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 Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.
|
Amplats to retrench 3,700 workers and review contracts with 620 suppliers to secure ‘long-term sustainability’ BL Premium reports that Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) has initiated a section 189A process that is likely to result in the retrenchment of 3,700 employees across its platinum mining business as it seeks to reduce R5bn in costs. The group’s profit for the year decreased by 71%, due largely to a 35% decline in the platinum group metals (PGMs) dollar basket price during the 2023 financial year. Amplats CEO Craig Miller said on Monday that low prices, the drop in profit and “ongoing macroeconomic pressures” had compelled the company to take active steps to secure its long-term sustainability. As a last resort, it began a restructuring process in terms of section 189A of the Labour Relations Act. The process will involve consultation with stakeholders, including trade unions and other affected non-unionised employees. Only once this had concluded would the final number of affected jobs be known. However, Amplats said the restructuring was expected to affect 3,700 employees (about 17% of its employees) and the company would also review contracts with 620 service providers. “The majority of employees impacted will be at Amendelbult (comprising two mines located in Limpopo), followed by processing operations as a result of Mortimer Smelter being placed on care and maintenance,” Miller indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Denene Erasmus at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Amplats weighs cutting 3700 jobs after metal prices slump, at Moneyweb. En ook, Amplats wil duisende in SA aflê, by Maroela Media
SA’s troops in DRC, Mozambique at risk without crucial helicopter service deal Bloomberg reports that SA has deployed its troops into two wars without renewing a maintenance contract needed to keep its essential attack and transport helicopters flying. A so-called fixed-cost contract between state arms maker Denel and the Department of Defence — which covers the expenses of technicians and engineers — lapsed more than four months ago and hasn’t been renewed. That jeopardizes the SA military’s ability to protect about 4,000 troops it’s deploying to fight jihadists in Mozambique and rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo with its Oryx transport helicopters and Rooivalk, or Red Falcon, attack helicopters. The contract lapse is evidence of how SA’s ambitions to bolster its influence on the continent with peacekeeping missions aren’t matched by a budget that’s struggling to finance everything from its armed forces to port and power-plant overhauls. While SA has sent troops into Congo as part of a Southern African Development Community mission since December, the 2,900-strong deployment was only announced on 12 February by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office. The troops in Mozambique were deployed in 2021 and are due to leave this year. The Oryx and Rooivalk are unique helicopters flown only by SA and require specialist skills and special equipment to sustain the capabilities. In October, Defense Minister Thandi Modise said only five of 39 Oryx’s were functional and R2.5 billion rand was needed to restore the fleet. She advised that three of 11 Rooivalk could fly "with restrictions," and the helicopters’ avionics systems were obsolete. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loni Prinsloo & Antony Sguazzin at Fin24 Police union calls for SAPS to increase CPF budgets to help combat cop killings News24 reports that the South African Policing Union (SAPU) wants the SA Police Service (SAPS) to increase the budget for Community Policing Forums (CPF). According to the union, this will strengthen resources as there was a need to collaborate with all stakeholders in fighting crime. This call came after Police Minister Bheki Cele released the third quarter crime statistics for the country on Friday. Cele revealed that 22 police officers had been killed between October and December. Ten of them had been on duty, and 12 while off duty. SAPU spokesperson Lesiba Thobakgale commented: "These statistics prove a major cause for concern on the safety and security sector at large. It is beyond doubt that being a law enforcement officer in South Africa is extremely dangerous. Our members are not safe whether they are on or off duty, this is an indictment on the authorities to do more to curb the senseless and violent murder of law enforcement officers.” Thobakgale said that they were calling on SAPS to increase the R70 million which was already allocated to the CPF in the next financial year. Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said they were the ones who had long been calling for a budget increase in the SAPS so that the uneven allocation of resources at police stations across the country could be addressed. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24 Shooting of principal by Grade 6 learner could not have been anticipated, argues teacher union IOL News reports that the shooting of a school principal at a Germiston primary school, by a Grade 6 learner, was an unfortunate accident which could barely have been prevented. This is the view of the National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA (Naptosa). The union’s executive director Basil Manuel said on Monday that school teachers had a way of dealing with unruly learners, but in this case, no one could have anticipated that a 13-year-old boy from Primrose Primary School would be capable of arming himself with a firearm and pulling the trigger on the principal. “It’s really difficult to say how this matter should have been handled because teachers didn’t see this coming, how were teachers supposed to know that such a young boy would come to school carrying a gun... the teachers couldn’t have known that,” he pointed out. According to Manuel, when dealing with an errant leaner, teachers were always advised to report the learner to the principal and from there, they would get a directive on what should be done. “When everything fails, that’s when the school should call the parents and then escalate the matter to the department. It’s a process to expel a learner because at the same time we want to show them direction before giving up on them,’’ he explained. Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane revealed to the media that teachers at the school flagged the boy’s poor performance and had a meeting with the parents before the shooting incident. The principal is still recovering from the gunshot wound in hospital. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Brenda Masilela at IOL News. Read too, School had flagged poor performance of Grade 6 boy who allegedly shot principal, at IOL News Primrose school pupil planned attack on three teachers on WhatsApp group TimesLIVE reports that a 13-year-old boy arrested in connection with the shooting of a Germiston primary school principal allegedly planned to attack two other teachers at the school and wanted to shoot his ultimate target, the headmaster, in the head. These are some of the chilling details that emerged days after a shooting incident at Primrose Primary School. The grade 6 pupil was arrested and faces an attempted murder charge after he allegedly shot the 51-year-old principal on Friday. Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane visited the school on Monday and addressed the traumatised pupils. Despite Friday's incident, security remained lax at the entrance to the school as visitors were easily granted access by security personnel. Providing details about what had happened, Chiloane revealed: “Details go as far as that the child was [allegedly] intending to shoot about three teachers. He targeted his class teacher, deputy principal and principal because these are the three people [who were] giving him problems in school. We are interviewing his friends and they claim this has been planned for a while. Apparently, they had a WhatsApp group where they were [allegedly] communicating and planning this gruesome event so no one could've picked it up.” Three shots were fired by the boy, but only one hit the principal. The father has been charged “with negligent safe keeping of a firearm”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khanyisile Ngcobo at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Some striking University of Pretoria employees allegedly deny students access to campus News24 reports that some University of Pretoria (UP) employees, who embarked on a strike due to a wage dispute, have been accused of blocking students from entering the main campus on Monday. AfriForum's youth movement accused select employees of intimidating students and denying them access to the Hatfield campus. In a video, seen by News24, students were turned away from entering the campus. The video published online by the youth movement shows an instance of students arguing with striking employees. In a letter written to the University of Pretoria's interim vice-chancellor, Professor Themba Mosia, AfriForum said reports of students being intimidated and prevented from entering the campus suggested the safety of students was being compromised. UP spokesperson Rikus Delport confirmed that "some of the strikers illegally obstructed some of the entrances for vehicles for a short while on the Hatfield campus of the university". The strike comes after a deadlock in negotiations between the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) and the university due to a wage dispute. Delport said the university had offered a 4% increase, which had been rejected. In a statement, Nehawu said it was demanding: 7% wage increase; 13th cheque; a once-off bonus; five days leave encashment; and long service cash awards for 10, 15 and 20 years of service. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Alex Mitchley at News24
Coal mine closures in the next six years to impact 2.5m people, mainly in Mpumalanga Moneyweb writes that an overlooked aspect of the just energy transition is the impact coal mine closures will have on mining communities. Now, some light has been shed on this by research published in the Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Five coal-fired power plants and 15 coal mines will likely close by 2030, and another four plants and 23 mines by 2040. This will impact the livelihoods of 2.5 million people, most of them in Mpumalanga. This will impact 69 mining host communities and 21 municipalities. “The impact of mine closure on the 2.5 million residents of host communities will be significant, particularly as levels of income, employment, and education are already very low and many municipalities are in financial distress,” the authors say. They go on to indicate: “The South African approach to the just transition needs to take local realities into account, and the narrative must support an effective transition that does not undermine energy security and economic growth.” There are 66 operating coal mines in SA, most in Mpumalanga, owned by 32 private companies. Most coal mining communities are concentrated in the western part of Mpumalanga and north-western KwaZulu-Natal. Some 37% live below the poverty line of R19,600 annual household income, and 39% are unemployed, which is higher than the national average, the research indicates. In rural villages dependent on coal mining, the percentage living below the poverty line shoots to 57%. Mine closures will impact not just these households but the municipalities reliant on income from mine employees and companies. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ciaran Ryan at Moneyweb
SA labour market recovering from Covid-19 but unskilled, less educated people left behind Derek Yu, Professor of Economics at the University of the Western Cape and Jade Botha economics master’s graduate write that an important factor that limited the economy’s capacity to create jobs at a rapid enough pace to absorb new job seekers and previously employed people was the impact of restrictions imposed during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Compared with the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 the impact was much greater. During the Covid-19 restrictions there were a staggering 1.5-million job losses. The employment number (as per 2023 third quarter data) recovered to its pre-pandemic levels. But this hadn’t been enough to keep up with the increase in the new working-age population joining the labour force. Most of the gains from the recovery went to semi-skilled and skilled workers, leaving out the unskilled and those without 12 years of schooling, who make up more than 40% of the labour force. These were people who took a big hit from the pandemic-related job losses. Yet, there are two encouraging findings in the latest 2023 third quarter data. First, employment increased to 16.78 million, which was higher than the 2020 first quarter (just before Covid-19) level of 16.42 million. However, the employment growth was lower than the increase in the labour force. The second encouraging finding was that the unemployment rate showed a gradual downward trend, dropping from the all-time high of 35.2% in the last quarter of 2021 to 31.9% in the third quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, the latter rate was still higher than the unemployment rate recorded before 2020 (below 30%). One worrying finding was that only a slight drop of total unemployment took place. The number remained very high in 2023 third quarter at 7.85 million. This is not far from the all-time high of 7.99 million in 2022 second quarter. The findings show that the SA labour market has moved on from its worst ever state, and that various aspects have gradually improved. However, two worrying – yet expected – findings are that unemployment levels remained high, while most of the job gains post-Covid went to highly skilled and highly educated people. Read the full original of the article in the above regard by Derek Yu and Jade Botha at Sunday Times Daily
SIU to probe 20 years of fraudulent issuance of visas by home affairs department BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has given the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) the go-ahead to probe allegations of maladministration in the issuance of visas and other official documents by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). According to a proclamation issued by Ramaphosa on Friday, the SIU will also investigate allegations of “improper conduct” by some in the DHA’s ranks. The investigation will have to stretch back at least 20 years and look into the issuance of corporate visas, permanent resident permits, work visas and the naturalisation of foreign nationals. The proclamation comes two years after a report commissioned by the DHA and compiled by former director-general Cassius Lubisi, which found numerous incidents of fraudulent issuance of visas. The report recommended further investigations. It flagged about 45,000 fraudulent visas issued between 2014 and 2021. The SIU will now have to dedicate significant manpower and put in many hours sifting through paperwork relating to visas, permanent resident permits and naturalisation of foreign nationals. It will arguably be the entity’s most intensive investigation to date. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive
SIU to probe 'ghost employees' at Prasa as well as multibillion-rand security and locomotive contracts Fin24 reports that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been given the go-ahead to investigate two disastrous contracts at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), as well as the employment of over a thousand "ghost employees". The SIU has been investigating fraud and corruption at the embattled rail agency since 2019. The new proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa empowers the agency to widen its probe to include the Swifambo and Siyangena contracts, salaries paid to fake employees, and the payment of fraudulent liability claims by Prasa's insurance department. The Swifambo and Siyangena contacts featured prominently at the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, with a final report into the commuter rail agency handed over to Ramaphosa in 2022. The SIU has now, inter alia, been empowered to probe how much Prasa has paid so-called "ghost employees," uncovered in an internal probe two years ago called Project Ziveze, which means 'reveal yourself'. Then-transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced in August of 2022 that over a thousand Prasa employees could not be verified. The salaries of these ghost employees were frozen. A preliminary probe by the rail agency later identified around 1,500 employees who were being paid salaries but did not exist. Labour federation Cosatu, whose members have historicity relied heavily on passenger trains, welcomed the Prasa probe and said it was "amazed" that it had taken so long for the SIU's investigation to be expanded. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Cronje at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Weak economy and shrinking tax base cast doubt on feasibility of raising R200bn in taxes to fund NHI BL Premium reports that a report commissioned by organised business calls into question, in view of SA’s weak economic growth and declining tax base, the feasibility of the Department of Health’s (DoH’s) plan to raise R200bn in taxes to fund National Health Insurance. The total number of taxpayers assessed by the SA Revenue Service declined from close to 5.9-million in 2018 to 5.5-million in 2021, and just 9% of the population paid 40% of SA’s total tax revenue in 2020, shows the report by consulting firm FTI Consulting. The document underpinned the arguments made by Business Unity SA (Busa) and Business for SA as they lobbied parliament last year to amend or reject the controversial NHI Bill. But the full report was only published on Monday, hard on the heels of President Cyril Ramaphosa saying in his state of the nation address earlier this month that he was “looking for a pen” to sign the bill into law, and just days before finance minister Enoch Godongwana is due to present his budget to parliament on Wednesday. The DoH said in December 2022 that it anticipated raising an extra R200bn in taxes to fund the scheme. But according to the report, raising this amount of money would require increasing VAT from 15% to 21.5%, increasing personal income tax across the board by 31% or imposing a payroll tax on everyone in the formal, non-agricultural sector of the economy by an average of R1,565 a month. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Six teachers sent packing for sexual misconduct since start of 2024 News24 reports that barely three months after sexually assaulting a matric pupil on 22 February 2022, a teacher allegedly touched two other Grade 12 pupils' breasts. However, the teacher from the Combined Agricultural School in the Free State did not face the music for the second incident reported on 27 May 2022 because the case did not reach the provincial education department's offices in Mangaung. Now, in an unprecedented move, Mark Hawyes, a senior panellist from the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) who presided over the teacher's arbitration hearing in the February 2022 matter, has recommended that the department investigate why the complaint by the other two girls did not reach the official responsible for handling sexual misconduct cases. In his motivation for sending the sanction to the Free State Department of Education, Hawyes said several "disturbing facts" were revealed during the inquiry. Among them was another teacher who "made a concerted effort to bring undue influence on witnesses" to discourage them from testifying against the accused teacher "so that the employee could be left to continue his sexual exploits". ELRC general secretary Cindy Foca reported that between April 2022 and March 2023, 10 cases of sexual harassment/assault and 30 of improper conduct were addressed at disciplinary hearings in the Free State Department of Education. She also reported: "During this period, [since 17 January, when schools opened for the 2024 academic year] six educators were found guilty of sexual misconduct and dismissed. These cases were referred at different times in 2023 and the arbitrations were finalised in the current year". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Prega Govender at News24
|
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page