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 Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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NUM suspends its general secretary William Mabapa Financial Mail reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has suspended its general secretary, William Mabapa. He was suspended on 28 July, apparently for authorising a flight for a delegate from the Eastern Cape to attend a conference of the union’s youth wing in Joburg. He was suspended with full pay, pending the outcome of an investigation into his conduct. Insiders sympathetic to Mabapa say the charges against him are “absurd” and “frivolous”. A document outlining his supposed wrongdoing was presented to and adopted by the NUM national executive committee last Wednesday. In it, Mabapa is accused of “misuse of power, mismanagement of funds, bringing the union into disrepute, sowing division and misuse of power”. NUM president Dan Baipile confirmed Mabapa’s suspension on Wednesday, but refused to give details of the allegations against Mabapa or the matter that led to his suspension. Sources say NUM appears to be “imploding” – its leadership is inaccessible due to debilitating internal fights and its members have no direction, particularly from the national office. Seemingly, the current power play is largely orchestrated by NUM deputy general secretary Mpho Phakedi, who, along with his allies, is seeking to replace Mabapa. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Natasha Marrian at Financial Mail Ousted Numsa deputy president takes union to court GroundUp reports that former deputy president of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) Ruth Ntlokotse has launched an urgent application to the Gauteng High Court to declare her expulsion from the union unlawful and invalid. Ntlokotse, who is currently president of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), says in her court papers that her “unfair” suspension and expulsion from Numsa means that she could lose her position at Saftu. She says that she has been stripped of the ability to be protected by a union while facing retrenchment, and that her “rights to fair labour practice” and “rights in terms of the Numsa constitution to a fair process have all been affected”. She wants to be “reinstated as an ordinary member and thus a shop steward as elected by the workers.” Ntlokotse has been outspoken against leadership at Numsa, including general secretary Irvin Jim. She said during a press conference last month that the current Numsa leadership was corrupt and was not acting in the interest of its members. In her urgent application, set for 24 August, Ntlokotse also wants the court to finalise two other matters before the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court. Both matters concern the union’s national congress which took place in July 2022. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Majola said “we will oppose the application and defend the organisation and its decision (to expel Ntlokotse).” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Liezl Human at GroundUp Court awards R100,000 to Numsa employee whose HIV status was disclosed in union meeting Fin24 reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and two union members, including Free State regional secretary Andile Wiseman Zitho, have been ordered to pay R100,000 compensation to an employee for disclosure of her HIV-positive status, without her permission, during a meeting. The Free State High Court judgment ruled that disclosing an HIV-positive employee's status without permission was public defamation and a violation of privacy. According to the employee, only one other Numsa employee knew of her HIV status, namely her "sister and friend", Mamojabeng Molatlhoe. However, Molatlhoe testified that she told Zitho about her friend's HIV status in 2010 without her permission. According to the employee, Zitho disclosed her status during a grievance meeting against him in February 2021, which Zitho did not deny. He testified that he wanted to explain to everyone who lodged grievances against him that they were not being confidential about private matters and used the employee's HIV status as an example. The employee visibly cried during the meeting. In a recent judgment, Judge Sharon Chesiwe said the employee's HIV status was "private medical information" shared without her consent. The court ruled it was not Zitho's place to disclose her HIV status, especially not in a meeting that had nothing to do with her health. The court ruled that Numsa, Zitho, and Molatlhoe were jointly responsible for the R100,000 in damages. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, indicated that the union planned to appeal the judgment. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Na’ilah Ebrahim at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Business leaders warn Ramaphosa that unemployment could hit 38.1% Bloomberg News reports that SA business leaders have told President Cyril Ramaphosa that the jobless rate could rise to 38.1% by 2030 without urgent action to solve the country’s energy, logistics and crime crises. The forecast, which compares with a current unemployment rate of 32.9%, was included in a presentation made by business groups in a meeting with Ramaphosa on Tuesday. It was based on an average economic growth rate of 0.75% if no progress was made on those three impediments. SA business groups are working with the government to try and arrest the slump in energy provision and the deteriorating rail and port services. Those issues, coupled with rampant crime and corruption, are crimping growth in the economy. If the constraints were to be successfully addressed, the business groups, collectively known as Business for SA (B4SA), forecast that economic expansion would average 5% and unemployment would decline to 28% by 2030. The Presidency, together with B4SA and Business Unity SA, in a joint statement Tuesday announced progress made in introducing some of the initiatives to revive the floundering economy and restore investor confidence. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24 Cosatu unhappy about being ‘snubbed’ by Ramaphosa in talks over economic challenges BusinessLive reports that trade union federation Cosatu has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of snubbing organised labour in talks on finding solutions for SA’s economic challenges. A top level government delegation that included Ramaphosa, electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe and police minister Bheki Cele met business leaders on Tuesday. The meeting came after the government and business on 7 June announced the formation of the partnership on three key focal areas including transport and logistics, and crime and corruption, and energy crisis, in order to grow the economy. Cosatu’s Mathew Parks commented: “Organised labour has not been included in the engagements between the government and business on energy and freight logistics. Cosatu has raised its deep unhappiness about this with the presidency. Not only does it mean workers are excluded from an important discussion about them, their jobs and the economy but it also undermines National Economic Development and Labour Council and the president’s commitment to a social compact.” He said government meetings which did not involve organised labour fuelled workers fears of privatisation and job losses. “We won’t be able to fix Eskom, Transnet or the economy unless all social partners are involved,” Parks pointed out. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson on Wednesday noted that the president had held meetings with labour on both the energy and logistics issues. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mpho Sibanyoni at BusinessLive Solidarity engages with the US on Agoa pact Business Report writes that Solidarity advised on Tuesday that it had met with US diplomats about the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) as the trade union feared the SA government lacked commitment to tackle concerns that the country might be kicked out of the agreement. Agoa gives SA and other sub-Saharan countries preferential US market access on certain goods, but it is set to expire in 2025. SA’s trade relations with the US has been under pressure since the docking of a Russian ship at Simon’s Town naval base in the Western Cape in December, although the government has denied allegations of loading weapons onto the vessel. Recently, a group of US legislators asked for the upcoming Agoa Forum to be hosted in another country, although there has been no formal plan to shift the event from SA. Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) economic researcher Theuns du Buisson said in a statement they believed the ANC “despises” the US, and they met with US diplomats on behalf of the people and businesses in SA to ensure the country was not kicked out of Agoa. He said the government’s “nonchalant attitude” towards Agoa could have a devastating impact on many jobs and industries, and that SA could not afford to be left out of it. Du Buisson said: “During a meeting between American diplomats and Solidarity, the Americans indicated that they had very little information at their disposal about the impact of the Agoa agreement in South Africa. Solidarity then compiled a report in order to disclose the desired information.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Edward West at Business Report. Watch an interview with Theuns du Buisson on this matter at YouTube. Read Solidarity’s press statement at Solidarity News
City of Tshwane threatens workers who continue to strike with summary dismissal EWN reports that the City of Tshwane has warned that SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) affiliates who continued to protest despite a court interdict were at risk of being dismissed. Samwu workers downed tools last week over wage increases. Mayor Cilliers Brink previously advised workers that the city could not afford to pay salary increases, but this did not deter some workers from not reporting for duty. The city pointed out the workers' demonstration was against the court interdict issued by the Labour Court declaring the strike illegal. It said the shortage of staff was affecting the turnaround time to attend to service delivery issues. "I have, therefore, taken a decision to identify all those who have been participating in the strike; who stand to be at risk of being summarily dismissed. I have also decided to release non-essential staff at 13:00 due to intimidation," said the city’s manager, Johann Mettler. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Gloria Motsoere at EWN. Lees ook, Tshwane spook om dienste te herstel, by Maroela Media
More than 20 ‘illegal miners’ arrested in Riverlea, says Bheki Cele TimesLIVE reports that Police Minister Bheki Cele has confirmed the arrests of more than 20 suspected illegal miners in Riverlea, Johannesburg, after protest action in the area by residents earlier this week. Protests erupted in the area on Monday after the discovery of five bodies of suspected illegal miners in Riverlea and the neighbouring Zamimpilo informal settlement. Police have since linked the killings to a shoot-out between two rival groups of illegal miners. Residents have called for the deployment of the army to the area to restore law and order. They claimed the police were no match for the armed miners. Cele has visited the area twice since residents took to the streets in protest and police confirmed the deployment of forces including the national intervention unit (NIU) and tactical response team (TRT). Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili said the deployments would remain in the area until illegal mining activities had been stabilised. She said police have confiscated illegal miners’ tools of trade including pendukas, gas bottles and bags of gold-bearing sand. PA ward councillor and resident Theo Doyle confirmed a “heavy police presence” in the area since Tuesday night. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khanyisile Ngcobo at SowetanLive. Read too, Frustrated top cop fumes over zama-zamas opening shut mine shafts, at IOL
Report reveals 73% of earners received below R6,000 per month, while 3.3% earned more than R52,000 The Citizen reports that income inequality in SA has once again been demonstrated by the findings of a report on personal income estimates. The Household Wealth Research Division of the Bureau of Market Research’s report on personal income estimates for SA from 2018 to 2022 found that 73.7% of the adult population earned below R73,351 per year (less than about R6,110 per month), while only 3.3% earned more than R625,992 per year (about R52,170 per month). Low income earners accounted for 10% of cash flow income, high income earners accounted for 44.8%, while 23% of the adult population relied mainly on grants as their cash flow income source. The most alarming finding was that 32.1% of the adult (older than 15) population did not receive any form of cash flow income, instead depending on in-kind transfers and support from friends and relatives. Women also got the short end of the stick in respect of income inequality. The report showed that although 47.3% of the adult population were male, they earned 58.5% of the cash flow income in the country. According to the report, total income increased from R5.19 trillion in 2021 to R5.64 trillion in 2022, an annual increase of 8.7%. The main source of growth originated from investment incomes, recording an annual increase of 30.5%, while the growth in the other sources of income remained relatively muted at close to 5%. The research also showed that there was a positive correlation between educational qualifications and income earning potential. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ina Opperman at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Rules are rules only when they are registered, ConCourt tells municipal pension fund BusinessLive reports that the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) on Wednesday ruled that pension funds cannot simply backdate changes to their rules, however important, without first registering the change with the authorities. This overturned a previous decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The ConCourt ruling came after a municipal worker found his pension fund payout was less than he expected because the fund changed its rules after his resignation and applied the change retrospectively, but without registering the rule change. Pandelani Mudau was an employee of the Vhembe District Municipality for more than a decade and thus a member of the Municipal Employees Pension Fund. When he resigned in May 2013, he became entitled to withdrawal benefits from the fund in terms of its then rule. The old rule indicated that on resignation he would be entitled to three times his contribution plus interest. However, in June 2013, after the fund was warned in an actuarial report that it would not meet its future liabilities, the administrators amended the rule. Instead of three times, the benefit would now only be one-and-a-half times. The amended new rule was to apply retrospectively from 1 April, almost two months before Mudau’s resignation. In July 2013, the fund applied to the relevant authority to register its new rule, which was only reflected a year later. In October 2013, Mudau received his withdrawal benefit. It amounted to about R650,000 in terms of the new rule instead of about R2.1m in terms of the old rule. Writing on Wednesday, ConCourt judge Jody Kollapen indicated: “Although amended rules may have retrospective effect after registration, they do not have binding effect before registration.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tauriq Moosa at BusinessLive
Seventeenth accused in R2.2bn Kusile power station corruption case gets R100,000 bail News24 reports that the seventeenth person arrested in the R2.2 billion Kusile power station corruption case was released on R100,000 bail when he appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday. Lesetsa Johannes Mutchinya was charged with money laundering in the Mpumalanga Commercial Crimes Court. It is alleged that millions of rand were deposited into the bank accounts of his various companies before they were paid to some of his co-accused. Mutchinya was arrested at his home in Soshanguve on Wednesday morning. The businessman joins 16 others, including former Eskom group CEO Matshela Koko, his wife Mosima, his stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, and other co-accused in the case. Investigating Directorate spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka advised: "We can't rule out [more arrests] at this stage. During the previous court appearance, we indicated that we were wrapping up our investigation as best we could. Through that, we [could] stumble on further persons that could be added.” Mutchinya, Koko, Mosima, Choma and others are expected back in court on 4 September. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntwaagae Seleka at News24 Covid-19 corruption: Three years on, KZN social development hearings drag on News24 reports that three years after they were implicated in a R4.9 million Covid-19 corruption scandal involving blankets meant for the poor, three chief directors in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Social Development (DSD) have yet to account fully before a disciplinary inquiry. In April, the department put all its suspensions, including the three senior managers, on hold and instructed the employees to return to work "as part of a broader government decision to ensure timely and efficient finalisation of all disciplinary hearings", in line with a provincial government circular on 6 February 2023. The circular requested all departments to review all current precautionary suspension cases, pushing all departments to ensure that employees were "gainfully employed while finalisation of their cases was still pending". The DSD then scheduled the disciplinary hearing for the three senior managers to take place in July, but a spokesperson advised that the hearing would only be completed in December. He said: “The disciplinary hearing for three chief directors is now at the tail end. The matter sat on 19 to 23 July 2023. However, it was not finalised. The matter was then postponed to 30 November 2023 to 8 December 2023. The delay to complete this matter should be attributed to the busy schedule of the presiding officer, advocate Moerane.” It emerged in June that the provincial department had paid out more than R14 million in salaries, bonuses and leave days to suspended employees, who were at home after being implicated in the blanket tender deal. These salary payments preceded the provincial government's decision to instruct suspended employees to return to work. Meantime, the National Prosecuting Authority has declined to prosecute. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Soyiso Maliti at News24 (subscriber access only)
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