In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Mashatile's VIP protectors slapped with suspensions after assault on civilians on N1 News24 reports that four warrant officers from the police's Presidential Protection Services (PPS) were handed notices of suspension on Tuesday after they were seen on video assaulting motorists on Gauteng's N1 highway. Two more police officers involved in the incident, in which two men were dragged from their vehicle and assaulted, also face suspension. A video of the incident shows one man lying motionless on the asphalt while his assailants are kicking him. The other man is sitting, his arms protecting his face, from the kicks also coming his way. The officers then get back into their vehicle and take off, leaving the men on the ground. The officers were part of Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s security detail and the convoy was said to have been driving Mashatile home. However, Mashatile, who condemned the incident, said he was not in the convoy at that time. The police officers have apparently claimed that the driver of the vehicle tagged Mashatile’s convoy for a long while before it was pushed off the road. They further claimed that the motorist tried to get close to Mashatile’s vehicle, prompting them to act. The officers, who will now face an internal probe, have been relieved from their duties pending the outcome of the investigation. DA MP and spokesperson on police Andrew Whitfield said the members involved "must be arrested immediately and justice must be served swiftly and unequivocally". The men who attacked the motorists are members of a police programme that gets more money than the Hawks, who are supposed to be investigating high-level corruption. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Gerber at News24 (subscriber access only) Sandu pledges support for victims of alleged VIP Protection Unit assault on N1 TimesLIVE reports that the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) said on Tuesday that the three occupants of a VW Polo who were allegedly assaulted by VIP Protection Unit members on the N1 highway were all SA National Defence Force members, with at least one of them being affiliated to the union. On Monday, a video clip depicting the incident went viral on social media. Sandu’s JG Greeff said they had spoken to their affiliate, who had given them a detailed account of what transpired. He revealed that the group had subsequently been in touch with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) which interviewed the victims on Tuesday afternoon and advised them to not engage any police officers while the Ipid investigation was being conducted. Greeff commented: “Sandu agrees with this approach and remains in support of the victims.” He urged that space be given to Ipid and the victims to allow the investigation to conclude and said the union would remain in constant contact with and supportive of the victims while they worked through “this traumatic experience.” Sandu expressed its availability to help the victims to institute civil action. The particular VIP Protection Unit was that of Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who was not travelling with the unit at the time of the incident. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
More than a quarter of visible policing vehicles in KZN, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape not operational News24 reports that in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Northern Cape, around 26% of visible policing vehicles are not operational. This was revealed in Police Minister Bheki Cele's response to a question by DA MP Andrew Whitfield, who asked how many vehicles were assigned to visible policing and to detective services and how many of them were operational. Cele was not prepared to disclose the number of vehicles, but he did provide the percentages of visible policing and detective services' vehicles that were operational. Overall, 21.16% of visible policing vehicles and 15.96% of detective services vehicles are not operational. In the Eastern Cape, KZN and the Northern Cape, the percentage of visible policing vehicles not operational is just above 26%. The lowest percentage is for the police's head office, with 9.09%. The province with the lowest percentage is North West, with 13.6%. The provinces with the most vehicles for detective services out of operation are also the Eastern Cape (19.69%), KwaZulu-Natal (19.55%) and the Northern Cape (23.52%). KZN and the Eastern Cape featured prominently in the most recent crime statistics. Whitfield said the "distressing statistics" echoed the complaints of South Africans to the DA that the police response times were very slow and that, in many instances, they did not arrive. He lamented that, with such a large number of vehicles out of commission, it was unsurprising that crime rates were so alarmingly high. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Gerber at News24 Police without wheels give crime some extra time, says Solidarity Solidarity lamented in a statement on Tuesday that shocking figures of broken down and unused police vehicles strengthened the trade union’s growing concern over the critical state and decay of property connected to the SA Police Service (SAPS). Police Minister Bheki Cele indicated in a parliamentary reply that up to 21% of police vehicles used for visible policing and 15% of those used nationwide by the detective service were not in a running condition. These figures confirmed findings in a 2022 report of the Solidarity’s Research Institute (SRI) that exposed the state and shortage of vehicles in the detective service. Theuns du Buisson of the SRI observed: “After the release of the report in 2022, one would have expected the problem to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Nevertheless, it is once again clear that the opposite is true and that in reality, the problems with regard to vehicles in the SAPS have worsened.” Solidarity pointed out that, while the statistics gave insight into the increasingly challenged state under which police members have to execute their responsibilities, the vehicle shortages also had serious consequences for victims of crime, as law enforcement officers were unable to respond to crime or hasten to the aid of victims. Solidarity said decay in the SAPS was not limited to vehicles as its report on detective services also mentioned the neglect of offices and shortages of equipment, including essential forensic equipment as well as basic office supplies and even toilet paper. The union called on the government “to address this state of affairs and the further decay taking place as a matter of urgency”. Read Solidarity’s press statement on this matter at Solidarity News
Cosatu to stage national protest on Thursday The Citizen writes that while Cosatu and its affiliated unions plan to embark on a nationwide strike in defence of workers’ rights on Thursday. The trade union federation indicated that the marches would take place across major urban centres in all nine provinces. Noting that this would be a protected strike, Cosatu’s Matthew Parks explained: “It is a demonstration by workers that government needs to do more to end the current levels of load shedding, cable theft, crime and corruption, wasteful expenditure and austerity cuts crippling the state, suffocating the economy and further plunging workers into high levels of indebtedness and misery. This is also a signal to the government, the Reserve Bank, and the commercial banks that the working class can no longer afford to bear the burden of rising levels of inflation, electricity tariff hikes and relentless and reckless increases in the repo rate.” But political analyst Professor André Duvenhage said although people were right in arguing that the country was mismanaged and there was no proper economic growth, strikes would take the country’s economy down even more than was the case in the past. Cosatu said the steps that could be taken to alleviate pressure on employees and uplift the economy included: raising the R350 social relief of distress grant to the food poverty line in the October medium-term budget policy statement; extending the Presidential Employment Stimulus to accommodate a million active participants in October and two million next February; ensuring the implementation of the two pot pension reforms next March; urgently intervening to prevent the collapse and liquidation of the Post Office; and filling all funded public service and sector vacancies by December. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lunga Simelane at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
Shutdown at Bell’s Richards Bay plant threatened by Numsa BusinessLive reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) is threatening to strike at Bell Equipment’s Richards Bay plant and at its Boksburg-based head office to demand insourcing of workers, a housing and transport allowance and R2,000 in untaxed bonuses for member employees. Bell employs more than 3,500 people and owns a principal manufacturing plant in Richards Bay, where the union plans to picket, alongside 20 branches located nationwide. Numsa’s Irvin Jim bemoaned the exclusion of workers from sharing in the company’s profits. Management and white-collar workers had received bonus payouts while “not a cent was given to so-called ‘blue-collar’ workers”, he claimed. The union and Bell have deadlocked and have been engaging in conciliation through the CCMA, the last day of which was 4 July. Numsa is demanding a housing allowance of R2,000 for members and a transport allowance of R1,000. The union says it also wants all workers to benefit from the company’s profit share scheme and proposed the company offer a R2,000 untaxed payment to each worker as a bonus. Additionally, the union wants labour brokers scrapped and the workers to be insourced by Bell, some of whom it noted have been temporary employees for 10 years or more. “If they refuse to put a better offer at that meeting, then we will request picketing rules, as well as the strike certificate from the commissioner so that we can mobilise for a total shutdown of Bell equipment. We urge the management to come to the negotiating table with an offer to prevent a strike,” said Jim. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Michelle Gumede at BusinessLive
Safa releases incendiary statement expressing shock at SA Football Players Union in Banyana saga TimesLIVE reports that the SA Football Association (Safa) has hit out at the SA Football Players Union (Safpu) over “misleading utterances in the public domain” to the effect that the union has reached an agreement with the ruling body over a dispute with Banyana Banyana players. Safa released an incendiary statement late on Monday night in which it said it was “shocked by Safpu’s false claims”. But, Safpu president Thulaganyo Gaoshubelwe said the union was confused by allegations made in Safa’s statement, the contents of which he called “absurd”. The World Cup-bound women’s national team has been in a stand-off with Safa over contractual issues and the quality of their build-up to the tournament. They were barred from playing their send-off match against Botswana at Tsakane Stadium on Sunday. Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi held an emergency meeting at the stadium to broker a return to the negotiating table of Safa and Banyana, represented by Safpu. Among issues Banyana players are demanding is that Safa write into their contracts the appearance fee of R570,000 to be paid to each player by Fifa for playing at the World Cup. “We insist that the money given to Banyana by Fifa be in their contracts. They are saying in their statement, ‘No, that money is like this and we cannot do anything’, said Gaoshubelwe. He denied that Safpu had made claims that an agreement had been reached and said the only agreement was the one publicly announced by Lesufi for the parties to return to the negotiating table. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marc Strydom at TimesLIVE Patrice Motsepe steps in to resolve Banyana Banyana contractual issues TimesLIVE reports that Patrice Motsepe is stepping in to help solve the SA Football Association’s (Safa's) Banyana Banyana crisis. The 11th hour intervention means Banyana will leave on time for the Fifa Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia in two groups on Wednesday and Thursday. While the details are not known about how the Confederation of African Football president, Mamelodi Sundowns owner and mining magnate Motsepe will help, his intervention is expected to be financial. Full details are expected to be announced at a press conference on Wednesday at 11am. Motsepe is believed to have been part of a crisis meeting with Safa and the Banyana players to come to a resolution. Safa and Banyana have been at odds over several contractual issues as well as the quality of their build-up opponents for the World Cup. The saga blew up when Banyana were unable to play their World Cup send-off game against Botswana at Tsakane Stadium on Ekurhuleni on Sunday. According to the SA Football Players Union (Safpu), while Banyana players threatened not to play the game because they felt their complaints were not being dealt with adequately, they were on the team bus and ready to play but were instructed not to do so by Safa. Safpu claims to represent Banyana players, though Safa has disputed that. According to the union, the players want the R565,000 per player in appearance money paid by Fifa for the World Cup group stage to be written into their contracts with Safa. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marc Strydom at TimesLIVE
Sishen Iron Ore plant manager pleads guilty to receiving R600,000 in kickbacks TimesLIVE reports that a 53-year-old former plant manager of the Sishen Iron Ore Company has pleaded guilty to 12 counts of corruption and 10 of money laundering. Johan Breedt appeared before the Kimberley specialised commercial crimes court on Monday. Lt-Col Tebogo Thebe of the Hawks said Breedt was arrested in December 2020 along with his two convicted co-accused, Anthony Meyer and Theunes Burger. “In April 2016, the accused nominated Burma Plant Hire to load and haul final dense medium separation product to the plant production beds. The company was awarded a tender to work at Kolomela mine for the period July 2016 to July 2017. Between July and December 2016 the accused demanded monthly payments of R40,000 and gifts from Burma Plant Hire to ensure the company continued to get work at the mine. The accused, through his unlawful activities, benefited R627,370 in cash and gifts from the company,” reported Thebe. The case against Breedt will resume on 19 September for sentencing. Read the original of the report in the above regard at TimesLIVE Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Cape Town film industry booming again with 4,000 film permits issued in one year TimesLIVE reports that the Cape Town film industry is back to its glory days with the City of Cape Town having issued almost 4,000 film permits in one year. This week the city described the 2022/2023 financial year as the busiest since the Covid-19 pandemic, with its film permit office having issued 3,900 permits for feature films, commercials, TV series, documentary films, student projects and music videos among others. Most of the permits were for commercials, but the Mother City also hosted more than 100 large feature film productions and 499 TV series during that time. The permit office also received bookings for more than 8,300 film locations over the same period. The city said the latest numbers represented a “significant improvement in interest in Cape Town as a film destination” since the 2021/22 financial year when 7,400 location bookings were processed. Safety and security MMC JP Smith said the film industry had proven to be a catalyst for economic growth. A study commissioned by the city showed that the film industry contributed about R5bn to the local economy each year and had created more than 35,000 jobs. To support the growth in the industry and assist the sector in reducing production costs, last July the city placed a freeze on all safety and security tariffs for filming within the city, such as traffic services, metro police and law enforcement. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipokazi Fokazi at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Popcru in talks with correctional services about future of more than 500 G4S employees at Mangaung prison SowetanLive reports that with four weeks left before the G4S contract at the infamous Mangaung Correctional Centre (MCC) comes to an end, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) is fighting to have more than 500 employees absorbed by the state. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has been in talks with the union, which represents more than 90% of the 507 workers at the Free State facility. A further meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday to discuss the future of these workers. The department is faced with understaffing at its prisons, but absorbing the Mangaung workers would come with risks as it would have to match their salaries, which are higher than the wages of prison wardens at other facilities. Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the union has been fighting to save the jobs of the workers ahead of the 31 July deadline when G4S is expected to vacate the prison to make way for DCS to totally take over. “Our priority right now is save our members’ jobs and the discussion about financial implications to the department when they have hired the G4S workers will be discussed at a later stage once we have reached an agreement,” said Mamabolo. However, the DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach, who sits on the portfolio committee on Justice and Correctional Services, said the G4S officials should not be retained without being vetted. DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo did not want to disclose his department’s future plans with G4S employees, saying an announcement would be made in due course. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindile Sifile & Noxolo Sibiya at SowetanLive
Cape Town’s Central Line to be fully operational before the end of March 2024, claims Prasa GroundUp reports that the Central Line service between Nyanga, Chris Hani, Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain in Cape Town will be running before the end of March next year, according to the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa). CEO Hishaam Emeran told MPs during a visit on Tuesday to inspect train infrastructure along the line. He indicated that the target was for the service to run by the end of March, but a requirement was that the shack dwellers be relocated. In March, Prasa partially resumed services on the Central Line, which had been closed since 2019. Trains are running only from Nyanga to Maitland. But, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) chair, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, said progress on the line was far outweighed by the challenges. He indicated that the committee would be back in January 2024 to check if Prasa had fulfilled its duties. He also complained that there had been no progress in relocating the families living along the line. Acting Prasa regional manager Moseli Ntsiki reported that 1,254 shacks at Siyahlala informal settlement near Langa station would need to be relocated. He said the eviction order, which had been changed three times, would lapse at the end of November, and the challenge was getting everyone to sign the social compact. On Wednesday in Parliament, Scopa will discuss the relocation of residents of the informal settlements on the railway line in Khayelitsha, Philippi and Langa with representatives from Prasa, the City of Cape Town and other department and agencies. Hlengwa told the Prasa executives not to come to the meeting with a “them and us” attitude. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tariro Washinyira at GroundUp
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