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 Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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City of Tshwane withdraws bus services amid strike violence TimesLIVE reports that Tshwane Bus Services and A Re Yeng were the latest operations to be withdrawn in the city this week after several incidents of violence and destruction of property. Three trucks from the water and sanitation division, an A Re Yeng bus, a Tshwane bakkie and a water tanker were damaged in violent attacks in Pretoria CBD this week. Four of the vehicles were torched and at least one employee was assaulted and taken to hospital in a serious condition. MMC for roads and transport Katlego Mathebe said the decision to suspend operations on Wednesday was in the interest of the safety of commuters and employees. “It is important that we protect city infrastructure from these criminal acts. It is now clear that the city is no longer dealing with an illegal strike action, we are now dealing with a well-co-ordinated criminal attack on our infrastructure.” The city would intensify efforts to get the bus services back on track when it was safer to do so, Mathebe added. Some City of Tshwane workers downed tools in July after the metro said it did not have the cash to increase wages. The SA Local Government Bargaining Council this week dismissed an application by the Tshwane metro to exempt it from implementing the last leg of a multi-term wage deal reached in the council in 2021. The city administration said on Tuesday it intended to challenge the ruling. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at BusinessLive Tshwane opposition parties call for end to Samwu strike by paying salary increases The Citizen reports that opposition parties have called on Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink to swallow his pride and pay striking municipal workers their increases. According to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Tshwane chief whip, Godwin Ratikwane, there was no option for workers to give up. “If they give up, the city will use the same tactics to fight them in the future,” he argued and opined that the city had no legal reasons to claim it didn’t have the money to pay the workers. “If they didn’t have money, the bargaining council would have sided with the city, but they didn’t,” he pointed out. According to Ratikwane, the Democratic Alliance-led coalition did not have majority support for the strike. “Look at the ACDP (African Christian Democratic Party). They were clear and believed this must come to an end. Look at what ActionSA said, you can see there were cracks in the coalition,” he indicated. “Clearly, the cost of the strike outweighs what the city stands to gain in this prolonged strike,” Ratikwane added. Transformation Alliance leader Abel Tau said the mayor had bitten off more than he could chew and the city must acknowledge it had erred in its judgment. “There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging you were wrong,” he noted. Xiluva’s Oupa Mathibela called for all parties to exercise restraint in the interests of the people of Tshwane and to resolve the strike quickly. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzer at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Man in court over hijacking, kidnapping and robberies of paramedics in Tshwane in two incidents in July News24 reports that police have arrested a person in connection with two incidents in which paramedics were hijacked, kidnapped and robbed while responding to distress calls in Tshwane. In one incident in Nellmapius, Mamelodi, on 22 July, two paramedics – a man and a woman – were responding to the distress call of a 48-year-old who had collapsed, when they were attacked. The paramedics were taken to a shack in the bushes, where they were tied up, while the assailants drove away with the ambulance. Another crew was hijacked the following day and robbed in Brazzaville, Atteridgeville. The man suspected of being behind these attacks appeared in Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Thursday. Paramedics were in attendance. The health department's Motalatale Modiba said healthcare workers had in recent times found themselves under attack when doing their work in communities, leading to a call for law enforcement agencies to act swiftly in bringing perpetrators to book. Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko welcomed the man's arrest. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Botho Molosankwe at News24
SACP denounces National Treasury’s ‘attack’ on public service bargaining The Star reports that the SA Communist Party (SACP) has denounced the National Treasury’s attack on public service bargaining. According to the party, the National Treasury did not budget for salary increases for public servants in order to force national departments, public entities, and provincial governments to cut budgets for other priorities. "This comes out clearly in a widely circulated leaked National Treasury letter dated August 31, 2023. The SACP is gravely concerned at signals spearheaded by the National Treasury, indicating that it intends further tightening austerity. In the letter, the National Treasury is calling for a freeze on new personnel appointments and procurement for new infrastructure development projects, among others," a SACP statement noted. The party said that while it understood the challenges that a stagnation-induced under collection of revenue would create for the funding of public programmes, it did not agree that neoliberal austerity was an appropriate response any more than it had been in the recent past. The party said that instead of acting as the enforcer of cuts, reinforcing stagnation and leading to yet more cuts, the central task of the National Treasury as administrator of fiscal policy was to mobilise the additional resources required to support key developmental programmes, both on and off budget. The SACP also said that it was deeply concerned at the apparent inability of the ANC-led government to chart any course out of the vicious cycle of cuts, reinforcing stagnation and leading to more cuts. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lehlohonolo Mashigo at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Sibanye-Stillwater starts retrenchment talks at Kloof, with 3,000 jobs on the line Fin24 reports that Sibanye-Stillwater has issued retrenchment notices at its Kloof 4 shaft, which could potentially affect as many as 3,000 workers at the gold mining operation near Carletonville. This was due to ongoing losses over an extended period and operational constraints at the Kloof 4 shaft. The possible restructuring of the Kloof 4 shaft could potentially affect 2,389 employees and 581 contractor employees, Sibanye indicated. "We will engage with all relevant stakeholders in an effort to avoid job losses while attempting to limit the impact on the remainder of the operations and employees at the SA gold operations", said Richard Cox, head of the Sibanye's SA gold operations. Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of Solidarity, said the union would fight tooth and nail to preserve as many jobs as possible. He stated: "It is very bad timing, because it means that it's again a bleak Christmas for those who face retrenchment. We will now go through the process, and we just hope for a very similar outcome as at Beatrix [and Kloof 1], where we managed to find many transfer opportunities, and we just hope that the same thing will happen. Nevertheless, we have never been through a process where so many people are affected that you can save every job, so it's still a very dire situation." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at News24. Read too, Sibanye retrenchment sword hangs over 2,400 workers, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Limpopo police arrest five illegal miners in Thabazimbi, seize chrome worth R90,000 IOL reports that five suspected illegal miners were arrested and chrome worth an estimated street value of R90,000 was recovered in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the five, aged between 39 and 58, were arrested at Sebilong village. Members of the Thabazimbi Crime Intelligence and Waterberg Illegal Mining Combating Task Team activated an operation after receiving information about the suspect's presence and their activities. "On arrival at the said location, the police found a truck with two trailers loaded with chrome worth an estimated street value of about R90,000 and also a TLB ( tractor loader backhoe). Five suspects were then arrested, and the trucks and trailers seized," Ledwaba reported. The suspects are expected to appear in the Thabazimbi Magistrate's Court on Friday. In July, the Directorate for Priority Crime seized mining equipment worth R9 million at illegal mining sites outside Rustenburg in the North West. Suspected illegal miners fled when the police arrived at the Tweelaagte and Skeerpoort sites. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Molaole Montsho at IOL Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Hundreds of mostly young people queue for hours in Cape Town in hopes of a call-centre job GroundUp reports that hundreds of jobseekers queued on Wednesday in the hope of work in a call centre in Cape Town’s city centre. The queue snaked around the block in two directions from the building. People in the queue, most of them young, said they had heard that digital company EXL was holding an “open day” and jobseekers could bring in their CV. Some had been there for hours. While some people in the queue said they had already worked in call centres, others had no call centre experience or no work experience at all. ‘‘To me this job offer is a temporary solution rather than a long term career path,” remarked one woman in the queue, a recent graduate with an education degree from Fort Hare. She said she hoped for a job to meet her basic needs. In March 2023, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) found that the unemployment rate was just under 33%. If discouraged work seekers were taken into account, more than 40% of the workforce was unemployed. Youth unemployment was the most acute as more than 62% of 15-24-year-olds and more than 40% of 25-34-year-olds were unemployed at the beginning of the year. SA has one of the highest rates of youth unemployment in the world. But call centre work has seen “exceptional growth” over the past decade according to an industry report for 2021. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mary-Anne Gontsana & Ella Morrison at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Food prices skyrocket at nearly double the inflation rate, Competition Commission report finds City Press reports that while overall inflation has declined, food inflation, on the other hand, remains at nearly twice the inflation rate for all goods and services. This was revealed in an Essential Food Pricing Monitoring (EFPM) report released by the Competition Commission on Wednesday. It shares evidence of ‘rocket and feather’ effects in maize meal, cooking oil and bread, and provides an in-depth overview of the beef value chain in the country. Rocket and feather effects are a phenomenon in inflation, also known as asymmetric price transmission when the downstream of prices react differently to upstream price changes, depending on the characteristics of upstream prices. The report reads: “Bread and wheat prices fell by approximately 10% during the first quarter of the year, but producer and retailer prices for bread both rose by 3% in this period and only started to drop in the second quarter of the year.” The report also reveals that white maize prices have fallen consistently by 23% since February, but producer and retail prices for maize meal have yet to decline. The commission said it was actively monitoring essential food prices and investigating the factors driving food inflation to ensure transparency regarding the profit margins set by producers and retailers of these products. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Majavu at City Press. Read too, South Africans overpaying for certain food items, says Competition Commission, at EWN. And also, Six key reasons why food prices stay high despite low inflation, at IOL
Gungubele says mass resignations of Postbank directors was to avoid accountability for unlawful contract Mail & Guardian reports that while some 100,000 social grant beneficiaries still awaited grant payouts after a “technical glitch” last week, the minister of communications and digital technologies, Mondli Gungubele, removed the board of directors of the SA Postbank amid allegations of an unlawful contract worth R140 million. Gungubele and social development minister Lindiwe Zulu on Thursday briefed the media about the system outage that affected nearly 600,000 beneficiaries of the older persons and disability grants. But the minister’s address was overshadowed by questions about the mass resignations of the Postbank’s board of directors and chairperson on Tuesday, including allegations of meddling by the minister. In a letter, dated 12 September and addressed to Gungubele, the non-executive directors and the chairperson of the Postbank board announced their resignations with immediate effect. The resignations took place two days ahead of the Postbank’s annual general meeting. Gungubele described the resignations as “pre-emptive” as one of the fundamental problems with the board included the continuation of an illegal contract valued at “no less than R140 million”. He said the resignations of the board members prevented them from taking responsibility for the matter. On Thursday, the day of the annual general meeting, Gungubele removed the board, which had already resigned, as well as the only remaining board director. In respect of beneficiaries who received a monthly grant from the SA Social Security Agency, the Postbank’s CEO, Ntomboxolo Nikki Mbengashe, said that by Thursday nearly 90% of the 600,000 beneficiaries had received their payments. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Eunice Masson at Mail & Guardian. Read too, Gungubele ignores Postbank directors' resignations, fires them anyway, at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Drakenstein mayor faces independent probe over pay-for-jobs allegations News24 reports that Drakenstein municipality speaker Koos le Roux has given the green light for an independent investigation into pay-for-jobs allegations against Mayor Conrad Poole. It has been alleged that members of the mayor's executive have been paying Poole a monthly kickback. "A written complaint [was] received at my office, which triggered the prescribed process in terms of the code of conduct for councillors. The investigator will be briefed and requested to provide a report within 30 days," Le Roux indicated. The scope of the forensic investigation will include the alleged contravention of the code of conduct for councillors. The probe against Poole comes after the Good party requested a council investigation into allegations of corruption against the mayor and members of his mayoral committee. Responding to the allegations against him, Poole said he was innocent. Good called on the DA to do the right thing and suspend Mayor Poole while the formal investigation was under way. The DA in the Western Cape said it would await the outcome of the probe. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24
Ekurhuleni director for employee relations, Xolani Nciza, suspended for 'fake' qualifications News24 reports that Xolani Nciza, ANC Gauteng secretary TK Nciza's brother and an Ekurhuleni official earning nearly R2 million annually, has been suspended for allegedly submitting fraudulent academic qualifications for his senior city post. But Xolani said on Wednesday that he would be legally challenging his "laughable" suspension. He claimed that he gave proof of his education when the city vetted him five years ago before he was appointed the director for employee relations in Ekurhuleni's human resources department. Xolani, in a letter dated 7 September, was informed by his supervisor, Linda Gxasheka, that he was being put on ice for "[failing] to comply with the instructions" to provide original copies of his qualifications when asked on 25 July and 2 August.” Gxasheka is Ekurhuleni's head of human resources. She requested academic documentation included Nciza's matric certificate, Bachelor of Law degree and advanced labour law certification. "In addition, you were required to submit an affidavit confirming that the abovementioned qualifications were obtained,” Gxasheka indicated. Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini advised: "The City of Ekurhuleni can confirm that Mr Xolani Nciza has been placed on three months suspension, pending an investigation into the allegations of qualifications and insubordination.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khaya Koko at News24 (subscriber access only)
Solidarity highlights ‘insane’ NHI plans in its comments to NCOP In Solidarity’s comments to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the trade union will highlight the ‘insanity’ of the government's planned National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. The deadline for comments on the NHI Bill is Friday, 15 September and Solidarity said it intended to use that opportunity to make its voice heard. It is the union’s view that the ‘ill-considered’ NHI plans are unaffordable, impracticable and unnecessary. “These three arguments indicate why any plans to continue with the NHI are driven only by the ANC government’s ideology and hunger for centralist power. Studies by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) make this abundantly clear,” Solidarity argued in a statement on Thursday. According to Connie Mulder, head of the Solidarity Research Institute, each of the above reasons should weigh heavily enough on their own for the NHI to be abandoned. “Contrary to how it is being presented, the NHI will not improve the lives of poor South Africans. Quite the reverse, it will negatively affect the standard of living of everyone in the country, but especially plunge poor South Africans further into misery,” Mulder said. Solidarity has already indicated that it will take the government to court if it does not abandon plans to implement the NHI. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard in full at Politicsweb
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