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 Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Mthatha cop arrested for allegedly transporting hitmen who murdered University of Fort Hare targets News24 reports that an Eastern Cape police officer has been arrested in connection with the murders of two University of Fort Hare (UFH) staffers and the attempted murder of vice-chancellor and principal Sakhela Buhlungu. The Mthatha-based constable was arrested in the Eastern Cape on Friday, bringing the number of people arrested for the Fort Hare attacks to six, with more arrests expected soon. The suspect was scheduled to appear in the Alice Magistrate's Court on Monday. Five men are already in custody for the murders of UFH fleet manager Petrus Roets and Buhlungu's bodyguard Mboneli Vesele, as well as the attempted murder of Buhlungu and others who worked to end corruption at the campus. A national police task team set up to probe the murders and attempted murders made the arrests. The Dimbaza Magistrate's Court denied bail for three of the five suspects, while two of them abandoned their bail bids. It is alleged that the police constable drove alleged hitmen Mthobisi Khanyile and Mthobisi Dlamini to the houses of the targets. Evidence before the Dimbaza court showed that 13 UFH employees, including Buhlungu, were on the hit list. Their names were found by police in an abandoned Jeep SUV that was allegedly used by the hitmen. Five of the 13 people were shot. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani at News24. Lees ook, Polisiebeampte verdink van universiteitmoorde, by Maroela Media
Off-duty LEAP officer killed in gang crossfire in Cape Town on Sunday News24 reports that a 37-year-old off-duty LEAP (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan) officer was killed in Beacon Valley, Mitchells Plain, on Sunday afternoon when a stray bullet struck him in the head. Toufeeq Williams was walking with his baby daughter along the corner of Trampoline and Cadillac Streets when he was killed. According to City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, Williams had been caught in gang crossfire. He was part of the Hanover Park LEAP deployment team and lived in Mitchells Plain. Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said Williams died on the scene with a gunshot wound to his head. A R100,000 reward has been offered by the City for any information that could lead to arrests and convictions of those involved and police have launched a 72-hour activation plan to find the perpetrators. Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum chairperson Norman Jantjies confirmed that the incident appeared to be gang-related and added: "This is the very first LEAP officer to be killed in such a manner this year in the area. From what we understand from community members, the bullet was not meant for him at all." He said: "To the LEAP family, I say, let this serve as our encouragement to drive criminals and their criminal activity out of our communities." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisalee Solomons & Nicole McCain at News24. Read too, Off-duty law enforcement officer killed by stray bullet in gang shoot-out, at TimesLIVE. En ook, Dwaalkoeël eis LEAP-beampte, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Warring zama zamas terrorise Riverlea, while residents say police just don't have the firepower News24 reports that ongoing war zone scenes have been playing out in Riverlea in Johannesburg where at least five people were killed in the latest clash among warring zama zama gangs. Last Tuesday, resident Ernest Magena died during a shootout between zama zamas (illegal miners) and police near FNB Stadium when he was hit by a stray bullet. His family are struggling to come to terms with his death. According to frightened residents, zama zamas, often armed with semi-automatic rifles, brazenly shoot as soon as the sun sets over the area. On Saturday night, five people were killed during a territorial clash among different gangs of zama zamas. Zama zama gang violence has been an issue in the suburb for several years, with little to no intervention from the SA Police Service. During a visit to the area on Monday afternoon, Police Minister Bheki Cele, accompanied by the police’s top brass, talked tough and assured residents that he was willing to put his head on the line to restore calm. Scores of disgruntled residents gathered close to a bakkie where Cele stood to address them. “Come lie to us again, minister,” and “talk, talk, that’s all you do,” residents shouted as Cele started his address. Cele said a group of external specialised units would be deployed to the area to go “toe to toe” with criminals in the area. He said he had also met with Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe to close disused shafts. Community leader Keagan Everson said: “We live in constant fear and danger because of the shooting happening here. […] These guys are using high calibre rifles, and they [police] don't have the firepower to take them on, so we feel we need the soldiers to come and take care of this. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Iavan Pijoos at News24 (subscriber access only). Read too, Riverlea community want army to deal with zama zama problem, at TimesLIVE Riverlea residents stage protest against violence brought on by zama zama turf wars GroundUp reports that rivalry between groups of informal miners (zama zama) has led to residents of Riverlea in Johannesburg protesting against the violence it is causing in their suburb. On Monday, residents barricaded roads with burning tyres and rocks. Public order police monitored the scene. The protest came after the bodies of five miners were found by police on the weekend, and residents reported heavy gunfire in the neighbourhood. Resident Melanie Scheepers lamented: “We are prisoners in our own homes. The war is no longer on the boundaries of our community; they are coming into our community and shooting at each other. Houses have bullet holes in them. What happened on Saturday night was the worst. It sounded like bombs.” Many of the miners apparently live in Zamaphilo informal settlement, which borders on Riverlea and which has mushroomed in recent years. Residents have called on national government for help, and some for the army to be deployed, because they say local police lack the capacity to deal with the situation. Community leaders say their pleas about illegal mining and the accompanying violence have been ignored for years. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ihsaan Haffejee at GroundUp. Read too, Fearful Riverlea, Primrose residents caught in ‘abnormal’ zama zama siege, at TimesLIVE Premium (subscriber access only) Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Garbage piles up on Dunoon streets in Cape Town in standoff over jobs for local residents GroundUp reports that heaps of uncollected garbage are spilling over onto the narrow roads of the Doornbach informal settlement in Dunoon, with waste not having been collected since 30 June when the previous refuse collection contractors’ contract expired. It is unclear whether a new contractor has been appointed by the City of Cape Town. But the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) stopped a new contractor who had started removing waste, demanding that employees be verified as local residents registered on the Blaauwberg subcouncil’s unemployed database. Sanco Dunoon branch chair Elliot Nkohla indicated: “They are not going to work until we get the list [of the city contractor’s employees] to verify that they are Dunoon residents.” Dunoon ward councillor Messie Makuwa said “the community” was still negotiating with the new contractor over how many people from Dunoon they employed to collect refuse. Community leader Phindile Mazula, who has lived in Doornbach for 25 years, said household waste was last collected at end-June, with no refuse removal in the area since then. “It is unhygienic. It is affecting our health. The food waste is rotting. Children here do not have a place to play, it is easy for them to contract diseases,” said Mazula. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Peter Luhanga at BusinessLive
Big fuel price increases to hit on Wednesday BL Premium reports that major fuel price hikes will be implemented on Wednesday. The retail price of both grades of petrol (ULP 93 and 95) will increase by 37c/l, while the wholesale price of diesel will rise by 71c/l for low-sulphur 50ppm fuel and 72c/l for high-sulphur 500ppm diesel. Illuminating paraffin will go up by 95c/l. The latest hikes will bring the price of 95 unleaded petrol to R22.83 a litre in Gauteng, while the wholesale price of diesel will now be R20.21 a litre. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy attributes the steep increases to higher international fuel prices during the period under review. The hikes would have been even higher had the rand not appreciated against the US dollar. Anticipating the sharp increases, the AA last week said it was the diesel price that was most concerning as it meant consumers would have to pay more for goods and services, which were mainly transported by diesel trucks. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Hefty hike in diesel price on Wednesday, petrol also pricier, at Fin24. En ook, Motoriste hoes weer, by Maroela Media
As bosses clash at CNA, former staff members are left with unpaid pension and UIF contributions Business Times reports that less than two years after rescuing CNA from collapse, its owners are at loggerheads with employees over unpaid pensions, unemployment insurance fund (UIF) contributions and debt repayments. Interviews with staff, directors and a funder have also revealed allegations of fraud at the 127-year-old business, which has now virtually ceased to exist. In May this year, 133 employees were retrenched as most CNA stores have shut, but they have been unable to claim their pension or UIF benefits because the company did not pay over to the relevant authorities the contributions it had been deducting from their salaries. Employees say the company directors failed to respond to their pleas and requests for documents to enable them to file tax returns, claim from the UIF and their pensions. Last week, the directors finally communicated with employees via a WhatsApp group. “The directors don’t care. They have destroyed livelihoods and when we do manage to get hold of them, they threaten us,” claimed one employee. Complaints have been lodged with the CCMA. Old Mutual, as fund administrator, said it was engaging with employer representatives to help speed up the provident fund payment process of former CNA employees. The CNA was bought out of business rescue in late 2021. The handover to the new owners, the Everland Group, was finalised at the end of March last year but cracks in the business started to show the following month with allegations of nonpayment of service providers and rent, disagreements over the financial operations of the business, allegations of stock theft, and directors’ access to bank accounts being removed. Read the full original of the detailed report in the above regard by Thabiso Mochiko at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
CCMA rules dismissal of KZN imam who flouted Covid rules not unfair Sunday Times reports that a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) imam who was fired for not enforcing Covid-19 rules during the height of the pandemic has failed in his bid to get his job back. At the time, a “large number” of Port Shepstone Juma Masjid Trust congregants died. The CCMA recently ruled against Maseehullah Kajee’s bid to overturn his February 2021 dismissal and said the dismissal had not been not unfair given the circumstances of the pandemic and the urgency of the matter. The CCMA heard that pandemic protocols were breached at the mosque in a Covid hotspot in early 2021 and it was Kajee’s responsibility as the resident priest to enforce them. He broke the rules by not making audible announcements about the importance and impact of social distancing, and by his failure to enforce it and reprimand and educate congregants. Kajee approached the CCMA a month after he was fired because he believed he was dismissed without a hearing and that the trust didn't follow due process. Lawyer Pregen Govindasamy, who represented the trust, said peremptory requirements in terms of the Disaster Management Act were placed on Kajee, as a religious leader, before convening a religious gathering. “The applicant wilfully disregarded these requirements,” Govindasamy indicated. The CCMA arbitrator found that “taking into account the totality of the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the applicant, it is my finding on a balance of probabilities that the dismissal was substantively fair.” Kajee’s attorney said his client would take the matter on review. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nivashni Nair at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)
Eastern Cape MEC's spokesperson apologies for use of strong language, but claims to be victim of ‘persistent workplace bullying’ News24 reports that the suspended spokesperson for the Eastern Cape MEC for Education has apologised after cellphone video footage emerged showing her using strong language against a colleague. In the video, Vuyiseka Mboxela is seen standing with another woman and pointing her finger at the woman's face while speaking isiXhosa. Mboxela is heard to say, "Don't p*ss me off," and "Don't sh*t on me". In a statement on Saturday, Mboxela said that contrary to what had been widely publicised, her confrontation with a colleague was not about her refusing to greet a fellow worker. The clash was a “culmination of a long and persistent workplace bullyism”, she claimed. Mboxela added: "Sadly, at that moment, I was triggered to an untenable emotional state." She said she would cooperate with the employee wellness programme organised by the provincial education department following the incident, as well as seek professional assistance to deal better with similar occurrences in the future. “I have had a moment of reflection and hereby apologise unreservedly to the MEC, HOD, senior management, staff and all affected within and outside the department,” she said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nkosikhona Duma at News24
Thousands of public servants ‘disciplined’ over corruption, but very few dismissed or even given warnings News24 reports that since 2019, government bureaucrats have cracked down on more than 3,000 public servants by meting out "discipline" for fraud, theft or corruption, but only 19 have been dismissed; two were given verbal warnings, and 15 others had written warnings. Only one official received a fine, 41 were suspended without a salary not exceeding two months, while 100 were suspended without pay. These details emerged in Public Service and Administration Minister Noxolo Kiviet's response to a written parliamentary question. Over the past three financial years, 1,535 officials were disciplined in national government departments. During the same period, 1,888 officials in provincial departments were disciplined. The reported figures exclude the Department of Defence and the State Security Agency. Kiviet reiterated that discipline management was a decentralised function. “Information pertaining to discipline is captured by departments on the Persal system. […] When information is not captured or available (either due to non-existent categories on the Persal system, or negligence on the side of a department), this impacts the perceived picture," she pointed out. Persal is the government's payroll and personal staff system for provincial and national departments. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24 (subscriber access only)
Seven policemen who allegedly stole cash, cigarettes from Nigel shop remanded in custody TimesLIVE reports that seven police officers who allegedly stole money and cigarettes from a shop in Nigel, Ekurhuleni, were remanded after appearing in court on Monday. They face charges of theft, corruption, malicious damage to property and defeating the administration of justice. The officers are from the Ekurhuleni infrastructure unit and Germiston crime intelligence. “It is alleged that on July 15 the seven members went to LM Café in Nigel, damaged some of the property in the shop, including breaking a safe where money was kept, and took an amount of R172,400 and 152 boxes of illicit cigarettes and left,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana indicated. The officers opened a case against the shop owner, but the case was not enrolled because they not complete the required form that listed confiscated items. On the same day, the shop owner reported the matter to the police. After investigations by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, the seven handed themselves over and were remanded. The case was postponed to next Monday for a formal bail application. The NPA intends to oppose bail. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE Three Gauteng cops who drove man to ATM to collect their R3,000 bribe, jailed for four years IOL reports that three cops who broke the law by taking a bribe have been sentenced to four years behind bars. In arguing its case against Johannes Tebogo Mpete, Lesiba Richard Mapela and Matsobane Victor Kwanaite, the State said the police officers had the responsibility to uphold the law and not break it. They were convicted of corruption at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. Explaining the case, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said that on 14 February 2016, the police officers stopped the complainant’s vehicle during a stop and search in Mabopane. “While searching the car, they found a white powdery substance and requested the complainant to pay an amount of R5,000, to avoid being arrested. The complainant was driven to Marula Shopping Centre, where he withdrew and handed over an amount of R3,000, ” Mahanjana reported. Kwanaite went on to give the complainant his telephone number so they could remain connected and that he could pay the remaining R2,000. However the complainant reported the matter and after investigation, all three police officers were arrested at their place of employment in 2021. In aggravation of sentence, State prosecutor Advocate Willem Van Zyl described the policemen’s action as planned. He said they had time to reconsider but did not, and he asked the court to impose direct imprisonment sentences. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jolene Marriah-Maharaj at IOL
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