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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Business organisation and Cosatu call for UIF to be placed under administration BL Premium reports that Business Unity SA (Busa) has called for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to be placed under immediate administration, citing systemic dysfunction and deep corruption within the statutory organisation. Labour federation Cosatu said it supported the call by business and that it would be seeking an urgent meeting with the Presidency and Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi to ensure action was taken. The UIF provides financial support to workers in the event of unemployment and is funded by a levy paid by employers and employees. . Its assets amounted to R135bn as at end-March. In a statement on Wednesday, Busa CEO Cas Coovadia said UIF commissioner Teboho Maruping had failed to address systemic issues and Nxesi had not responded positively to several Busa letters. He called on Nxesi to act speedily to address the issues. “The ineptitude of the UIF to fulfil its promises has led to workplace disruption and had a negative impact on the employer-employee relationship. Of major concern is the fact that calls for the authorities to intervene have gone unheeded,” Coovadia said. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks said they were “deeply concerned by the continuous challenges workers experience when submitting their claims to the UIF, as well as continuous allegations and revelations of serious corruption surrounding some UIF investments”. He called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to put the organisation under administration and for the Special Investigating Unit to investigate its investments. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Business sounds the alarm over 'dysfunctional' UIF, at Fin24
Samwu angry as Tshwane moves to replace 123 dismissed strikers TimesLIVE reports that the City of Tshwane is set to appoint new staff after dismissing more than 120 workers for participating in an unprotected strike, but the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) on Tuesday said it would be challenging those appointments. City manager Johann Mettler issued a memorandum on Tuesday to the group head of regional operations and co-ordination in which he gave the go-ahead to fill the vacant positions. City spokesperson Lindela Mashigo confirmed the filling of vacant positions, saying the process would be in line with the city’s recruitment processes, but that they were still at the inception phase. Tshwane dismissed a total of 123 staff permanently for taking part in an ongoing unprotected wage strike despite the municipality securing a court order to stop the protests. Samwu pointed out that while the City appointing new staff, the union was fighting the dismissals of its members. The union’s regional secretary Precious Theledi said: “The city cannot dismiss workers without due process, no hearing, nothing, and then they come and want to appoint people in those positions. We will definitely fight for them. We are already at the bargaining council for unfair dismissals and waiting for the ruling on conciliations.” She added that a further 17 of their members were dismissed on Tuesday within two hours of receiving their letters of intention to dismiss. The unprotected strike left the city in disarray when workers downed tools in July to force the city to implement salary increases in terms of a SA Local Government Bargaining Council agreement. Tshwane has approached the Labour Court after its bid to be exempt from the salary increase was declined by the bargaining council. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at TimesLIVE
Anglo American begins global head office job cuts with Kumba in SA Bloomberg News reports that Anglo American has begun cutting corporate office employees globally, with South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) saying that notices were sent to staff at the company’s Kumba Iron Ore unit warning they could lose their jobs. Talks started on Wednesday and after a 60 day process, 141 jobs are expected to be lost, Livhuwani Mammburu, the NUM spokesman, indicated. An Anglo American spokesman confirmed that the notices have been sent out in SA, stressing that it was a global process. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loni Prinsloo & Antony Sguazzin at Fin24 Sibanye-Stillwater CEO warns of platinum mining job losses Reuters reports that Sibanye Stillwater, SA’s biggest mining sector employer, may be forced to close some loss-making shafts. This was indicated by the producer’s CEO, Neal Froneman, who added that job cuts in platinum mining had become inevitable as prices of the precious metal continued to weaken. “Significant restructuring” was very likely in the platinum sector of the world’s top supplier of the metal as miners tried to remain profitable, Froneman warned. South African platinum group metal miners are battling an electricity crisis that has impacted output and increased costs, amid weak metal prices. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Felix Njini at Moneyweb Shrinking mineral reserves pose risk for SA mining towns, PwC study warns BL Premium reports that some provinces in SA have as little as six years of mining left based on currently declared resources and reserves. The gold and iron ore mining industries, in particular, could experience a major ramp-down over the next two decades, and in some provinces much earlier. This would be devastating for the economy, which is still very dependent on the mining sector, according to PwC’s ‘SA Mine 2023’ report released on Tuesday. The mining industry provides about 478,000 people with formal employment, and provides the fiscus with critical income. According to PwC’s Andries Rossouw, on average gold mines in SA have about 27 years of life left, but in some provinces reserves will be depleted much sooner. At current reserves, iron ore mining, which is concentrated in the Northern Cape, will be depleted within about 13 years. In the Free State, where there are five gold operations and one project in development, current depletion rates suggest there are only six years of gold mining left in the province. “In most small towns where mining takes place, miners play a significant role in providing social services such as education, clean water and sanitation, and infrastructure,” PwC’s Vuyiswa Khutlang, pointed out. That highlighted the need to transition communities, she said. Roughly 24,000 people are employed in the gold mining industry in the Free State, with these operations being concentrated near Welkom. There are no clear plans yet for the reskilling of workers and possible restructuring of operations for gold producers in the Free State. But, said Rossouw, many of the older mines do have significant rehabilitation funds set aside, which could be used to invest in sustainable rehabilitation and new opportunities that will create jobs. Challenges include the shortage of critical skills and illegal mining, which is jeopardising the safety and viability of some mining operations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Unions, political parties say fuel price hikes stretching South Africans to the limit EWN reports that with crippling fuel price hikes in place for the month of October, unions and political parties say consumers will now be forced to choose between putting food on the table and spending a significant amount of their income on transport. Unleaded 95 petrol went up by R1.14 per liter, while unleaded 93 was hiked by R1.08. That took the petrol price to as high as R25.68 inland and R24.96 on the coast. Diesel prices also increase sharply for the fourth consecutive month, by around R1.60 per litre. Trade union federation Saftu’s Trevor Shaku commented: "Saftu is concerned that this eighth consecutive increase in especially petrol and diesel will worsen the cost of living and affect the class negatively. This price increases will affect workers and the unemployed in at least three main ways, elevating costs of fuel for vehicle owners, causing road transport fares to rise and causing prices of other goods to also increase." Economist Bonke Dumisa echoed those sentiments. "Most South Africans cannot take much more as the fuel price increase “affects our food inflation and our food inflation mainly affects most of the poor people." Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Veronica Makhoali at EWN
JSC interviews for labour court leadership role that’s been vacant for seven years BL Premium reports that on Wednesday the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) held its interview for the long-vacated position of deputy judge president of the Labour Court (LC) and Labour Appeal Court (LAC). Johannesburg high court judge Edwin Molahlehi was the only candidate interviewed for the position that has not been filled for seven years. Molahlehi has acted as deputy president since March and served as a LC judge for 10 years. He has been a high court judge since 2017. Though he trained to be an attorney, he never practised as either an attorney or advocate. Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who himself was president of the LC and LAC in the 2000s during Molahlehi’s time, noted that Molahlehi was “very involved in labour disputes”, as mediator and arbitrator in the 1990s. Molahlehi then served as a national director at the CCMA from 2001. Zondo asked Molahlehi to identify issues plaguing the LC and what could be done to address those concerns. Molahlehi noted major issues with facilities. The LC sits in four locations, namely Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha and Johannesburg. Molahlehi said that while the first three had somewhat acceptable facilities, the actual facilities for the Johannesburg node of the LC, situated in Braamfontein, were “very congested” and required at least another floor. He also highlighted a huge backlog of cases. Another issue Molahlehi identified was that there were only 13 LC judges for the entire country. He said this is far “below” what was needed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tauriq Moosa at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Mary Vilikazi to become first black woman to run a major banking group BL Premium reports that incoming FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi, who will become the lender’s first female leader and the first black woman to run a major banking group, says there is a strong pipeline of female leaders in the group and she will not be the last to head the group or its many divisions. Vilakazi’s appointment was announced on Wednesday as the group embarked on a leadership overhaul. She will replace Alan Pullinger, who will step down in April 2024. Vilakazi’s appointment was well received, with Makwe Masilela of Makwe Fund Managers saying she had been groomed for the role, and her ascension was part of a well-thought-out succession plan. Asief Mohamed of Aeon Investment Management said Vilakazi was an “excellent” pick and commended the group’s track record in successfully transitioning CEOs into the role. Vilakazi joined the JSE-listed financial services group in 2018. Before that she held several roles at Momentum Metropolitan Holdings, including CFO and deputy CEO. The last woman to lead one of the country’s major banks was Maria Ramos, who was at the helm of Absa for a decade. Momentum Metropolitan appointed Jeanette Marais as its first woman CEO in May. Pullinger backed the group’s new leadership and said: “It has been a tremendous honour and privilege to be a part of, and to lead, FirstRand and I have full confidence in handing over the baton to Mary and her new leadership team.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Gauteng confirmed as SA’s top employment hub The Citizen reports that Gauteng remains the largest employment hub in SA, followed by the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, according to a recent report. In its latest findings on employment insights, CareerJunction noted that although there was a dip in recruitment during July, it had increased by 6% in August. The report provided an analysis of the supply and demand trends in the online job market. Year-on-year hiring was up by 3% compared to August last year. According to CareerJunction, Gauteng remained the largest employment hub with 54%, followed by the Western Cape (21%) and KwaZulu-Natal (9%), while Limpopo, Northern Cape and Free State were the lowest with 1%. International job offers remained static at 4%. Anja Bates, CareerJunction’s head of data, indicated: “When looking at the job market, professionals in business and management, IT, finance, sales and admin, office and support are in high demand.” She also said there was a significant increase in solar energy jobs. “We wouldn’t talk about an explosion of green energy jobs just yet. However, there is a strong trend in green and solar energy jobs growing faster.” Economist Dawie Roodt said the increase in solar jobs was no surprise: “This is because of the load shedding and the overall lack of electricity that we have been experiencing. Everybody wants to get into solar. There’s a huge demand.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lunga Simelane at The Citizen (subscriber access only)
List of jobs qualifying for critical skills visa gazetted The Citizen reports that Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi has gazetted the skills or qualifications needed for a critical skills visa or permanent residence in SA (full list in report). A critical skills visa is not a work-seekers visa. All those who are applying must have an offer of employment from their employer that is verifiable, and have a good standing with the Department of Employment and Labour. University lecturers must specify the classification of their education subject matter. Engineering applicants need to be registered with a SAQA professional body as “candidates” and work under the supervision of a qualified professional, where applicable. Critical skills work visas are issued for a period not exceeding five years. To apply, the applicant must submit a duly completed and signed application form accompanied by various specified documents. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shanice Naidoo at The Citizen
ANC Gauteng calls for employment quotas for foreign nationals working in private sector The Citizen reports that the ANC in Gauteng has called for quotas to be put into place for the employment of foreign nationals in the private sector. “It is illegal to come into a country illegally. To even employ a person who has come into the country illegally, it’s illegal. So what we are saying is that there must be some quota that speaks to locals,” said ANC Gauteng provincial secretary Thembinkosi “TK” Nciza on Wednesday during a media briefing on the outcomes of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting held on Monday. He said: “People sit and believe that only the government must employ our people, which is not possible. Everybody wants to sit and blame everything, including employment, on the government. If the private sector doesn’t come to the party, people will revolt against the government without seeing that we have a private sector that is not coming to the party.” Calling on the private sector to start employing South Africans and to agree on a quota, .Nciza said: ““We must have a quota. We will start in Gauteng and engage in these matters.” He, however, emphasised that the party wasn’t calling on people to be xenophobic and not employ foreign nations. In the party’s statement on the PEC meeting, it further commended the Gauteng government for the work it has done combatting unemployment through the Nasi iSpani programme. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chulumanco Mahamba at The Citizen. Read too, ANC leaders tout foreign hiring restrictions, at News24 (subscriber access only)
Three White River flying squad cops released on bail in connection with cash-in-transit heist case News24 reports that three White River Flying Squad officers and three co-accused, arrested in connection with a Mpumalanga cash-in-transit (CIT) heist, have been released on bail of R5,000 each. A seventh accused abandoned his bail application. The officers, Sunday Mashego, Collen Nonyane and Bhekinkosi Godi, together with the other accused, appeared in the Tonga Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, in connection with the August heist, which occurred on the R570 toward Schoemansdal, outside Malelane, Mpumalanga. "It is alleged that a group of unknown men ambushed a Fidelity armoured vehicle with a Mercedes-Benz C-class. The suspects rammed into the cash van, which overturned. The security guards were reportedly forced out of the vehicle and high-calibre rifles were used on the scene, where one security officer was disarmed. The cash van was then bombed," said a Hawks spokesperson. The accused have been charged with five counts of attempted murder, three counts of possession of stolen property, possession of firearms and ammunition, malicious damage to property, possession of explosives, and conspiracy to commit crime. The case was postponed to 6 December. Two suspects are still at large. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Nicole McCain at News24
Trains between Joburg and Germiston suspended after pedestrian bridge collapse injuring two persons The Citizen reports that Gauteng Metrorail temporarily suspended trains operating between Johannesburg and Germiston on Wednesday due to the collapse of a pedestrian overhead bridge between Jeppe and George Goch stations. Two people were injured, one seriously, while crossing the bridge when it collapsed onto the railway train tracks, damaging the overhead traction equipment. They were taken to hospital for further medical assessment. According to the City of Johannesburg Safety MMC Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, it was lucky the bridge collapsed at around 13:30 because it accommodated hundreds of pedestrians between 16:00 and 18:00. "That and the train on the tracks could have been a mass casualty incident," Tshwaku said. According to a paramedic, the bridge was built in the 1970s and collapsed because of vibrational fatigue. He said some of the infrastructure was missing, possibly stolen. Tshwaku added he was told the bridge was starting to tilt. Gauteng Metrorail spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng advised: “Commuters traveling on the Johannesburg and Germiston lines are advised to seek alternative transport until further notice.” An investigation into what led to the collapse of the bridge will be established. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen. Read too, Two injured after Prasa bridge collapses in Jeppestown, at News24. En ook, Twee beseer toe voetgangerbrug meegee, by Maroela Media
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