal services, and was the address at which grants were paid to citizens. “It would be devastating for South Africans should the services cease,” Shaban said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Katharine Child at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Benford Mokoatle takes up the position of new SA head of Gold Fields Fin24 reports that 1 June marked the first day in the job as executive vice president (EVP) of SA operations at Gold Fields for Benford Mokoatle. But, the veteran miner donned his yellow and navy uniform and reported for work at the South Deep mine as he has done for the past six years as head of operations. A geologist by training, Mokoatle started out his career working for Anglo Gold Ashanti at the Mponeng operation and working his way up to become the geology manager. He went on to work at De Beers, where he eventually became general manager of the Venetia mine. A combination of geological training, business acumen, and ability to connect with employees on a personal level, ultimately saw Mokoatle stepping into his latest role. Joining Gold Field's South Deep mine in 2017 was a bit of a homecoming for Mokoatle, who was born in Soweto, just 30km from the mine. For a geologist, South Deep is a dream challenge. Managing and motivating teams there has posed a formidable challenge for the operation, which, despite changing hands several times, only turned profitable for the first time in 2019. Mokoatle is the first black South African to assume the role of EVP of SA operations at Gold Fields – a mining group founded by Cecil John Rhodes in 1897. Today, he sees the sector as leading in terms of transformation across the board from middle managers to executives, as well as in respect of the number of women in mining. Mokoatle is stepping into the job at a time when local producers have been buoyed by sky-high rand gold prices, but are struggling with rising inflation and deepening power cuts. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Search is on for a new Gautrain CEO The Star reports that the search is on for a new Gautrain Management Agency (GMA) CEO when the term of the current CEO, William Dachs, ends. According to the Gauteng MEC of Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, the commencement of the recruitment process is under way. Dachs will step down at the end of his tenure in February 2024. Dachs, who served as the GMA’s COO from 2014, was appointed CEO in February 2020. He also worked as a senior executive manager in the GMA’s Technical Services Unit. Diale-Tlabela expressed her deepest gratitude to Dachs for his solid and impeccable leadership and said he maintained GMA’s standards of excellence, innovation, and good governance. “We were also fortunate to have someone of his calibre and experience lead the GMA when the Covid-19 pandemic engulfed the entire world,” Diale-Tlabela noted. GMA has become one of only three entities in the province to achieve the gold standard of ten consecutive clean audits. The MEC also announced that the process to appoint a new GMA Board would be initiated as the current board’s term of office expires this year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lehlohonolo Mashigo at The Star UK lures SA physics and language teachers with R245,000 to relocate Saturday Star reports that a quarter of a million rand is the lure to get South African teachers to sign up and work in Britain. The British department of education is offering international relocation payments of £10,000 pounds (about R243,400) to foreign physics and language teachers from Ghana, India, Singapore, Jamaica, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and SA. The relocation payment is to cover their visa and moving expenses. To qualify the teacher must have a degree, a recognised teacher-training qualification and at least a year’s experience. They also need to be able to speak English to an undergraduate level. Between 300 and 400 payments are expected to be made to new teachers as they start the next academic year in September. The scheme is likely to be expanded in the coming years with hundreds of maths, science and language teachers expected to be recruited. The announcement in the UK comes as the SA educational system is in crisis with poor pass rates, overcrowded classrooms and low literacy rates. However the Department of Basic Education (DBE) welcomed the UK teacher recruitment drive, saying there was currently an oversupply of teachers in SA. “If there are opportunities elsewhere in the world we would urge qualified educators to take those opportunities rather than sit at home and do nothing,” said DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga. But, according to the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA (Naptosa) there is an artificial surplus of teachers in SA. “It is short sighted, there appears to be a surplus. But it’s not a complete surplus, because there are shortages in some areas and and surpluses in others,” argued the union’s Basil Manuel. He added that the DBE had not got the ratio of teachers to pupils right and this was causing overcrowding in classrooms. The Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (Isasa) said it was not particularly concerned about the country’s teachers leaving to work in the UK. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Norman Cloete, Baldwin Ndaba, Karishma Dipa, Sameer Naik & Shaun Smillie at Saturday Star
Supreme Court of Appeal clears way for Gauteng nursing school to teach BL Premium reports that a Johannesburg nursing school embroiled in an accreditation battle with the nursing regulatory council has won a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) case. Khanyisa Nursing School, a Gauteng-based nursing school, made application to the SA Nursing Council, which accredits nursing education in SA. The council notified Khanyisa in April 2022 that it had obtained full accreditation. But the approval only applied from the start of the 2023 academic year, as it was already approaching the middle of 2022. This was a problem for the school and it urgently approached the Johannesburg High Court to ask that the council be ordered to allow the accreditation to operate from mid-2022, and not start only in 2023. The court ordered that Khanyisa should obtain its accreditation for the programmes to start in 2022. Unhappy with the decision, the council obtained leave to appeal to the SCA. In its judgment, the SCA noted “the shortage of qualified nurses” and unnecessary delays in training such important healthcare providers “would give rise to wasteful consequences”. The SCA found that the council “had no defensible reason to [delay accreditation] given the extensive time it had taken to decide upon the accreditation of the programmes, and the evident need for the programmes to commence as soon as possible after accreditation”. More particularly, it found that a calendar year did not necessarily mean 1 January to 31 December as the council had approved programmes in the middle of the year before. The council’s appeal was dismissed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tauriq Moosa at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
NHI will make things worse for citizens and deter globally mobile professionals from working in SA, BLSA warns BL Premium reports that Business Leadership SA (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso warned on Monday that the government’s plan for universal health coverage as it is set out in the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill will leave people worse off and deter globally mobile professionals from working in SA. The NHI Bill was approved by parliament’s portfolio committee on health last month and is expected to be passed by the National Assembly within the next few weeks. It paves the way for the establishment of a single NHI fund that will purchase services from public and private sector providers on behalf of citizens, and pares back the role of medical schemes to the point where they will only be allowed to offer cover for services not provided by NHI. It has been roundly criticised by the private sector, including SA’s biggest doctor organisations, private hospitals, and SA’s biggest medical scheme administrator, Discovery Health. Writing in her weekly newsletter, Mavuso said the bill would throttle the private healthcare sector. “By forcing the private sector out of the provision of all but a limited set of complementary services, private provision would effectively cease. For globally mobile businesspeople and their families, this would be another serious disincentive to work in SA,” she pointed out. Noting that the business sector had worked closely with the government to source equipment and medicines, and to rapidly expand the provision of Covid-19 vaccines at sites across the country, Mavuso said that that had been “a clear demonstration that national health outcomes are achieved faster and more efficiently when government and business work together, drawing on their respective strengths.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Public enterprises director-general Kgathatso Thlakudi sacked TimesLIVE reports that Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has dismissed Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) director-general Kgathatso Thlakudi. After a complaint received by the Public Service Commission last year, Lamola was mandated by President Cyril Ramaphosa to conduct an inquiry into allegations that Thlakudi violated his employment contract. The justice and correctional services ministry said due process was followed and all allegations were put to Thlakudi, who was represented in the inquiry. “Having considered the evidence presented, the chairperson of the disciplinary, advocate [Rathaga] Ramawele SC, found Thlakudi breached his contract and made sanctions of dismissal.” Lamola gave effect to the sanction and sent Thlakudi a dismissal letter dated 2 June in terms of the Public Service Act. After his suspension last year, Thlakudi sought its lifting in the Labour Court. In his application, Thlakudi accused DPE Minister Pravin Gordhan of unlawfully removing him from his position because Thlakudi was an “obstacle” to a programme involving the sale of SAA. The Labour Court's ruled that his suspension was lawful and the Constitutional Court refused an application by Thlakudi for leave to appeal that ruling. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE. Lees ook, DG van openbare ondernemings in die pad gesteek, by Maroela Media Labour Court slams Human Settlements Minister for “unlawfully” firing staffer because of having been stuck in a lift for an hour GroundUp reports the Minister of Human Settlements has been ordered by the Johannesburg Labour Court to immediately reinstate deputy director of corporate services Nelly Letsholonyane, who was found to have been unlawfully dismissed. She was dismissed after Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi got stuck in a lift for about an hour and then blamed Letsholonyane, and summarily terminated her contract in April this year. Acting Judge Molatelo Makhura ruled that Kubayi’s conduct had been “unlawful”. “Such conduct should not be condoned by courts of law. This court cannot and should not turn a blind eye to injustice and lawlessness. The impact that such decisions have on employees is unimaginable,” he pointed out. Minister Kubayi had posted on a WhatsApp group just before 8pm on 14 March this year that she was stuck in the lift and that the “responsible person had already left work”. Letsholonyane, alerted by the message, immediately took steps to get a technician from the lift company to attend to the matter. But, she was called into the Minister’s office at 7:30am the following morning, and given a letter of intention to dismiss her for “gross negligence” for threatening the lives of employees. She was dismissed with immediate effect on 20 April 2023. Letsholonyane then approached the Johannesburg Labour Court, alleging a breach of contract. She argued that the Minister had acted as the victim, witness, initiator and referee “and this was not acceptable”. Makhura ruled that her dismissal was unlawful because the Minister had not complied with the provisions of the Senior Management Service Handbook. He ordered that Letsholonyane be reinstated immediately. He also ruled that the Minister’s conduct “must be frowned upon” and that she pay the costs of the application. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp. Read too, Minister Kubayi illegally fired employee after getting stuck in a lift, court finds, at The Citizen. And also, Human settlements minister denies employee's dismissal was over 'lift incident', at News24
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