In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.
|
Ramaphosa lauds employee share ownership schemes at inaugural Esops conference Fin24 reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa indicated on Tuesday that SA's employee share ownership schemes (Esops) had come a long way since their early days of empowerment 20 years ago, with more than a half a million workers now participants. Referring to a study by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), which noted that 551,000 workers in SA were now covered by Esops, Ramaphosa noted that efforts to introduce more of these schemes had picked up considerably over the years, but that more needed to be done. Delivering the keynote address at the inaugural Worker Share Ownership Conference hosted by the DTIC in Sandton, Ramaphosa pointed out that if workers were incentivised, as was the case with CEOs and other top managers, they would go above and beyond in their bid to see the companies they worked for grow. Ramaphosa added that worker share ownership schemes were an "investment towards the achievement of greater social justice", adding there was a need to "underpin what we do with the concept of leaving no one behind". DTIC Minister Ebrahim Patel told delegates the conference was a first of its kind and provided an opportunity to reflect on a new model of Esops differed from earlier ones. This new model would focus on "bringing tangible and immediate benefits for share ownership to workers, colleagues and friends in a rapidly changing world with the opportunities and complex challenges of artificial intelligence and firms and economies with need to address climate change with greater urgency". It was noted that over the past five years, a total of 125 worker share trusts had been launched in SA, with 98 of them already established and 27 in progress. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nick Wilson at Fin24. Read too, Employee share ownership plans mark successes, learnings, at Engineering News Worker representatives call for tighter legislation to govern mining employee share incentive schemes Business Report writes that workers representatives have called for tighter legislation, through the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), to govern employee share ownership schemes (Esops) in SA mining companies. This came as the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) on Monday held an inaugural conference to provide a platform for advocacy for Esops by celebrating their successes, raising awareness and exploring possible collaborative solutions. Seipati Malema of the National Union of Mineworkers said they wanted to see the rules of what companies were required to do to empower workers governed by legislation. In September 2021, the Gauteng High Court delivered a judgment declaring that the Mining Charter III was simply policy and not legislation. According to Malema, in the absence of Esops being legislated in the MPRDA, then they will just be a policy and not a law. According to the DTIC, there are 125 Esops currently, with 98 having already been established and 27 in the process, benefiting 551,000 workers. At least 31% of these Esops are in the mining industry, 21% in food and beverages companies, 14.5% in retail, and 14.3% in finance and banks. President Cyril Ramaphosa praised Esops as important to economic transformation. Trade union Solidarity reiterated that Esops should benefit all employees as there were no grounds to exclude white employees from them. Solidarity’s Gideon du Plessis said they were encouraged by the many calls made at the conference requesting that the funding models for Esops be revisited so that Esops costs were not recovered from employees’ dividends, and that tax relief for participating employers be investigated. He noted that it was the case that employers were widely requested to implement Esops, where it was practically possible, in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for Esops, which would hopefully be released soon. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siphelele Dludla at Business Report
Learners and teachers march for safer schools in Nelson Mandela Bay GroundUp reports that learners, parents and teachers marched through the streets of Nelson Mandela Bay metro to the Motherwell Police station on Friday, demanding that the spaces in and around schools be made safer. They said the recent spike in crime in the community has caused disruptions to school activities, with many staff and learners no longer feeling safe at school. Since November, 131 schools in the Nelson Mandela Bay region have been robbed, mostly at gunpoint. It was reported earlier in April that the Eastern Cape Department of Education had allocated an additional R59-million to bump up security at schools in the province. Principal Nomonde Dlamini, who led the march, indicated: “Motherwell is a hotspot for crime, especially our schools. We decided to raise awareness in the community using the kids because the kids are affected whenever there’s a robbery at school.” School Governing Body chairman Bonakele Lungu said: “All over Nelson Mandela Bay Metro criminals come into schools and rob teachers. They take cellphones, laptops and even take their vehicles. Our worry is the protection of the kids because they become victims when they witness these crimes.” Officer Emile Grange from Motherwell SAPS received the group’s memorandum on behalf of the police. He promised that there would be more police visibility around schools. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Joseph Chirume at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Households strain to afford basics including food and electricity TimesLIVE reports that nearly half of SA adults are struggling to afford food and electricity, highlighting the pressing financial challenges consumers are facing, with fewer jobs in the formal economy and a small number of low-earners in the informal sector. This is according to FinMark Trust’s annual “FinScope Consumer SA” report for 2023, released on Tuesday. The report shows that 40% of adults are resorting to borrowing money to buy food. Living expenses, which include groceries, energy, transportation and communication, account for about 85% of monthly income. Of this, groceries make up 30.4% of expenses, energy 11.5%, transportation 9.1%, communication 8.8% and routine household maintenance, rental and rates 8.5%. FinMark Trust’s Jabulani Khumalo indicated: “It is considered highly burdensome to allocate more than 10% of income to household energy expenses, including electricity. Due to financial constraints, two out of every five individuals reported their homes being without electricity in 2023. The year 2024 may not alleviate the cost to consumers as they have recently endured a staggering 12.74% increase in Eskom’s tariffs, with no indication of interest rates decreasing soon.” In its 20-year overview, the survey revealed that the labour force had shrunk from 47% in 2003 to 39% in 2023, with the formal sector primarily responsible for this decrease with a decline from 32% to 20%. The number of people reliant on social assistance, including subsidies and outside support, has significantly increased over the past two decades. Individuals receiving social assistance increased from 10-million (or 37%) in 2003 to 30-million (68%) in 2023. In 2003 only 13% of adults received government social grants. By 2023 this figure had risen to 46%. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at BusinessLive
Vavi feels cheated over fake honorary doctorate from Trinity International Bible University SowetanLive reports that trade unionist Zwelinzima Vavi says he feels cheated after he learnt that the honorary doctorate he cherished for six years was conferred by an unregistered institution. The Trinity International Bible University, which has been found to be bogus, honoured Vavi at a function held in the Eastern Cape in 2018 where he and others were handed certificates. But, the Bible college has come under sharp scrutiny after the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) advised that it was not registered. This came after the circulation of photos of actor Sello Maake Ka Ncube attending the university's event where he and other celebrities received their honorary doctorates. On Sunday, Vavi spoke of his shock when he found out that his doctorate was not legally recognised. "All these years I thought I was a doctor of something and I was proud that my contribution to fight the plight of workers had been recognised by an academic institution. Even though not many people referred to me as doctor, but knowing that I had been honoured gave me a sense of accomplishment ... but all of that fell flat in the weekend when minister [Blade] Nzimande said the university was not registered.“ Also speaking on Sunday, DHET Minister Blade Nzimande said Trinity awarded honorary doctorates to unsuspecting celebrities as a strategy for it to gain credibility status with the public. Trinity board member Modjadji Letsoalo claimed the institution was credited by international bodies. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Koena Mashale & Lindile Sifile at SowetanLive
Solidarity says Ramaphosa’s NHI promises should be taken ‘with a pinch of salt’ Trade union Solidarity said on Monday that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement that the National Health Insurance (NHI) would put an end to the “apartheid that prevails in the health care sector” was a deliberate disregard of certain key facts about the system. Solidarity expressed skepticism about Ramaphosa’s latest promises regarding the NHI because it said the reality of the healthcare system in SA was vastly different from the picture painted by the president. According to Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), it was important to acknowledge the origins of the existing infrastructure of large hospitals in SA, which had mainly been built before the ANC came to power. “Since the ANC came to power, almost no attention has been paid to the maintenance of state hospitals. Only private hospitals have been built by the private sector,” Du Buisson pointed out. “The ANC government is the cause of the system functioning the way it does. This government has let the public health sector fall into disrepair. They have introduced policies that increase unemployment. They have introduced policies that prevent medical aid schemes from offering affordable options. To expect that they will be able to roll out the NHI in a good way is insane,” he argued. Du Buisson also noted that SA did not have the necessary financial resources to support a system such as the NHI, which would lead to a further reduction of quality healthcare services, while the costs would be borne by those who were already most vulnerable in the country. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard in full at Politicsweb
Suspended Lotto secretary ordered to pay punitive costs for wasting court’s time with urgent bid to stop disciplinary hearing Fin24 reports that a judge of the High Court in Johannesburg has imposed a punitive costs order against suspended National Lotteries Commission (NLC) secretary Nompumelelo Nene for wasting the court's time. Nene, who was suspended by the lottery in 2022, approached the court in mid-March with an urgent bid to stop her forthcoming disciplinary hearing. Nene is among half a dozen lottery employees being investigated internally for alleged wrongdoing and corruption. Judge Stuart Wilson threw out her case in March, saying it was not urgent and has now published a ruling stating why he has decided to impose a punitive costs order against her. Such orders oblige one party to pay all the other parties' legal costs. In the case of Nene, she has to pay the costs incurred by the NLC in fighting her urgent application. In his ruling, Wilson noted that Nene, who is an admitted advocate and "senior corporate lawyer", failed to present any facts at all to support her case that the upcoming disciplinary hearing should be blocked. "Nene's application was so devoid of substance that it warrants a punitive costs order. Urgent court is for truly urgent matters," he pointed out. Wilson said that Nene had wasted the court's time, which risked crowding out other, more deserving cases. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Cronje at Fin24. Read too, Court orders suspended Lotto secretary to pay punitive costs, at GroundUp
Court interpreter lands in the dock after allegedly soliciting R30,000 ‘bribe for sweets’ SowetanLive reports that a court interpreter allegedly solicited a R30,000 bribe from the sister of an accused, claiming she would use it to “buy sweets” for the magistrate who would grant the accused bail in return. However, the plan backfired after an initial payment of R10,000 was made, and the interpreter allegedly relentlessly hounded the siblings for the balance until the implicated magistrate was alerted. Nomvuyo Dyosi works at the Blue Downs Magistrate's Court in Cape Town where Lennox Ntsodo appeared in connection with a fraud case in October 2023. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Dyosi allegedly approached Lennox's sister, Zimasa Ntsodo, at his bail application to “buy sweets” for the magistrate to “rescue” her brother, whom Ntsodo suspected had been assaulted in custody. “The sister asked the accused what the ‘sweets’ she was referring to were, and the accused replied a payment must be made so she (Dyosi) could give the money to the magistrate for her brother to get bail,” Ntabazalila reported. The siblings told a family member, also employed at the court, what happened. The family member alerted the magistrate about the allegations. The magistrate denied the accusations against him and immediately reported the matter to the police. The case was postponed to 19 June 19 for further investigation and Dyosi was released on R1,000 bail. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kim Swartz at TimesLIVE Former municipal clerk who increased her own and colleague’s salaries without authorisation sentenced IOL News reports that a former municipal clerk, Ntombozuko Mgoqi, has been convicted on charges of fraud and theft and sentenced in the Peddie Regional Court in the Eastern Cape. Her co-accused, Nolufefe Mrhwebo, was convicted and found guilty on 25 May 2016 and sentenced to four years imprisonment. The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, said Mgoqi was a clerk in the expenditure department within the Ngqushwa Local Municipality. He reported as follows: “During December 2013 and June 2014, Mgoqi unlawfully and intentionally colluded with Mrhwebo to manipulate the municipal system to increase their salaries without the employer’s authorisation. Subsequent to that, internal auditing picked up discrepancies in their salaries and the municipality suffered a loss of over R200,000 from the unauthorised salary increase.” The subsequent investigation revealed that Mgoqi had intentionally manipulated the municipal system to increase her and her colleague’s salaries without the employer’s authorisation. Eight years after the sentencing of her co-accused, Mgoqi was sentenced to five years direct imprisonment with no option of a fine. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Robin-Lee Francke at IOL News
Instructor at Phillipi Police Training Academy arrested for rape of female trainee IOL News reports that a police training instructor has been arrested by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) on a charge that he allegedly raped a female police trainee. Ipid spokesperson, Phaladi Shuping, indicated: “It is alleged that on 31 March 2024, a police instructor at a Phillipi Police Training Academy in the Western Cape called a female police trainee to his office and she went to the office after she had several excuses in the past for not going to his office. It is alleged that the instructor locked the door once the complainant was inside, and raped her. She was allowed to leave after the alleged rape, but she did not report the incident immediately.” The trainee reported the rape a few days after the incident. A case was reported and referred to Ipid for investigation. The training instructor was arrested on 21 April and appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court the next day. The case was postponed to 2 May for a formal bail application. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Robin-Lee Francke at IOL News
Transport minister says Central Line to Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain in Cape Town will now be fully operational in May GroundUp reports that full operation of the Metrorail Central Line, which services Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain in Cape Town, has been delayed by another month, to May, according to Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga. Last month, Metrorail regional manager Raymond Maseko told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts that trains would be operating from Cape Town station to Khayelitsha’s Nolungile train station “by April”. The latest indication by Chikunga comes after she took the 8:10 train on the Southern Line from Fish Hoek to Cape Town before cutting the ribbon on the 200th “Isitimela Sabantu” train manufactured locally in Gauteng. The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has been struggling to reopen the Central Line due to ongoing theft and vandalism in late 2019, following the rail agency cancelling security contracts. During the Covid lockdown, thousands of families and individuals who could no longer afford backyard rentals built shacks on the line and in the rail reserve. Hundreds of households have since been relocated, and the Central Line has been partly operational since March last year, but only runs as far as Nyanga, with only one train in the morning and one train in the evening. The train does not stop at a number of stations between Nyanga and Cape Town, while the train to Khayelitsha and the branch line to Mitchell’s Plain do not operate at all. “Progress is being made to recover the Central Line from Phillippi to Nolungile and trains are expected to run by May this year, adding to the services already running from Cape Town to Nyanga on the Central Line,” Chikunga promised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Steve Kretzmann at GroundUp No public transport relief in sight for Tongaat workers as Prasa passes the buck GroundUp reports that workers commuting between Tongaat and Durban have been struggling with high transport costs since the connecting northern rail line stopped operating four years ago. The line was shut down in 2020 during the Covid lockdown, forcing commuters to rely on minibus taxis to travel the approximately 50km to work, predominantly in the industrial area of Isipingo. While the return train journey used to cost R23, commuters are now having to spend R90 a day on taxis. Tongaat ward councillor Dolly Munien lamented: “It seems as if Prasa (Passenger Rail Agency of SA) has forgotten about the Northern Line.” Not just workers, but people seeking work in Durban are also affected, she pointed out. Tongaat resident Siyabonga Mkhize said he resigned his job because the amount of money he was earning was not enough to cover his commute and living costs. KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said there was nothing the department could do about restoration of the train line as the service was run by Prasa. But Prasa’s Zama Nomgaga said they were not responsible for the Northern Line as it was Transnet Freight Rail’s responsibility and they were waiting for Transnet to fix it. He reported that the line had been vandalised, and had also been damaged by floods in April 2022. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tsoanelo Sefoloko at GroundUp
|
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page