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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SA unemployment rate dipped to 32.6% in second quarter, but remained extremely high BL Premium reports that SA’s unemployment rate fell by more than expected in the second quarter, helped mostly by a sizeable increase in formal sector employment. However, at 32.6% it remained exceedingly high by both historical and international standards. Stats SA data released on Tuesday showed the official unemployment rate inched down by 0.3 of a percentage point from 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023. SA managed to create more than 2-million jobs over the past seven quarters. In the second quarter, the unemployment rate according to the expanded definition decreased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 42.1%. The economy added 153,914 jobs in the second quarter, a 1% quarterly increase compared to the first three months of the year. The increase in quarterly employment was broad-based, with six out of 10 sectors recording job gains. But the prevailing economic weakness alongside the impact of load-shedding and the country’s logistics challenges continue to pose a downside risk to the ongoing labour market momentum. SA youth unemployment registered at 60.7% in the second quarter, or 70.1% when using the expanded definition. Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings commented that it was clear that youth unemployment remained SA’s most important economic challenge and highlighted the extreme difficulty young people experienced in trying to obtain their first job opportunity, irrespective of qualifications. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thuletho Zwane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Number of employed South Africans almost back to pre-Covid level as jobless rate dips, at Fin24 No sign of the jobs Ramaphosa promised three years ago, Fedusa laments TimesLIVE reports that the latest employment and unemployment data released by Stats SA on Tuesday, which showed a slight decrease in unemployment, are said to mean “very little” to millions of South Africans who are languishing across the country after years of exclusion from the labour market. This was said by the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) in reaction to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, which showed that official unemployment decreased from 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 32.6% in the second quarter. “While we acknowledge that the increase of the number of employed people by 154,000 to 16.3-million in the second quarter is better than a decline, we believe that much effort ought to be placed on reviving the economy to enable job creation,” the labour federation said. It pointed out that it was now almost three years since President Cyril Ramaphosa launched an economic recovery plan to a joint sitting of parliament “and we are yet to witness the fruits of the employment stimulus that was meant to create jobs and support livelihoods.” Fedusa noted: “Businesses and industry have spelt out what is needed to enable them to create jobs. However, even with that clarity, we are still faced with this bleak reality.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Over 230,000 applications received for 6,044 posts advertised in top 15 jobs of Nasi iSpani programme TimesLIVE reports that Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi indicated on Tuesday that 234,134 job applications were received for the 6,044 posts advertised in the top 15 jobs of the Nasi iSpani recruitment programme. The road and transport department (6,000 posts) received the most applications at 27,873, the community safety department (one post) received 25,508 applications and the agricultural and rural development (one post) received 20,816. “We’ve concluded all the administrative tasks of capturing all applications. We are ready to resume with public shortlisting from August 20 and public interviews. We are working on the best available mechanism,” Lesufi advised. He added: “We intend to start appointing successful candidates (outside the top 15 highest applied for vacancies) and possibly conclude by September 25. We will issue appointment letters to all successful applicants in an open and transparent manner.” Last month, Lesufi reported that 1.2-million applications were received for the 8,000 jobs advertised on the programme. The Nasi iSpani initiative is set to hand out 6,000 new jobs a month until July 2024. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Unathi Nkanjeni at SowetanLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
‘Just doing my best’, says hero who jumped into collapsing trench to save workers The Citizen reports that Jan Botha didn’t think twice about risking his own life to try to save workers trapped in a collapsing trench. He just jumped in, but doesn’t think he’s a hero. “I’m just an ordinary man doing my best,” he said. And even now, days after the tragedy in Capital Park in Pretoria, in which three workers died, Botha remembers: “I didn’t think about anything else but helping the people stuck in the hole. I didn’t even consider my own safety.” It still bothers him that he and other rescuers didn’t manage to save all the workers, who had been there for weeks trying to fix an ongoing sewage problem. Botha, a member of the Capital Park Community Policing Forum (CPF), dug in the soil to try and free one of the workers who was stuck in the ground. While he was inside the trench, the ground kept on collapsing and falling on them. Botha said when he jumped into the trench, he could only see two contract workers and didn’t know how many there were in total. “When we freed the first guy, I saw the second worker. We managed to dig out half of his body and I felt if he had a pulse. I don’t what happened, but he didn’t make it,” he said. The City of Tshwane Emergency Management Services arrived at the scene and took over. Botha said he didn’t see the third or fourth worker at all. But the worker they freed from the collapsing ground wall climbed back into the trench and held the other worker in his arms while crying and they had to take him out again. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzer at The Citizen (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Samwu demands that Tshwane take responsibility for attack on Sunday on employee The Citizen reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) and the City of Tshwane are at loggerheads over who should take responsibility for the attack on a municipal employee on Sunday. Gauteng Samwu’s Mpho Tladinyane demanded that the city should take responsibility for the attack in which the employee, who is also a member of the union, was shot. Noting that an employee of the city and Samwu member had been accosted and shot at by individuals who robbed him of the municipal vehicle he had been travelling in,” city manager Johann Mettler said of the attack: “This incident is deplorable, and we plead with law enforcement to find the suspects, lock them up and throw the keys away. We will not cower in the face of intimidation by thugs. If the perpetrators are found to be our employees they will be booted out of the employ of the city.” Meanwhile, Tladinyane said Samwu would continue to use all avenues at its disposal to ensure that the city complied with the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) salary and wage collective agreement. “We will be opposing this frivolous and vexatious (exemption) application by the city in the SALGBC later this month,” he said. City spokesperson Selby Bokaba reported that city had filed the salary and wage increases exemption application at the SALGBC last Thursday. It is waiting for the application between the city, Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union to be heard at the council next week. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzer at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
Santaco vows to approach court over latest wave of Cape Town taxi impoundments News24 reports that the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) is not happy about the latest impoundment of minibus taxis and has vowed to approach the courts to interdict the City of Cape Town. Taxi officials falling under Santaco were locked on Monday in urgent talks after 14 taxis were impounded over the weekend by the City despite an agreement in place to end the impoundment of taxis for minor offences. Santaco secretary Ryno Saaiers reported: "Court intervention on issues of the dispute between the parties was tabled, and it was agreed that this option should still be explored." Santaco staged an eight-day strike earlier this month against the City impounding dozens of vehicles over a range of infractions, including number plates not being displayed. While the association was not happy about the latest impoundments, it quickly dismissed claims of possible further strike action. Part of the agreement that ended the strike was that the Minibus Taxi Task Team – made up of representatives from the City, the Western Cape government and Santaco – must finalise a list of major and minor offences for which vehicles can either be impounded or fined. The task team was scheduled to meet on Tuesday, but Santaco requested a postponement. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Class-action lawsuit targets coal producers over occupational diseases BusinessLive reports that human rights lawyers representing coal mineworkers filed a class-action lawsuit against global mining companies South32, BHP Billiton and Seriti Power on Tuesday. They are seeking “legal remedies for sick miners and the families of workers who died due to coal-mine dust lung disease” and associated illnesses. The application for certification of a class action was filed by human rights law firm Richard Spoor Inc in the Johannesburg High Court. Spoor explained: “It is a strategic step. The companies must now decide if they want to oppose the idea of a class action.” The applicants also plan to file similar actions against Exxaro, Glencore and Anglo Coal (in 2021 Anglo American completed the demerger of its thermal coal assets in SA to Thungela). The class action is being brought by 17 class representatives, but Spoor could not confirm the number of families and individuals who would join the class action, and could therefore not provide a reliable estimate of the total value of compensation that would be claimed. It is proposed in the founding affidavit that individual claims be quantified based on the period a miner worked, loss of earnings and future medical expenses, among other things. The case was initiated by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Labour Relations Registrar refused leave to appeal order directing him to register Simunye Workers Forum GroundUp reports that the Johannesburg Labour Court has refused the Registrar of Labour Relations leave to appeal against an order directing him to register the Simunye Workers Forum (SWF) as a trade union. The SWF is an off-shoot of the Casual Workers Advice Office and has about 6,600 members, mainly casual workers. Once registered, it will be able to represent its members in disciplinary hearings, wage negotiations and in matters before the CCMA. The forum first went to court after the registrar repeatedly refused to register it as a union. Judge Andre van Niekerk indicated in his ruling handed down on Monday that there were no prospects of success in an appeal. “The reality is that the registrar has imposed a range of requirements (for registration) that do not appear in the Labour Relations Act (LRA),” he pointed out. The registrar had argued that the judge had been wrong when he originally ruled that the SWF had a compliant constitution. But Judge van Niekerk said that while the registrar was correct that the LRA treated unions equally, he was wrong in assuming that it necessarily followed that unions which did not adopt organisational structures which replicated those of unions currently registered could not be registered. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp
Fuel prices likely to be significantly higher in September BusinessLive reports that going on the latest unaudited mid-month fuel data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), motorists could be facing a lot more pain at the pumps in September. Based on the current data, ULP95 petrol shows an increase of about R1.39/l, with regular ULP93 expected to rise by R1.36/l. It looks like bad news for owners of diesel-powered vehicles too, with the price of 0.05% sulphur looking set to go up by a whopping R2.60/l, while 0.005% sulphur diesel could cost motorists an additional R2.59/l. These substantial increases can be attributed to a weakening rand and rising international oil prices. While these potential adjustments are not yet set in stone, the data is looking grim and motorists should prepare to fork out a lot more for all grades of fuel come 6 September. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessLive
Solidarity report shows that SA does not have enough money to fund the NHI The Solidarity Research Institute’s (SRI’s) latest report shows that the government does not have the funds needed to implement the planned National Health Insurance (NHI) in SA. It shows that the National Treasury would need an ‘insane’ additional amount of R296 billion to finance the scheme. In June 2023, the NHI Bill was accepted by parliament, but there were barely any details of how it was supposed to work. According to Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the SRI, very accurate assumptions can now be made about the total estimated costs for the NHI due to the clarity on the government’s plans to include the entire private health sector in the NHI. “With the help of the national budget, we can make a realistic estimation of the cost. It is now clear that the NHI is absolutely unfeasible,” said Du Buisson. There is, furthermore, very little information available on how the state is planning to fund the NHI. The preliminary indication from the state is that funds will be obtained by an income tax surcharge and payroll tax, therefore affecting anyone who earns an income – especially the low-income groups. The report clarifies how the NHI will result in all citizens paying a lot more – and that for poorer healthcare services. Solidarity said it was convinced that the NHI Bill was financially simply unfeasible and should be repealed in its entirety. Read Solidarity’s press statement and download the complete report at Solidarity News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Former fisheries deputy director-general in court for allegedly failing to report fraud News24 reports that a former fisheries deputy director-general (DDG), who is accused of not reporting alleged fraud that she knew about to the police, has been granted bail of R100,000. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said on Tuesday that Siphokazi Ndudane, a former DDG of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, appeared in the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court after having been arrested on Monday. Ndudane was charged with two counts of contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004. According to Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani, during the period from 2016 to 2019 Ndudane allegedly failed to report incidents of fraud brought to her attention in her capacity as DDG. Two contracts were cited, the cancellation of which Ndudane saw to, but she was still on the hook for allegedly not informing the police. One involved a R2.2-million contract awarded to a company that did not have the required permit for the specialised work, and the second involved a R30-million contract to a company that submitted a fake tax certificate. The NPA claimed that, despite advice from colleagues, Ndudane allegedly opted to settle the matters and did not report suspicions of fraud to the police, as was required by someone in her position. Her case was postponed to 19 September. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Jenni Evans at News24 Six men accused of killing whistleblower Babita Deokaran likely to enter plea agreement and avoid trial The Citizen reports that the case against six men accused murdering whistle-blower Babita Deokaran has been postponed to 22 August. They made a brief appearance in the Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday to start their trial and were remanded in custody until their next appearance. State prosecutor Steven Reuben asked for the postponement to allow the parties to finalise their plea and sentence agreements. This effectively means the matter will not go to trial. Deokaran was shot several times outside her complex in Mondeor, south of Johannesburg, on 23 August 2021 after flagging corruption in the Gauteng health department’s procurement of Covid personal protective equipment (PPE) to the value of R332 million. She was also a key witness in several corruption investigations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) related to procurement in the province. The 53-year-old was the acting chief financial officer at the Gauteng department of health and was shot in what is believed to be a hit. Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised a SIU probe into alleged corruption networks involving R1 billion at Tembisa Hospital. He signed the proclamation last week, nearly two years after Deokaran was gunned down. Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health Jack Bloom welcomed the proclamation by Ramaphosa and said: “We need to see speedy justice for the murder of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran who tried to stop the suspicious payments at Tembisa Hospital.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen. Read too, Ramaphosa unleashes SIU in R1bn Tembisa Hospital scandal, at News24 (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Cape Town threatens President with formal dispute process over rail services GroundUp reports that an intergovernmental dispute will be declared by the City of Cape Town against the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) if President Cyril Ramaphosa does not respond to a request to create a joint working committee on rail devolution by 31 August. This was indicated by Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Monday, and comes after numerous attempts by the city to negotiate a service level agreement with Prasa, which runs Metrorail. The need for a properly functioning train service in Cape Town was underlined by last week’s taxi strike in which five people were killed and Golden Arrow buses, private vehicles and public infrastructure were torched, while commuters were stranded and unable to get home or to work. The strike “demonstrated the urgent need for a safe, affordable passenger rail system”, Hill-Lewis said. According to the city’s latest comprehensive integrated transport plan, of the 33% of Cape Town commuters who rely on public transport, 67% use minibus taxis and just 6% use rail, which is a 95% decline in rail users since 2012. The remaining 27% use bus services such as Golden Arrow or MyCiTi. In the face of Prasa’s failure to maintain and manage its rail service, the city wants to run it. A service level agreement with Prasa would form the foundation of “the long-awaited devolution of rail” to the city, Hill-Lewis said, allowing the metropolitan municipality to ensure a safe, reliable and affordable rail service. A service level agreement with Prasa is legally required by the National Land Transport Act, but repeated requests to Prasa to comply have been snubbed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Steve Kretzmann at BusinessLive. Lees ook, Burgemeester wil dispuut verklaar oor vrotsige spoordiens, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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