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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SA’s finances are in a parlous state, finance minister warns Bloomberg reports that SA’s public finances are in a poor state, with the government failing to meet its tax-collection targets and tighter financial conditions making it difficult to borrow more at affordable rates, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has warned. Short-term risks to the local and global economy identified at the time of the budget in February have materialised, Godongwana indicated on Wednesday. Ongoing power cuts, logistical constraints and the consequences of a campaign to loot state funds during former President Jacob Zuma’s nine-year presidency had made the difficult fiscal situation more challenging, he pointed out. There was “tremendous strain on the financial resources we have available to address our most urgent service delivery priorities. We have faced similar challenges in the past and managed to make the necessary policy decisions and trade-offs to navigate the storm,” said Godongwana. The National Treasury has already signaled to government departments that they will need to pare back spending to meet its debt-stabilisation targets. Edgar Sishi, the head of the Treasury’s budget office, said there was little scope to raise taxes because South African rates were already uncompetitive and other options needed to be considered to stabilise the state’s finances. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mike Cohen at Moneyweb No cuts for infrastructure and social services, Godongwana tells MPs BL Premium reports that the government does not intend to cut spending on infrastructure and social services, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in parliament on Wednesday. He also said that the government’s strategy of fiscal consolidation on its own would fail if there was no economic growth and that the National Treasury’s economic growth forecasts were “credible”. Godongwana said the government’s commitment to increase government investment remained, but spending might have to be curtailed if there was no capacity to spend the money this year. The minister was answering questions in the context of plummeting tax revenue and the Treasury’s notice to departments to cut budgets. There have been concerns that these cuts might affect the payment of social grants, especially the Covid-19 social relief of distress grant. On social services, Godongwana said the government had “no intention of having a negative impact” on it. Efforts would be made to protect labour-intensive departments – health, education and the police – from the effects of the R37.4bn wage settlement as they would be most affected. The Treasury has instructed departments and provinces to freeze the hiring of new employees. It has also frozen advertising for new procurement contracts for all infrastructure projects unless approved by the Treasury. It has instructed drastic cuts to spending on travel as well as on catering, conferences and workshops. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Godongwana faces pushback from Cosatu and SACP against Treasury budget cuts BL Premium reports that Finance Minister Enoch Godogwana is facing political pushback from the ANC’s alliance partners, Cosatu and the SA Communist Party (SACP), against the National Treasury’s proposed budget cuts aimed at reining in public spending over the medium term. Godongwana met party officials and alliance partners on Monday where the finance minister was asked to explain Treasury’s proposed budget cuts. The plans include hiking taxes and reducing the number of government departments. Godongwana apparently remained resolute about implementing the wide-ranging proposals, despite pushback from ANC officials and alliance partners at the meeting. “It was a very tense meeting,” said a source. The meeting was attended by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane, chair Gwede Mantashe and treasury-general Gwen Ramokgopa. “The alliance partners pushed back against retrenchments of public servants and advocated for the government to allow for natural attrition within the public service. Cosatu said the government should fix Transnet and Eskom before cutting salaries of public servants,” said another source. One of the main bones of contention was the Treasury’s proposal to hike VAT by two percentage points to fund an additional year of the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant. While the SA Federation of Trade Unions was not present at the meeting, its spokesperson Trevor Shaku said the Treasury’s proposals were likely to affect service delivery. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko & Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Treasury has lost the plot with VAT proposals, says Solidarity BusinessTech reports that trade union Solidarity says that a reported proposal by National Treasury to hike VAT by 2% to pay for social grants is crazy. The speculated VAT hike is reportedly one of several proposals put forward by the Treasury at high-level meetings with other government officials this month, as it seeks to find ways to boost revenue to pay for the state’s expanding social spending needs amid a widening budget deficit. SA’s budget is being hit from both sides. Revenues are down, while expenditure is up, with the higher-than-budget public sector wage settlement becoming the major drag on the fiscal position. According to Solidarity, VAT hikes in particular, have been put forward as a way to ensure the continued payment of the R350 social relief of distress grant. However, Solidarity warned on Wednesday that the reality of the move would be far from the expected result and would ultimately prove counter-intuitive. “If such a step is decided upon, it will unnecessarily put already vulnerable households in South Africa under even greater pressure,” Solidarity pointed out. “The solution to the expected budget deficit must be sought on the expenditure side. The state urgently needs to rein in its spending and relinquish more of its tasks to the private sector. The government must realise that it simply has no more money to pursue pipe dreams such as the NHI and all sorts of other nonsensical ideas,” said Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI). He added: “The real solution is urgent economic growth. Disposable come is the decisive factor to achieve this, and a tax increase will put this under even more pressure. The government should instead focus on removing obstacles for the private sector and solving the electricity crisis with the help of the private sector.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessTech. Read Solidarity’s full report on planned VAT increases here Solidarity warns that freezing of social development jobs could result in a social crisis Solidarity’s Social Workers’ Network expressed concern on Wednesday about the impact that the freezing of jobs may have particularly on the social landscape in SA. This followed proposed austerity measures put forward by the National Treasury in a recent memorandum to government departments, including the Department of Social Development (DSD). The measures included a ban on new appointments and new public projects, and the cutting of funds amid unprecedented fiscal pressure and dire economic conditions. According to the trade union, even though savings were needed, “further irresponsible measures could result in a social crisis.” Bianca Smit, coordinator of Solidarity’s Social Workers’ Network, warned that steps to freeze all jobs within the DSD would have dire consequences. “The ratio between a social worker and the recommended number of cases each worker must handle is 1 to 60. Yet, most social workers currently deal with two or three times as much on a scale of about 1 to 180. Should job appointments be frozen now, the availability of social services decline, which leads to longer waiting periods for help as well as limited access to social support for vulnerable communities,” Smit said. Solidarity appealed to the government to take the consequences of limitations on social workers’ jobs into account when making decisions about austerity measures. Helgard Cronjé, Solidarity’s deputy general secretary of the public sector, agreed that the government should drastically apply austerity measures, but noted that DSD had its own unique challenges so “any vacant social workers’ jobs within the DSD should be prioritised and classified as critical.” Read Solidarity’s press release in the above regard at Politicsweb Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Death toll rises to three in SA Navy submarine incident off Kommetjie TimesLIVE reports that an adult female was extricated from a vessel off Hout Bay on Wednesday afternoon, bringing to three the number of people who were killed in an incident involving a South African Navy submarine. National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon said seven people were brought to shore at Slangkop Lighthouse off Kommetjie near Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon. CPR was conducted on two adult males who were declared dead on the scene, one male was airlifted to hospital and four were in a satisfactory condition and not required to go to hospital. “During the later afternoon one person was extricated from a naval vessel in the vicinity of Hout Bay. Sadly that patient, an adult female, was declared dead,” Lambinon indicated. The incident will be investigated by the navy. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at TimesLIVE. Read too, Naval mariners drown, more saved in rescue operation off Kommetjie, at BusinessLive. And also, Three dead after rescue operation on submarine in Cape Town, at IOL Sapu's proposal to declare cop killings treason met with scepticism City Press reports that the SA Policing Union (Sapu) has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare the killing of police officers treason, following the deaths of four officers in three provinces last week. SAPU described last Friday as a "dooms day" for policing in the country. An officer working in Umlazi, KwaZulu-Natal, was shot and killed by unknown gunmen. In Ga-Rankuwa, northwest of Pretoria, a Sapu member was shot dead and had his service pistol taken. In Mpumalanga, another cop was shot at close range by two suspects at a business premises in Kwanyamazane. While, on Sunday night, an off-duty police officer was also a victim of gun violence, in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Sapu is of the view that the killing of police officers is a crime against the state, and that those responsible should be charged with treason. However, a forensic investigator and crime expert has expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of this proposal for deterring criminals from killing officers. According to Calvin Rafadi, the issue was complex and there were many factors that contributed to the deaths of police officers. More investment was needed to capacitate police officers and ensure that they were well resourced to respond to active crime scenes. Rafadi also called for research and monitoring into why police officers are killed while on and off duty. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thapelo Lekabe at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Amid ongoing strike, Cilliers Brink rejects calls for him to resign as Tshwane mayor Pretoria News reports that the City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink has rejected calls to resign from his position. Cope’s Ofentse Moalusi released a statement on Monday, calling Brink’s term of office as mayor a “disgraceful failure”. He accused Brink of “plunging the city into a state of disaster” and went on to claim: “I have observed him in the past few months moving our city from one disaster to another. His handling of our workers’ plight is indicative of a leader who is not in touch with the reality or the hardships that our workers are subjected to. His arrogant approach to the struggles of predominantly black people is very painful to witness. The courts can never be a platform to use to resolve any workers’ disputes and social calamities faced by our people. We cannot punish the workers for the bad administration that this city have been subjected to since 2016.’’ The call for Brink to resign comes against the backdrop of continuing strike action by municipal workers who are demanding a 5.4% pay increase. The city has been plunged into disarray due to the strike with disruptions in the delivery of services. Waste has been left uncollected for weeks while there have been water and electricity challenges. DA’s caucus spokesperson Kwena Moloto reacted: “The DA rejects any calls for the resignation of Executive Mayor Cilliers Brink, especially from Cope, who created political instability with their 30-day mayor, Murunwa Makwarela, who is currently out on bail for charges of fraud.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mashudu Sadike at Pretoria News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Protesting EPWP workers turn patients away from Hillbrow clinic News24 reports that on Tuesday, an ambulance had to park on the side of the road at the Hillbrow Community Health Centre as Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers, from several clinics around Johannesburg, barricaded the entrance to the facility. The disgruntled workers – cleaners, admin clerks, caretakers and data capturers – said Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko had told them their contracts would not be renewed when they expired in March. Some workers said they had been with the programme for 10 years. On Monday, Nkomo-Ralehoko advised that she had signed an agreement with TVET college principals, which would benefit EPWP workers. She said she wanted to empower them, so they could be employed somewhere else when their contracts expired. But, one worker said: "They promised to absorb us permanently. Now we are told to return to school. I am 54 years old, with three children. Who will feed them when I am at school?" Another worker, who has worked as an admin clerk for seven or eight years, said: “We are protesting for our rights as workers. We have been getting paid R3,500 since 2019. Where should we go at our age?” Nkomo-Ralehoko said the department needed electrical engineers and boilermakers. "I don't want to go and look for an electrician outside the department. It should be one of the EPWP workers. When your contract expires, we should peacefully part with you, having a certificate you can use to look for employment elsewhere," she explained. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yoliswa Sobuwa at News24
Sixteen mineworkers who died in fiery Limpopo bus crash have not been identified News24 reports that as many as 16 of the 22 people who died in a bus crash in Limpopo over the weekend have not yet been identified. Apparently, many of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition. In addition to the 22 deaths, four people were reportedly hospitalised. The bus was transporting mineworkers when it collided head on with a truck on the D2692 Venetia Road between Musina and the De Beers mine in the Vhembe area on Sunday. Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety spokesperson Tidimalo Chuene said the "process of identification and informing next of kin is still under way", and that only six bodies had been identified. More information will be made available once the process has been completed. Chuene said the cause of the accident was still under investigation. In a statement on social media, Murray and Roberts said it was "devastated" by the accident that involved its employees. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24
Consumer inflation edges up to 4.8% in August Fin24 reports that annual consumer price inflation picked up slightly to 4.8% in August from 4.7% in July – the first increase in four months, but in line with economists' expectations. After many months of big hikes, some food prices started to fall, but this was not enough to counteract a rise in fuel prices and increases in municipal tariffs. A 15.3% annual increase in electricity tariffs pushed inflation higher. "Households [also] paid 9.6% more for water in 2023 after bearing the brunt of an 8.1% rise the year before. Property rates were up by 8.4% following a 4.3% increase in 2022," Statistics SA reported. But food inflation cooled for a fifth straight month, from 9.9% in July to 8.0% in August. Several products were cheaper in August compared with July, including beef, white bread, brown bread, eggs, cheddar cheese, fresh full-cream milk, maize meal and cereals. On Thursday, the SA Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee will announce its interest rate decision. A change is not expected. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24. Read too, Interest rates likely to remain unchanged even after inflation rises, at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
The struggle to claim from the UIF continues unabated Moneyweb writes that getting through to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is “like banging your head against a brick wall”. This is how one frustrated claimant who applied for benefits over a year ago with no luck feels, and Moneyweb says it can attest to this. This month alone, the publication heard from a business owner and two employees, all of whom have nothing good to say about their claims process with the UIF. All of the three complaints relate to claims applications submitted to the UIF over a year ago, with one even going as far back as 2020. A key thread among all the complaints is the feeling of being sent from pillar to post by the fund, a process characterised by poor communication, an endless cycle of resubmitting documents, and poor assistance from call centre agents – for those who got through, at least. One frustrated reader, who has had many run-ins with the fund’s call centre agents, relayed a sense of hopelessness after applying for a UIF benefit over 18 months ago. The UIF was contacted early last week to get its side of the story as to why it was proving so difficult for some to receive their dues from the fund, but these attempts were unsuccessful. Malaika Human Capital Consultants advised on Tuesday that the firm gave up taking on clients struggling with UIF claims late last year because working with the department was such a struggle and no longer feasible. “We took a decision last year in October not to go ahead with that [UIF claims] anymore … because we’d follow up and we wouldn’t get feedback,” founder Helen Nel indicated. She added that the back-and-forth with the UIF got so frustrating that it sometimes threatened the firm’s relationship with clients, jeopardising its credibility and brand. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Akhona Matshoba at Moneyweb
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