In our roundup of weekend and recent reports,
see summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that recently appeared.
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Two-pot retirement system officially established as Ramaphosa signs bill into law Fin24 reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed into law an amendment bill that establishes the two-pot system that will allows members of retirement funds to access a portion of their savings. The Presidency said the system, set out in the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill assented to by Ramaphosa on Saturday, was aimed at preventing the total withdrawal of funds before retirement as well as the lack of access to money by those undergoing dire financial problems. "The primary objective of the two-pot retirement system is to provide flexibility for fund members to access their retirement savings during emergencies, without necessitating resignation. The reform introduced by the legislation strives to strike a balance between long-term security and immediate needs, recognising life's unpredictability", the Presidency explained. The new system will split contributions made after 1 September into a savings and retirement component. Historical retirement benefits will become a vested component. Members will be able to withdraw the lesser of 10% or R30,000 of the vested component on implementation, following which one-third of contributions will go into the savings component and two-thirds into the retirement component. A member will be able to make single annual withdrawals from the savings component, with a minimum withdrawal amount of R2,000. Read the full original of the report in the above regard compiled by Ahmed Areff at Fin24. Read too, Ramaphosa signs new ‘two-pot’ law that overhauls retirement system, at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
South African soldiers ambushed in the DRC, one killed, 22 injured, 13 in hospital City Press reports that a contingent of South African soldiers was led into a bloody ambush by M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week, barely a week after their arrival in the country. During the clash, one senior South African medical orderly was killed and 22 were injured, with 13 admitted to the hospital in Goma. One of the soldiers had to have a foot amputated. The orderly, whose name has not yet been disclosed, was reportedly driving an Mfezi mine-resistant ambulance to the ground combat location with M23 when the rebels fired a mortar into it through its open roof hatch, causing it to explode inside. Some of the 13 South African soldiers in the SADC force in the DRC (SAMIDRC) who are being treated in the hospital in Goma are from the 2 SA Infantry Battalion in Zeerust, North West. The death brings the number of SAMIDRC deaths since December to approximately 10. The SANDF union said it was high time that the army became transparent about exactly what was happening in the DRC. The army has yet to provide a clear outline of the mission to the DRC and its mandate there. It has also not yet justified sending a force of nearly 3,000 soldiers to Goma without any cargo planes or helicopters. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Erika Gibson at City Press. Lees ook, SA soldaat sterf in DRK, by Maroela Media Six of the 10 teachers killed in Limpopo crash laid to rest SABC News reports that six of the 10 Limpopo teachers killed in a head-on collision between a mini-bus taxi and a truck have been laid to rest in the Moletjie area outside Polokwane in Limpopo. One was buried at Seshego Zone 5 on Saturday. The funerals of the other three teachers will be held next weekend. A total of 13 people were killed in the crash – the other three collision victims were a mini-bus taxi and truck driver as well as an Eskom employee. The deaths of the teachers have been described as a big loss to the department. MEC Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya said the teachers have left a void. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jabulani Baloi at SABC News. Read too, Family mourns death of two sisters in teachers’ crash, on page 10 of Sunday World of 2 June 2024 Bodies of victims of George building collapse sent home Sunday World reports that the Malawian and Mozambican governments last week repatriated the bodies of victims of the George building tragedy in which 33 construction workers were killed. It was reported last week that the families of the deceased from the SADC region were frustrated by a lack of assistance from their respective foreign missions. Some even put out a call to fugitive Malawian pastor Shepherd Bushiri for help. According to the Malawi High Commission’s Panji Chirwa, their government repatriated the nine remaining bodies to Malawi for burial last week. Thanking the SA government and funeral undertaker AVBOB for their assistance, he indicated: “We transported the bodies and 13 relatives to escort their loved ones to Malawi. As the families had no funds to repatriate their loved ones, we had to get involved as the government of Malawi to make sure that our brothers and sisters get repatriated home to be buried in dignity in their own country.” AVBOB’s Gert Niehaus said there was only one body remaining at the mortuary. However, the deceased’s family from Lesotho was making final arrangements to bury the body. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Mdakane at Sunday World Popcru commends police for good work during last week’s elections The Star reports that the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) has commended SA’s law enforcement community, including members of the SA Police Service (SAPS), for a job well done in ensuring that last week’s general elections were peaceful and without major incidents. On Friday, Popcru president Thulani Ngwenya said he had noted the good work of the country's men and women in uniform who had worked around the clock to ensure the safety of voters, as well as communities, during the elections on 29 May. He noted that there had been concerns that the elections could be disrupted by certain groups, either through violence, intimidation of voters and election staff, protests or barricades. “In response, our traffic and police officers increased their presence and visibility, and worked hard to secure voting stations and prevent any serious disruptions that may have negatively impacted our democratic processes, or the safety of our communities and citizens, Ngwenya pointed out. When it came to the voting at various correctional facilities, Ngwenya said all inmates who were eligible to vote were allowed to exercise their rights, with no incidents across all the facilities. The good work of the police and other law enforcement agencies was also noted by Police Minister Bheki Cele, who commended the police for their hard work during his visit to the IEC National Elections Results Centre in Midrand on Friday. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Sithole at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Big fuel price cuts expected on Wednesday IOL Motoring reports that South Africans can finally look forward to some fuel price relief from this week, with petrol and diesel prices set to decrease on Wednesday. Unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) shows that petrol prices are likely to come down by around R1.06 per litre, while diesel is looking set to decrease by between 90 cents, for 50ppm, and R1 for 500ppm. These strong over-recoveries could see the price of 95 Unleaded petrol falling to around R23.64 at the coast and R24.43 in Gauteng, where 93 Unleaded will decrease to around R24.09. Factors like the Slate Levy, which compensates fuel companies for international oil price fluctuations during the month, could still have a bearing on the final fuel prices, which are due to be announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy soon. Those filling their vehicles with petrol have been dealt a particularly hard sting this year, with the price of 95 Unleaded having risen by R2.93 since January this year. June’s predicted price decreases come mainly as a result of lower international oil prices and a stronger rand. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Woosey at IOL Motoring Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Union federations call for a cap on maximum pay of executives Sunday World reports that trade union federations are concerned about the depletion of earning power for the working class while fat cats in businesses, particularly in the banking sector, are rewarded very handsomely. Last week the union federations – including the Cosatu, Saftu and Nactu – expressed concern about the “unjustifiable and obscenely high packages” earned by the CEOs in the banking sector. According to BusinessTech, among CEO top earners, the head of Investec, Fani Titi, earned R175-million, including perks, in the last reporting period. This was nearly R500,000 a day, an amount equal to a salary of a middle manager in the sector. Titi was followed in earnings by Mike Brown, CEO of Nedbank, who in the same reporting period pocketed R92-million, an equivalent of R253,425 a day. Cosatu national spokesperson Matthew Parks said they could not accept banking CEOs making obscene salaries while their organisations paid bank tellers a pittance. He indicated: “We look forward to the President signing the Companies Amendment Bill, which will require listed companies to disclose their wage gap in the annual report to shareholders and the public. We need to further tighten legislation to put in place the maximum wage that can be allowed.” Parks added: “It is immoral to pay workers slave wages. It does not make economic sense to those workers who will not be able to buy food and have transport money they need to be productive at work or even to buy the goods businesses produce.” Nactu’s general secretary Narius Moloto said it was sad that huge inequality gaps in incomes 30 years after democracy, “are still the order of the day.” “What is happening at the banks is unethical and evil,” he stated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jo Mangaliso Mdhlela at Sunday World
Appointment of imported Cuban engineers unlawful, court rules Maroela Media reports that two months before the contracts of 25 Cuban engineers expire, their appointments in SA were declared unlawful by the High Court in Pretoria on Friday. Judge Jan Swanepoel found the manner in which they were appointed to be unlawful and held that the saying “charity begins at home” was applicable in this case. However, he did not issue an interdict declaring the current contracts of the engineers invalid because they were a done deed. In 2020, the then Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu made the appointments. Trade union Solidarity condemned the decision to bring foreign engineers to SA at great cost to work on water infrastructure and took Sisulu and her department to court. This was on the basis that the appointments were contrary to the required procedures the government had to follow in order to obtain the services of such skilled employees. The trade union further described them unnecessary and unethical because South Africans who were suffering due to unemployment were simply overlooked for the sake of more expensive foreign workers. According to calculations made at the time, the 25 engineers cost SA approximately R75 million. Solidarity Deputy Chief Executive Anton van der Bijl commented: “Thanks to Solidarity’s involvement, further large-scale and blatantly unnecessary wastefulness has been uncovered. Nonetheless, it is a disgrace that once more it was necessary to intervene at great expense through the courts. It once again shows how the government’s own interests far outweigh the interests of ordinary South Africans.” Read the full original of the above report in Afrikaans by Isabel Venter at Maroela Media. Read Solidarity’s press release on the judgment at Politicsweb
‘Urgent need for new skills to match energy transition’ Business Times reports that Shameela Soobramoney, CEO of the National Business Initiative (NBI), says SA needs to “reorientate” its education system to provide skills for a low carbon economy as a matter of urgency. “There is an urgency around the fact that the transition to a low carbon economy has already begun and the skills set is needed already,” she warned, adding that “while on the one hand we're deeply concerned about potential job losses in for, example, the coal value chain there's a lot to be lost in the rest of the economy by not transitioning.” According to Soobramoney, currently “our education and training system is not equipped to supply the skills we're already needing for this renewables-based future. We need to start looking at how this system can be used to produce these skills.” Demand-led skilling was a must, she pointed out. “Producing skills in and of itself doesn't solve anything. Those skills need to be fit to be employed. That's where the private sector has a massive role to play … More focus on demand-led skilling could make our TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training) college system so much more useful to the economy. We need to make our technical education and training system far more fit for purpose.” It would also help if TVET colleges were located more strategically to maximise opportunities for economic inclusion. But, having the government's just energy transition implementation plan in place at last, with which the NBI's skilling for employment programme was aligned, was a big positive, Soobramoney noted. “At least now we have a view on three industries: renewables, green hydrogen and new energy vehicles (Nevs).” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chris Barron at Business Times (subscriber access only)
Government school gives teacher accused of racism a new job Sunday World reports that a teacher who resigned from a Curro Academy school in Soweto after being exposed for calling black pupils monkeys has been employed in a Gauteng government school. In February the teacher, Tayabah Jadwat, allegedly used a racially derogatory term by calling three black pupils monkeys during class because they had made noise. She was then suspended, but resigned after she was advised, allegedly by the school’s head Johannes Mahlatsi, to quit or be fired for the alleged racial slur. Jadwat is now employed at the Lenasia Secondary School, a public school which falls under the Gauteng department of education. Concerned parents at the school in Lenasia, south of Joburg, have raise the alarm about her employment at the school. One parent said the school governing body (SGB) needed to explain and added: “We are not going to let this slide. The SGB and the school need to give us answers regarding her employment. We are not going to have our kids taught by a person who called black learners monkeys.” SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said racism was “a serious offence and no school should undermine the seriousness of the crime”. The Gauteng department of education distanced itself from Jadwat’s appointment. “The Gauteng department of education can confirm that the said educator is not permanently employed by the department, but the SGB since 3 April 2024,” said spokesperson Steve Mabona. SA Council of Educators (SACE) spokesperson Risuna Nkuna indicated: “All teachers are employed by the Department of Basic Education through a recruitment process. SACE does not have the jurisdiction to employ teachers.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Mdakane at Sunday World
ANC chief of staff Langa Zita on sabbatical, not fired, Mbalula insists Sunday World reports that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula instructed his chief of staff Langa Zita to take leave following allegations that he was involved in using the name of the governing party’s chief executive officer to solicit a bribe from businessman Mthunzi Mdwaba. Last year, Mdwaba alleged that Mbalula, through a middleman, was among ANC heavyweights who approached him and solicited a 10% cut from the now botched R5-billion deal he had scored at the Department of Employment and Labour. Mbalula, alongside his comrades who were fingered in the allegations, dragged Mdwaba to court claiming defamation. They have so far obtained a gag order against Mdwaba. Mbalula was apparently so irked at having his name dragged into the fiasco that he embarked on an investigation to find out who might have misused his name. After Mdwaba revealed that it was Zita who came to his house, Mbalula approached his subordinate, who admitted to having been to Mdwaba’s house, but denied that he solicited kickbacks from the businessman. Mbalula confirmed that he told Zita to take leave. He said Zita himself was prepared to go on sabbatical leave to allow the process to run without his interference. That process has since run its course, said Mbalula, and found no wrongdoing on the part of Zita, whom he said would be returning to his job. Mbalula insisted that Zita was not on as suspension as speculated in Luthuli House corridors, but was rather on sabbatical leave. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mawande Amashabalala at Sunday World (subscriber access only) Mpumalanga top cop's suspension 'delayed' by national commissioner until after elections News24 reports that national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola delayed the suspension of Mpumalanga police commissioner General Daphney Manamela following allegations of serious misconduct, until after the general elections. Manamela is facing a raft of serious allegations, including using state vehicles to escort her on personal trips, demanding that a junior official buy her gold or red shoes to approve a transfer to another province, and unlawfully installing CCTV systems at the provincial head office in Mbombela to effectively spy on colleagues. She is also alleged to have threatened staff and sworn at subordinates, including a deputy district commissioner whom she allegedly told to "voetsek" and "fokof". Moreover, she allegedly told a provincial supply chain management head, in Setswana, that he was "shit, full of shit" and an "arsehole". The allegations prompted the national commissioner to serve Manamela with a notice of intention to suspend her pending the outcome of a board of inquiry into the allegations of misconduct. The inquiry was established in March 2023, but was delayed following a legal challenge by Manamela. The North Gauteng High Court dismissed Manamela's challenge to the lawfulness of the inquiry in April this year. In a notice of intention to suspend dated 15 May, Masemola said Manamela stood accused of a "litany of extremely serious allegations of misconduct" and that he was considering suspending her from office. The letter, which gave Manamela five calendar days to respond, was served on her on 16 May. However, Masemola has still not taken any action. Two sources from the HR at police headquarters indicated that Manamela should have been suspended a week before the elections, but that it was delayed to avoid "instability". Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Belinda Pheto & Alex Mitchley at News24
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