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 Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Mashatile's protection unit 'twisted facts' of assault to avoid investigation, IPID investigator tells court News24 reports that the Randburg Magistrate's Court was informed on Monday that the Presidential Protection Services (PPS) detail of Deputy President Paul Mashatile "intentionally suppressed" evidence to evade any further investigation against them and showed a disregard for the country's laws. This was indicated in an affidavit by Hlanganiso Gladwin Ndlovu, senior investigator at the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), in the bail application of eight PPS officers implicated in assaulting plain-clothed members of the SA National Defence Force on the N1 earlier this month. Ndlovu opposed the bail applications of the eight SAPS members. They face 12 charges, which include pointing a firearm, reckless and negligent driving, malicious damage to property, assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, obstruction of justice, and assault by way of threat. The eight were caught on video assaulting four occupants of a blue Volkswagen Polo. In his affidavit, Ndlovu detailed what transpired during the assault on 2 July. He said Phineas Molefo Boshielo played a "pivotal role" when submitting a report of the incident: "Accused 5 [Boshielo], surely after consultation with the rest of his co-accused, failed to report that there was an assault on the complainants. In fact, he twisted the facts, stating that one or more of the complainants were drunk and that they tried to flee the scene. All these facts will be disputed by the State during the upcoming trial.” According to one of the eight officers who took the stand, Shadrack Kojoana, no assault occurred. The case was postponed to Wednesday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Iavan Pijoos at News24 (subscriber access only) Questions over Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s involvement in his protection unit’s alleged assault on motorists IOL reports that questions around Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s involvement in the blue light assault of three people on the N1 highway on 2 July have arisen again. One of the eight SA Police Service (SAPS) VIP presidential protection officers told the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Monday that Mashatile had been present in the convoy when the incident happened. The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it would submit a formal Promotion of Access to Information Application (PAIA) to get answers around the incident, while the ActionSA said it would be writing to police commissioner General Fannie Masemola to investigate Mashatile for allegedly lying, after his office said he was not present when the incident happened. The DA’s Andrew Whitfield said they had always suspected that Mashatile was involved because of the behaviour of the VIP officers. “If he was in the convoy and he sat by and did nothing, he sets an example at one of the highest level of government which is completely unacceptable. He holds the second highest office in the land and may become president one day, but he allows police officers to break the law under his watch, it is completely unacceptable,” said Whitfield. ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba said the party believed the officers had been influenced by Mashatile’s “mafia style leadership” and asked why, if he had nothing to hide, Mashatile had lied and said he was not present. It is not clear whether Mashatile was a witness to the alleged assault, or whether he was driven off in another vehicle in the convoy. Currently, the eight officers are facing criminal prosecution after the police watchdog Ipid ordered their arrests. Internally, they have been suspended by the SAPS, pending an internal disciplinary process. The court case resumes on Wednesday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sihle Mlambo at IOL. Read too, ANC’s Mbalula defends deputy president and says Mashatile ‘didn’t lie’, at The Citizen
Attack on paramedics ‘appalling and highly disappointing’, says union SowetanLive reports that the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) has condemned the attack on two paramedics in Tshwane over the weekend. Spokesperson Neo Lebethe said they found the actions by the perpetrators “appalling and highly disappointing” because there were people who relied solely on these workers and their service. According to the Gauteng health department, two paramedics attending to what appeared to be a distress call in Nellmapius near Mamelodi after midnight on Saturday, were hijacked, kidnapped and driven to a secluded shack used for a community farming project. There they were assaulted, tied up and robbed. “These workers are the first respondents in times of emergencies and are supposed to help save the lives of the citizens of the country. What they are subjected to at the hands of unscrupulous criminals is uncalled for,” Lebethe stated. The attack at the weekend has added to the growing list of dangerous places for emergency services to respond to calls in Gauteng. At least nine areas in Tshwane are listed as hotspots by the Gauteng department of health, where response to emergency calls require armed escort by either police or private security. More than 20 other hotspots have been identified in the City of Joburg. Last year, 14 attacks against paramedics were recorded. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siphiwe Mchunu at SowetanLive Professional board strongly condemns attack on emergency workers IOL reports that the Professional Board for Emergency Care has strongly condemned the attack on emergency workers in Tshwane over the weekend. The board, which falls under the ambit of the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA), pointed out that there had been a sharp increase in attacks on emergency care workers in Gauteng and various other parts of the country. During the most recent incident, emergency workers responded to a call for help in Nellmapius, near Mamelodi. However, when the paramedics arrived they were hijacked, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed of their personal cellphones and other working tools. Dr Simpiwe Sobuwa, chairperson of the Professional Board for Emergency Care, said in each of the “shocking” attacks, emergency care professionals were targeted and hijacked when responding to hoax distress calls. “We are outraged by these latest brutal acts and call on law enforcement authorities to move swiftly in apprehending the perpetrators of these crimes,” said Sobuwa. Sobuwa said emergency care required immediate action to save lives and currently the situation was getting more dire with some areas classified as hotspots where responses to emergency calls required armed escorts by either the police or private security firms. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jolene Marriah-Maharaj at IOL Mpumalanga tourism agency CEO, executives and board members receive death threats City Press reports that Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) acting CEO, Mduduzi Vilakazi, the agency’s executives and board members have received death threats in an e-mail that was sent to two addresses on 5 July. Four days later, in the early hours of the morning, Vilakazi’s house was broken into and burglars got away with a laptop, a cellphone and sneakers, but left more valuable items. Both cases are being investigated by the Organised Crime Unit. Vilakazi said that he could not speculate as to the source of the threats because, as CEO of the agency, he dealt with various sensitive issues, including curbing rhino poaching, "rowdy" employees who had tried to get him fired, land claims worth billions of rands on protected areas and corruption within the MTPA. Vilakazi has applied for the CEO position on a full five-year term. Last November, MTPA employees forced Vilakazi out of his office after levelling serious allegations of corruption, maladministration and mismanagement against him. Through trade union Nehawu, the workers made various allegations against Vilakazi, including that he mismanaged funds. The workers called for a forensic and a lifestyle audit on Vilakazi. This occurred a few months after the MTPA received its first clean audit report in 15 years. The board then investigate and in February this year, a forensic report by Samba Solutions, cleared Vilakazi. According to Samba Solutions, Nehawu failed to respond to three emails requesting information on the allegations against Vilakazi. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sizwe sama Yende at City Press (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Cele says police have implemented recommendations in reports into Marikana massacre and July 2021 unrest IOL reports that a few weeks before SA marks the 11th anniversary of the Marikana shooting, Police Minister Bheki Cele says the police have implemented a number of recommendations of the Farlam Commission. He also said they have implemented the recommendations of the Sandy Africa report into the July 2021 unrest. In Marikana, 34 mineworkers were killed in the North West on 10 August 2012 when they went on strike over wage increases and clashed with police. The Farlam report contained 136 recommendations, 98 of which were related to the police. Replying to a written parliamentary question from DA MP Okkie Terblanche, Cele said most of the recommendations had been implemented. He advised: “The SAPS has implemented the majority of the panel of experts report that relate directly to the SAPS and which involve the structuring of the Public Order Policing (POP), the physical capacitation of the POP capability, the amendment of the policy environment that relates to the management of public unrest and the aligning of the various training curricular, with the amended policy requirement.” He added that the other recommendations were for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), the Civilian Secretariat for Police and the Department of Cooperative Governance. Cele advised that the police would next month table its progress report on the improvement of the POP in policing and crowd management following the Farlam and Africa reports. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi at IOL Other general posting(s) relating to mining
South African food inflation continued to decelerate in June, but was still far above headline CPI Engineering News reports that SA’s food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation continued to decelerate in June, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) has highlighted in its latest “Food Inflation Brief”. But food inflation continued to run far above the level of consumer price index (CPI) headline inflation. In year-on-year (y-o-y) terms, food inflation in June was running at 11%, as against the equivalent CPI headline inflation rate of 5.4%. June was, however, the third month in a row in which SA food inflation decelerated, suggesting that the country was now in a declining food inflation trend. In terms of key factors affecting South African agriculture, in June y-o-y CPI inflation for electricity and other fuels rose by 7.9%, but that for fuel fell by 8.3%. The food categories that saw the highest y-o-y inflation in June were vegetables (20.9%), sugar-rich foods (16.4%), bread and cereals (15.5%), dairy and eggs (14.1%), NAB (9.6%), fish (9.5%), meat (6.1%), and fruit (1.2%). Oils and fats recorded y-o-y deflation of 9.5%. The price of the BFAP’s Thrifty Healthy Food Basket (THFB) increased by 12.5% in June, y-o-y, or by R398. But it declined by 0.9% m-o-m, a price reduction of R32. For the coming months, the three main international factors that could affect food prices are Russia’s ending of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the possibility of an El Niño event and the possible weakening of the rand exchange rates. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Youth unemployment 'is a ticking time bomb,' warns Paul Mashatile TimesLIVE reports that Deputy President Paul Mashatile says more needs to be done to address the “youth unemployment ticking time bomb”. Speaking on Tuesday at the launch of the SA national human development report 2022 in Pretoria, Mashatile thanked the UN Development Programme for shining light on the government's blind spots and indicated: “The challenge is not a lack of programmes, it is the effectiveness, acceleration and massification of our programmes.” He agreed with the UNDP's sentiments that “there is no doubt that the high unemployment rate is a ticking time bomb”. Earlier, the UN's resident co-ordinator in SA, Nelson Muffuh, painted a grim picture of the high unemployment plaguing the population, especially the youth. To undress unemployment, Mashatile said, the government was pursuing several youth empowerment programmes, including the Youth Employment Service Programme launched in 2018. He pointed out that the government had also launched the public service graduate internship and learnership programme to give young people work experience. Another initiative was the National Rural Youth Service Corps. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Amanda Khoza at TimesLIVE. Read too, ‘Youth unemployment threatens social and political stability in SA’, at IOL
SA has a shortage of top-rated female mathematicians TimesLIVE Premium reports that one of SA’s top academics, Prof Loyiso Nongxa, has expressed concerns about the dearth of “rated” female mathematicians in the country. During a recent workshop, he pointed out that there had been only one A-rated female mathematician since the ratings were introduced in 1983 and fewer than 10 ‘B-rated’ female mathematicians and statisticians. According to the rating system by the National Research Foundation (NRF), A-rated refers to leading international researchers, B-rated academics are internationally acclaimed and C-rated are established researchers. Prof Jill Adler from Wits University is the only A-rated woman researcher in maths in the country, while there are five B-rated female researchers in maths and statistics. In comparison, there are eight males who are A-rated researchers in maths and statistics and 25 B-rated researchers. Nongxa indicated that one of his priority projects was providing women with opportunities for international exposure. Prof Karin-Therese Howell of Stellenbosch University said the low number of women in mathematical sciences was not just a concern in SA but worldwide. She said role models and mentors were central to attracting more female learners and supporting female academics. Prof Rajendran Govender of the University of the Western Cape said higher education institutions “were not doing enough in developing the next generation of young academics who can take on the responsibility to teach mathematics at undergraduate level”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Prega Govender at TimesLIVE Premium
Coega Development Corporation signs partnership to improve Ingwe TVET campuses over three years Engineering News reports that industrial development zone agency the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has signed an agreement with Ingwe Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College for project preparation and infrastructure development of the college's five TVET campuses over the next three years. The CDC will play a key role as the implementing agent for further development of much-needed infrastructure at the Mount Frere, Mount Fletcher, Maluti, Siteto and Ngqungqushe campuses. The primary objective of the Ingwe TVET College Infrastructure Programme is to enhance the quality of education provided by creating a conducive teaching and learning environment for educators and students. “This partnership … provides us with both infrastructural and technological ability to create access to the TVET sector,” Ingwe principal Bheki Nkonyane noted. CDC’s Sphelele Matiwane indicated: “The Ingwe TVET College operates in a province facing poverty-related challenges and comprises students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our role as a trusted infrastructure implementing agent is pivotal in driving substantial socioeconomic impact and progress in infrastructure development.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News
Prasa blocks corruption-buster from returning to work pending review of award that cleared her of wrongdoing GroundUp reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has asked the Labour Court for a date to review the arbitration award which cleared whistleblower Martha Ngoye of all charges against her, thereby prolonging her suspension. Ngoye was fired in 2021 from her position as head of legal services by the agency’s board, along with Nathi Khena and Tiro Holele, on the basis that their supposed five-year contracts had expired. Ngoye challenged the decision in the Labour Court, which ruled in her favour and dismissed Prasa’s request for leave to appeal. But Prasa then petitioned the Labour Appeal Court and leave to appeal was granted. Ngoye was allowed to return to work on 6 April 2021 while the appeal was pending, but was then suspended on disciplinary charges related to Prasa contracts with Swifambo and SA Fence & Gate. She was cleared earlier this year of all the charges against her by an arbitration inquiry. But the board, chaired by Leonard Ramatlakane, who has since been axed, in February filed for a review of the arbitration with the Labour Court. In the latest development in Prasa’s efforts over more than two years to prevent Ngoye from getting back to work, the agency has now requested that the case be set down for hearing. According to her attorney Geoffrey Allsop, Prasa was legally required to comply with the award as she had been cleared of misconduct and “there exists no lawful reason to continue to keep her on suspension”. In his experience, the review sought by Prasa would likely only be set down by the Labour Court for 2024 at best, with a date in 2025 being more likely. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Steve Kretzmann at GroundUp
Four passengers killed, others injured during shooting at taxi rank in Port Shepstone on Tuesday The Citizen reports that four people were killed during a shooting at a taxi rank in Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, on Tuesday. Another four people sustained gunshot wounds and were rushed to hospital. All the people shot are thought to be passengers. “It is alleged that unknown gunmen approached a taxi and opened fire on the occupants,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker, who added that the motive for the shooting was unknown. Mi7 National Group’s Armed Response and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and spokesperson Colin David said it was believed that three gunmen opened fire on a taxi as it was waiting for passengers. “Three passengers already inside the taxi, and another nearby, were shot dead. Several others, both inside and near the taxi, were left with injuries ranging from minor to critical,” said David. He said it was suspected that the shooting was linked to taxi violence in the area. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Gareth Cotterell at The Citizen. Lees ook, Vier sterf in taxigeweld in Port Shepstone, by Maroela Media
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