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, 21 July 2023.
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VIP protection officers filmed assaulting motorists on N1 arrested, to appear in court on Monday News24 reports that eight Presidential Protection Services (PPS) police officers, who were filmed assaulting people on the N1 highway in Gauteng, have been arrested. The men were told to hand themselves in to the Sandton police at 15:00 on Sunday. Seven of the eight arrived on time, while the eighth member came in at 15:30. The men are accused of assault, malicious damage to property, and pointing a firearm. They will appear in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Monday. All eight have been suspended, but it is now known if that is with pay. Asked why the arrests had taken so long, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate's (IPID’s) spokesperson, Robbie Raburabu, denied special treatment for the officers and said they first had to track down the victims from different provinces to take their statements. He added: "The victims [who are all trainees at the SA National Defence Force] were located with the help of the SANDF. Some were in the hospital. Their wounds are healing." When asked whether Deputy President Paul Mashatile was on the scene of the assaults, Raburabu said: "I cannot confirm if the principal was in the car on the day." The men were part of Mashatile's security detail, and the convoy was said to have been escorting him home at the time. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Alex Patrick at News24
Two paramedics kidnapped at gunpoint, taken to a shack in the bushes, robbed and assaulted News24 reports that on Saturday two paramedics responding to an emergency call in Mamelodi were kidnapped at gunpoint, taken to a shack in the bushes, and then tied up and robbed. According to Gauteng's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) spokesperson, Tshepo Shawa, the paramedics were hijacked, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed of their personal cellphones and other working tools. At the time of the attack, the two – a man and a woman – were responding to a distress call from Nellmapius, near Mamelodi, of a 48-year-old who had collapsed. Shawa reported: "An ambulance was dispatched to the area from the Mamelodi base and, on arrival in the vicinity of the address, two men waved to stop the crew. When the emergency responders stopped, the men pulled out firearms and forced them to drive to an unknown location." The paramedics were taken to a shack in the bushes, where they were tied up, while the assailants drove away with the ambulance. The paramedics managed to escape to the nearby Mavuso squatter camp, and called for help. The crew had managed to activate the panic button before their attackers took the ambulance and the vehicle was recovered a few minutes later in the same Nellmapius area. The crew sustained minor scrapes and bruises, but suffered emotional trauma. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24. Read too, Ambulance crew hijacked, tied up and bank accounts raided, at TimesLive. En ook, Ambulans gekaap; Pretoria paramedici ontvoer, vasgebind, by Maroela Media Missing Northern Cape cop who had been travelling to Rustenburg to testify in a case found dead in North West News24 reports that a 35-year-old police officer from the Northern Cape who went missing last Monday has been found dead near Ventersdorp in the North West. While details are still sketchy, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said Warrrant Officer Gaonathebe Diphephenyane had travelled to Rustenburg on Monday 17 July to testify in a case, but never arrived. The last location of the state vehicle he had been travelling in was near Katlehong, south-east of Johannesburg. Mathe said Diphephenyane had been a SAPS member for 14 years and was responsible for crime scene management. According to Mathe, 92 police officers have been killed in the past financial year, 27 of whom had been on duty and 65 off duty. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Iavan Pijoos at News24 Five trucks torched in Gqeberha protests in the past month over a lack of electricity and water GroundUp reports that trucks continue to be stoned and set alight on the M17 Addo Road in Motherwell, Gqeberha, bringing the total to five over the last month. Protesters from surrounding informal settlements have been demanding that the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality supply them with water and electricity. The R335, along which many goods are trucked to the port of Ngqura, is flanked by the Nomkanjani, Powerline, and Ramaphosa informal settlements. A coal truck was torched on 23 June by protesters demanding the electrification of about 3,000 shacks. Protests flared up again on 12 July resulting in a fruit truck being stoned and set alight, and the driver of a manganese truck crashing into the wall of a residence after losing control while trying to dodge rocks and protesters. Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu confirmed that a truck carrying fruit was also halted and torched on 14 July. Another truck was torched on the same road on Wednesday last week after a power outage had dragged on for five days. But, a witness, who asked not to be named as he lived in the area, said the burning of trucks was “hooliganism” not protest. Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson Kupido Baron said the torching of trucks was a criminal act and denied it was due to service delivery protests. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thamsanqa Mbovane at GroundUp. Read too, Truck drivers bear brunt of anarchy on SA roads, at Sunday Tribune
Vantage Goldfields takes its fight for Barbrook mine and Lily mine, where bodies of three workers remain unrecovered, to ConCourt City Press reports that after losing five cases, Australian resources company Vantage Goldfields has approached the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) in its relentless attempt to stop the sale of Mpumalanga sister gold mines, Barbrook and Lily, to a prospective buyer. This after the company lost its appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) on 27 June. It had been Vantage Goldfield’s fifth court loss against Arqomanzi, which had been prepared to invest R472 million to re-open the mines, which are situated in Louisville outside Barberton. The mines were put under business rescue in 2016 after an entrance to the shaft of Lily Mine collapsed on 5 February and buried three workers who were in a container office that plunged underground. As a result, the two mines were closed and about 1,000 workers were retrenched. The bodies of the three workers – Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyirenda and Yvonne Mnisi – are still buried at Lily Mine. According to Vantage Goldfields, its purpose in approaching the ConCourt is to challenge two conflicting judgments by the SCA. Another point it will seek to clarify is the ceding of claims. Arqomanzi said it would be filing an answering affidavit to enable the ConCourt to decide whether it should grant Vantage Goldfields leave to appeal or not. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sizwe sama Yende at City Press (subscriber access only) KZN gold mine adopts new approach to address scourge of illegal mining EWN reports that a small gold mine in the north of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has taken a new approach to addressing the scourge of illegal mining, and it seems to be paying off. Bosveld Gold Mine, near Pongola, launched a cooperative to employ illegal miners (zama zamas) previously wreaking havoc on mining grounds. The key to success has been securing the cooperation of the group’s leader by offering him a better life. Previously sentenced to four years in prison for illicit mining crimes, Mhlonipheni Mavuso was once a feared ringleader of 170 zama zamas with a past steeped in violence. But Mavuso, who worked as a zama zama for more than 30 years, is now legally cashing in on gold, after turning over a new leaf. The CEO of Bosveld Gold Mine, Quinton George, remembered how Mavuso commanded a mob to reign hellfire on the mine, destroying almost R6 million worth of equipment. “A group of about 100 community members, led by Mhlonipheni, raided the mine, [and] invaded it. They burnt two excavators, [and] smashed up about two cars,” he recalled. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at EWN Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Transport unions Untu and Satawu unhappy over Transnet’s container terminal partnership with Philippine company Business Times reports that two trade unions representing employees of Transnet-run ports have opposed the selection of a strategic equity partner to help develop Durban’s container terminal. Last Monday, Transnet announced the Philippine company International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) as the preferred bidder for a 25-year joint venture with Transnet Port Terminals to develop and upgrade Durban Container Terminal Pier 2. However, the United National Transport Union (Untu) and the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) accused Transnet of bringing in the company before concluding consultations. “This shows the disrespect that Transnet management has shown to labour and their disregard [for] engaging in a meaningful consultation process,” the unions said in a joint statement. They also accused ICTSI of violating human rights where it operated, a charge the company has denied. Transnet group spokesperson Ayanda Shezi denied shutting out the unions and advised: “Consultations with unions commenced in August 2021. A joint task team was formed including Satawu and Untu at the level of their general secretaries and full-time shop stewards. A transaction adviser was appointed independently advising labour, and all information was shared throughout the process.” Responding to queries, ICTSI said it was wrong for the unions to suggest it had a poor human rights record. “This is a highly regulated industry where human rights and labour rights are quite rightly upheld and ICTSI is a member of the UN Global Compact and supports the UN SDGs [sustainable development goals],” the operator advised. It claimed that it had a track record of “operating successfully in difficult environments” and that in ports where it operated it had expanded the capacity of the terminals, invested in technology and people, and improved supply chain processes. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku at Business Times (subscriber access only) SOE bailouts soar to R400 billion, even as CEOs rake in lavish salaries The Citizen reports that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have sucked up almost R400 billion in bailouts in the past nine years alone, but despite their abysmal performance their CEOs have earned a combined average of R2 billion in salaries, bonuses and perks. And the bailouts have got worse during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s term in office. About 700 SOEs have sucked up R398 billion in taxpayer money to be rescued from 2013/2014 with Eskom accounting for 55% of that amount. At the same time, executives and CEOs at these entities earned a combined total of R2 billion per year in salaries, according to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises Ghaleb Cachalia. DA research has shown that SEO bailouts increased significantly in the past six years during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s time in office from 2018/19 to 2023/24 compared to the previous 10 years from 2008/09 to 2017/18. Total bailouts from 2018/19 to 2023/24 during Ramaphosa’s tenure was R292.28 billion, which averaged R30.42 billion per year. “The salaries of top executives, such as those at Transnet, Prasa, Postbank and SABC reach astonishing figures, with compensation for CEOs at even higher amounts, regardless of dire performance and eye-watering losses posted by these entities and the absence in many instances of annual financial statements,” the research report indicated. Political analyst Prof Andre Duvenhage commented: “I can understand if you pay the CEO of Sasol, in a good year, a bonus of a few millions but I cannot understand when you can do the same with the CEO of Eskom or SAA when they are in trouble. In that case, it is extremely problematic.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lunga Simelane at The Citizen
Concerns as 380 Eastern Cape schools don't have principals, with 39 without deputies News24 reports that 380 schools in the Eastern Cape have no principals and 39 have no deputies. The Eastern Cape Education Portfolio Committee has expressed outrage about this situation, which it said was crippling teaching and learning. The provincial education department runs just over 5,000 schools. According to newly-sworn in DA MPL Horatio Hendricks, who serves in the Education Portfolio Committee, his party has demanded that the education department must provide the committee with a detailed report on vacancies. He said the report must include a breakdown of all vacant posts and an action plan on when those vacancies would be filled. The department recently filled 100 intern teaching vacancies and advertised 379 office-based vacancies. However, Hendricks said that was a drop in the ocean compared with the critical staff shortages the department was experiencing. Provisional data provided to the portfolio committee indicates that 1,794 teaching posts are currently vacant, including posts for 380 principals, 39 deputy principals and 272 heads of department. The vacancies do not include the 788 positions cut from the year's organogram. According to Hendricks, the department has decreased the number of educators employed in the province from 53,605 in 2022/23 to 52,817 in 2023/24 due to financial constraints. The department said the vacancies would be addressed by no later than 31 August. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24
Four Thai women rescued from Pretoria house where they were allegedly used as sex slaves News24 reports that four Thai women were rescued from a Pretoria house on Thursday where they had allegedly been held for a month against their will for sexual exploitation. According to Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale, one of the women escaped from the house in Garsfontein and alerted police. The women were enticed to SA with promises on Facebook of massage therapist jobs. According to Mogale, the women were used to gratify people sexually, and their captors then kept the payment received for their services. Mogale reported: “This prompted the involvement of law enforcement and social services. The information was followed up, and contact was made with one of the victims who was still held against her will at the premises. Three more victims were rescued after members of the Hawks, Tshwane Metro Police Department and local police accessed the premises.” Three people, all foreign nationals, were arrested during the operation. They are expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Monday to face charges of trafficking in persons. It was previously reported that a study by the US Agency for International Development and local research partners, Khulisa Management Services and Wits University, found that the number of human trafficking prosecutions in SA was disproportionately low compared to the "prevalence of the phenomenon in South Africa". Read the full original of the report in the above regard complied by Nicole McCain at News24. Read too, Hawks, SAPS, government departments implicated in human trafficking report, at Sunday Independent
Two security guard among four arrested for theft and possession of engines stolen from Ford in Pretoria IOL reports that two security guards are among four people arrested in connection with engines stolen from Ford Motor Vehicle Company of SA (FMCSA) in Pretoria. The four suspects, aged 29, 33, 37, and 44, were arrested by the Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation in Pretoria for theft and possession of suspected stolen motor vehicle parts worth an estimated R1.1 million. The Hawks said they received information from the FMCSA about the possible theft of engines. It was later established that the theft occurred on the premises of the FMCSA, where a truck from a courier company was used to load racks with about 36 engines. "After the truck was loaded, it exited the premises without following proper procedure and later went to offload at Charles Leyds Street in Eersterust on the instructions to the driver by the forklift instructor," a Hawks spokesperson indicated. The racks and forklift were found at the drop off address without the engines. Four suspects – two FMCSA security personnel, a mechanical repair shop owner and the truck driver – were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property. They are scheduled to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sibuliso Duba at IOL. Read too, Security guards among four arrested after engines worth R1 million stolen at Ford in Pretoria, at News24 Eskom shift supervisor and tanker driver in court for stealing fuel EWN reports that an Eskom shift supervisor and a heavy fuel oil tanker driver were arrested at the Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga on Wednesday in connection with the theft of heavy fuel oil. Eskom said the pair was arrested following a tip-off. Apparently, the driver would offload the oil at an unknown location and arrive at the power station with an empty tanker. Then, the shift supervisor would fraudulently register and print weighbridge slips as if the oil had been offloaded. Eskom said an investigation into the oil theft began in December last year. According to the utility, oil theft is a highly organised criminal activity that has led to the loss of billions of rands, with a direct impact on production. The duo has since appeared in the Kriel Magistrate’s Court on charges of theft and fraud. Eskom said it hoped a "stiff sanction is meted out" to deter other would-be offenders. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Gloria Motsoere at EWN. Lees ook, Eskom-man vas oor tenderbedrog, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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