In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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SA’s population reached over 62-million in 2022, against 51.7-million in 2011 BusinessLive reports that SA was home to 62,027,503 persons as of 2022, which was over 10-million more than the 51.7-million counted in 2011. Of those, more than half – 31,948-million or 51.5% – were female and 30,078-million were male. Stats SA announced the new population figures at an event at the Union Buildings on Tuesday, where statistician-general Risenga Maluleke handed over the results to President Cyril Ramaphosa. The population increase represented a population growth rate of 1.8% a year since the 2011 census, the largest growth rate since full population counts began in 1996. The first census, conducted that year, counted 40.6-million people. The most populous province remained Gauteng with 15-million people, while the Northern Cape was the most sparsely populated with 1.3-million people. Of the population groups, just over four out of five (81.4%) of South Africans were black African, while 8.2% were coloured, 7.3% were white and 2.7% were Indian/Asian. The number of whites has been steadily decreasing as a percentage of the overall population, from 11% of the total in 1996. Migration was also a key issue covered in the census. The provinces that gained people were Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga, while the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, the Free State and the North West lost people. More people had access to services in 2022 than they did in 2011. Access to electricity rose to 90% of the country’s residents, up from 58% in 1996. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Penwell Dlamini & Nicki Gules at BusinessLive Read too, Census 2022: 62 million people now live in SA, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
SANDF commits to investigating fire that killed six soldiers on Friday at Northern Cape army base News24 reports that amid mounting calls for answers about a fire that killed six soldiers at the SA Army's Combat Training Centre in Lohatla in the Northern Cape on Friday, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) said it would launch an investigation into the matter. SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini advised that an investigation was standard procedure after such an incident, but added that the investigation would commence once the SANDF had "mourned" and buried the soldiers. Staff Sergeant Abraham Desember Morajane, Staff Sergeant Sipho Berrington Cele, Corporal Sithembiso Wiseman Ndwalane, Corporal Noxolo Faith Ngubane, Lance Corporal Prince Michael Mthethwa and Lance Corporal Londiwe Purity Zulu died in the fire. Three other soldiers suffered second-degree burns, while others sustained minor injuries. Among those who have lobbied for an investigation were the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) and the DA. Meantime, the SANDF has denied requesting humanitarian aid and indicated: "We respectfully want to correct reports that the SANDF has asked for assistance in this regard. We have not approached or requested anyone, individuals or corporates, for material support." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24 Security company calls for army deployment amid increase in cash-in-transit heists across country IOL News reports that a private security company, Fidelity Service Group, has called for the army to be deployed to help protect cash vans in the wake of an increase in cash heists across the country. According to Fidelity CEO Wahl Bartmann, the deployment will help deal with the scourge of syndicates preying on cash-carrying vehicles. There have been more than 240 crash-in-transit (CIT) robberies since the beginning of the year. At the weekend, a gang of between 15 and 20 suspects got away with an undisclosed amount of money during a CIT heist on the N12. Police said four cash guards were injured and taken to hospital. One sustained gunshot wounds, while the others sustained injuries after the cash vehicle overturned before being bombed by the suspects. Last week, at least four cash heists were reported in KwaZulu-Natal. In one of the incidents, a guard, Stanley Hansraj, was killed. Bartmann asserted: "We need the support from government. When the trucks were burning in Van Reenen, the military was deployed. Why can't they deploy the military to support us? This is really, if you look at the state of the industry, crucial." Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Se-Anne Rall at IOL News. Read too, ‘He loved his job’ - wife of slain cash-in-transit guard speaks out, at IOL News Killer who murdered Constable Sizwe Mthethwa in February 2021 sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment IOL News reports that a 21-year-old man accused of murdering an off-duty police official, Constable Sizwe Mthethwa, following conflict between the suspect and the officer’s stepson has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment by the Ntuzuma Regional Court. Mthethwa had been stationed at Inanda police station. Lindokuhle Buthelezi was found guilty of stabbing and killing Mthethwa in February 2021. Buthelezi viciously attacked the constable, who was on his way to meet with the suspect’s parents at their home regarding a fight that had transpired between Buthelezi and Mthethwa’s stepson. A case of murder, attempted murder, and theft was reported at the Inanda police station. Buthelezi was arrested three days after the incident following intensive investigations by the Hawks members from Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sisipho Bhuta at IOL News Tshwane municipal workers under threat from customers stealing electricity Pretoria News reports that the lives of City of Tshwane workers from the energy and electricity department have come under threat from residents who chase them away to prevent them from disconnecting their illegal power connections. This concern was raised by the department’s senior officials during their interactions with the municipal public accounts committee at Tshwane House on Friday. The committee had called officials to respond to issues relating to the city’s indigent policy programme and the installation of prepaid meters. Department acting group head Frans Manganye said the municipality was grappling with illegal connections. Often, workers faced “threats and intimidation” when they were dispatched to conduct audits on customers’ illegal power installations. To deal with “harassment”, Manganye said, the department “normally withdraws from the site for the sake of employees and we normally protect the infrastructure of the City, especially the vehicle so as not to be damaged through stoning”. Where possible, the department worked with the metro police and SAPS before going back to the areas to execute their duties accompanied by law-enforcement. He said the department’s employees had also been intimidated by customers who refused to have prepaid meters installed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rapula Moatshe at Pretoria News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
'What are the mice running from?' Mantashe asks about Transnet, Eskom resignations Fin24 reports that Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe has repeated an analogy he used to describe the exodus of Transnet executives, by saying Mpho Makwana's resignation as Eskom chair reminded him of mice fleeing methane underground. "If you are underground and see mice running … you just follow them. Because when they run, half the time, they are smelling methane. To save yourself, you just follow them," he said on Tuesday at a press briefing at Africa Oil Week in Cape Town. He went on to say: "When there is an exodus of executives at institutions, there should be a kind of methane we investigate. It is concerning to have a number of executives running like mice, running from methane in a short space of time … what is the methane they are running from?" Mantashe could not be drawn on what the "methane" was, but pointed out that people were not leaving the DMRE’s portfolio of companies. "It is in other portfolios that there is this methane… and we must understand that methane. I don't understand it … it has developed over the last week. When the Cabinet meets, they will talk about it," he stated. Transnet's CEO Portia Derby and Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siza Mzimela both recently resigned in the space of a week. Both Transnet and Eskom fall under Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan's portfolio. The relationship between Gordhan and Makwana reportedly deteriorated sharply in recent months. Among the disagreements between the two was the selection of a new CEO for Eskom. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lameez Omarjee at Fin24. Read too, What are Eskom execs running from, Gwede Mantashe asks, at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Cosatu joins calls for mayor Cilliers Brink to resign Pretoria News reports that labour federation Cosatu is the latest organisation to launch an attack on City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, calling for his resignation. The mounting pressure for his head comes against the backdrop of municipal employees’ strike action that has entered its fourth month. Service delivery in the capital city has taken a huge hit since the strike began in July. Workers are demanding a pay increase but the metro has refused to budge, saying its coffers are empty. Exacerbating matters, city management has fired more than 100 workers who participated in the unprotected strike. Cosatu led a march to Tshwane House on Friday, as part of the International Day of Decent Work, to deliver a memorandum to Brink. It demanded that he reinstate the 123 dismissed workers and pay the 5.4% increase agreed at the local government bargaining council. “Brink if you can’t rule, leave the office, if you cannot govern this municipality resign with immediate effect,” Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi said. She launched an attack on Brink’s party, the DA, saying its days of governing municipalities in Gauteng were “numbered”. Last week Cope’s Ofentse Moalusi was the first to call for Brink’s resignation. He called his term of office as mayor a “disgraceful failure” and accused Brink of “plunging the city into a state of disaster”. Even though ActionSA, which is part of the Tshwane coalition government, has not directly called for Brink to resign, the party has launched an attack on Brink by calling for intervention by the coalition management committee and for Brink to go back to the negotiating table. 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
Scores of ANC employees protest over no salary increases The Star reports that on Monday protesters, dressed in ANC regalia, paraded placards stating “Pay the agreed salary increase now” and sang and danced on Pixley Ka Seme Street outside the ANC offices in Joburg demanding the 8% increases that were allegedly promised by the governing party. Last year, the filed papers in the Labour Court to force the ANC to pay its staff their outstanding salaries. Speaking during Monday’s picket, National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) general secretary Thabo Medupe said that following a general meeting with the affected workers, they had decided to embark on a series of demonstrations to draw the ANC’s attention to some of the outstanding issues that had affected ANC employees since the start of negotiations. According to Nehawu, the ANC has failed to respond to at least 10 letters. Medupi said if they had any other option they would not be protesting. Nehawu’s Marvellous Ndlovu did not rule out the possibility of more pickets and the involvement of other regions in the ongoing protests. He added: “We feel that it is unfair that workers can be subjected to these kinds of treatment and situation. We want to appeal to the organisation to start treating workers like a normal governing party should. If workers at the headquarters of the party cannot trust the leadership of the ANC, what about the ordinary South Africans?” An ANC spokesperson said the governing party was aware of the current protests and that it was still negotiating with the unions on the way forward. Last year, Nehawu filed papers in the Labour Court to force the ANC to pay its staff unpaid salaries. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Sithole at The Star
Sapo's shocking state of finances leaves it on the brink of collapse Cape Times reports that the SA Post Office (Sapo) has painted a bleak picture of its finances during the 2022-23 financial year. In its annual report tabled in Parliament, Sapo advised that its financial position remained extremely dire. CEO Nomkhitha Mona said Sapo was at a critical point in its existence. The entity was placed in provisional liquidation in February 2023 and then in business rescue in July. Continued mismatch between monthly revenues generated and corresponding operating expenditure, resulted in a deficit to meet monthly financial obligations. “Outstanding liabilities at 31 March 2023 amounted to R9.5 billion, with statutory payments of R2.4 billion. Statutory liabilities include R1.1 billion for the Post Office Retirement Fund, R539 million for Sars, R596 million for Medipos medical aid and R108 million for UIF,” Sapo advised. It owed R212 million to former employees for voluntary severance package payments that were paid on a monthly basis. The organisation said 122 branches had been closed during the financial year under review and the workforce was reduced from 14,460 as at 31 March 2022 to 12,640 at March 2023. “The reduction in headcount was due to resignations, deaths, dismissals, ends of contract, retirement, and the implementation of the voluntary severance package programme. From the inception of the introduction of voluntary severance packages in December 2022 to March 2023, 1,891 employees were approved for the VSP.” Sapo also pointed out that in order to address the high employee cost base, a Section 189 process commenced, with notice given to unions in March 2023, but due to the provisional liquidation “the Section 189 process has been placed on hold until finality in the matter is reached.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mayibongwe Maqhina at Cape Times
Workers earning national minimum wage facing uphill battle amid cost of living crisis The Mercury reports that the cost-of-living crisis is hitting hard, leaving workers who earn the national minimum wage (NMW) of R25.42 an hour unable to afford the three core household expenses of transport, electricity and food. This is according to the Household Affordability Index for September, which was released by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group. The index looks at data from Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Springbok and Pietermaritzburg. It revealed that the average worker receiving the minimum wage of R25.42 an hour in a 40-hour week, with a monthly wage of R4,067.20, is left with a shortfall of R1,837.13 after paying for transport and electricity. For such a worker, a return trip to work using taxis cost on average R1,440, and by purchasing 350kWh of prepaid electricity worth R906.92, only R1,720.28 was left to secure all the other expenses. Feeding a family of four would cost R3,557.41 leaving a shortfall of R1,837.13. “The NMW set at such a low level does not allow workers and their families the possibility to secure even their most basic expenses. “Instead it appears from the data that the NMW has worked to lock workers and their families into even deeper levels of poverty. Workers will have to cut back further on food and go into deeper levels of debt to cover wage shortfalls,” stated the report. Evashnee Naidu, the KZN provincial director of Black Sash, said the human rights organisation was appalled at the cost-of-living crisis and its impact on those who were earning a minimum wage or on a social grant. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karen Singh at The Mercury
Parliament defends Xolile George's 70% salary hike, saying process was thorough and objective EWN reports that parliament has defended an almost 70% salary hike for its secretary, Xolile George, a year into the job. It asserts that it was a thorough and objective process. Sunday Times recently lifted the lid on the behind-the-scenes wrangling to hike George’s salary to R4.4 million when he initially accepted an offer in May last year of R2.6 million. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has cried foul and now wants the Deputy Speaker, Lechesa Tsenoli, to investigate the matter. It says political parties were kept in the dark, with Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula compromised. According to parliament, it agreed to hike Xolile George’s salary based on the recommendations of an impartial expert assessment conducted by a remuneration consultancy firm. This was to ensure the decision would be unbiased and aligned with industry practices. While it noted that political parties were consulted last year over the difficulty in recruiting George because it could only offer him around half of the more than R5 million salary he was earning as the chief executive officer of the SA Local Government Association, parliament claimed it was not practical to do so with regard to hiking his salary. The presiding officers have insisted that parliament did not act in secret, and have pointed out that George’s new salary was reflected in the institution’s annual report. But DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube is demanding an investigation, saying that Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula misled Parliament and the country. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindsay Dentlinger at EWN
R179 million relocation plan under way to revive Cape Town's blocked Central Line News24 reports that according to the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), the people living on Cape Town's troubled central railway line are expected to be relocated by the end of this year at a cost of R179 million. However, this will depend on resolving disagreements between the national and provincial governments over which authority has responsibility for the relocation of the occupiers. The Central Line between Nyanga and Cape Town has been closed for about three years after people built shacks on the railway line. In reply to a recent parliamentary question on progress made in respect of the Central Line, Western Cape Urban Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie indicated that an estimated 5,195 households and illegal structures had been erected on Prasa's Central Line rail reserve. He said 1,254 structures had been erected in Langa, 3,688 structures in and around the Philippi Station and 253 occupants were living at the Khayelitsha Station. The households need to be relocated to allow Prasa to fully rehabilitate the rail infrastructure on the Central Line and restore services. According to Mackenzie, there are two processes currently under way for the relocation of settlers and the rehabilitation of the railway. "In summary, Prasa is in the process of implementing a temporary measure in relocating the informal settlement through Operation Bhekela before the end of the calendar year. The infrastructure rehabilitation will be executed in tandem with this move with the foreseeable completion date within quarter 1 [April/May] 2024," he indicated. Mackenzie said the total estimated cost of the relocation was R179,122,427, adding that national government should carry the cost. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles by News24 (subscriber access only)
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