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 South African
labour-related reports.
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Underground sit-in at Sibanye’s Kroondal platinum mine ends as workers return to surface TimesLIVE reports that the illegal underground sit-in by employees at Sibanye-Stillwater's Kroondal mine ended on Wednesday afternoon with all workers returning to the surface. “Now that the illegal sit-in has been resolved, the company will engage with employees and the representative unions in accordance with existing, standard processes and mechanisms,” the company said in a statement. More than 200 miners staged an underground protest from Monday onwards over annual payments under the employee share option schemes (ESOPs) being paid to beneficiaries of the company's Rustenburg and Marikana mines on Friday. The striking Kroondal employees were aggrieved as they did not receive ESOP payments. However, the company said they did not yet qualify for payments. “The company will not condone illegal actions by any stakeholders which may compromise the safety and wellbeing of employees or the sustainability of our operations and we appeal to employees to use the established grievance mechanisms or their union representatives to address any issues or concerns,” Sibanye indicated. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at TimesLIVE
'Members are working under severe conditions', laments Popcru over two instances of cops believed to have died by suicide News24 reports two Western Cape police officers have been found dead in their homes two days apart, prompting Western Cape police to open inquest dockets. Although the Police and Prison Civil Rights Union (Popcru) believes that the officers – Constable Justin Ruan Sasman and Warrant Officer Arthur Collins – died by suicide, that has not been verified by police. Popcru’s Xolile Marimani said: "This is a very unfortunate situation, which is not isolated to other situations where our members committed suicide. We want to make it categorically clear that our members are working under severe conditions and dealing with difficult societal problems. And as much as they are dealing with them, they also deal with their own personal challenges and their families. This is the environment that they always find themselves in." In the one incident, according to police spokesperson Colonel André Traut, a 34-year-old constable was found dead at his home in Wesbank, Malmesbury, on Monday afternoon. The officer was stationed at the Malmesbury police station. In the second incident, the body of a 58-year-old warrant officer was found at his home in Fish Hoek on Sunday evening. The officer was stationed at Muizenberg police station. Traut said with reference to both incidents that no foul play was suspected. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisalee Solomons at News24 KZN constable arrested for allegedly shooting his sergeant colleague dead inside Nsuze police station News24 reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police have arrested a 40-year-old constable after he allegedly shot his sergeant colleague dead inside the Nsuze police station on Tuesday night. Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the deceased was on duty at the time but that the constable had not been. "It is reported that [an officer] was doing routine patrols inside the premises of the police station when he heard gunshot sounds coming out of the community service centre. When he rushed to investigate, he saw an off-duty constable running away from the centre," Netshiunda indicated. The sergeant was found on a chair and was declared dead at the scene. In an unusual turn of events, the alleged murderer reported for duty on Wednesday morning and was duly arrested. "The motive of the killing is unknown at this stage," Netshiunda pointed out. Meanwhile, police top management officials have encouraged officers to make use of internal employee health and wellness programmes. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisalee Solomons at News24. Lees ook, Konstabel vas ná kollega in polisiestasie doodgeskiet word, by Maroela Media City Power contractors attacked by Alexandra residents while repairing faulty cable IOL News reports that City Power contractors were attacked, and one was left badly injured, after a group of residents in Alexandra assaulted them while they were repairing a faulty cable that had caused a power outage. The contractors were ambushed on Tuesday at the corner of Ruth and 13th Avenue by an angry mob. “The group pelted stones, injuring one of the contractors and landing him in hospital. Other technicians managed to escape unharmed, but their tool-boxes were stolen in the process. Cables and joints that were going to be used for the repairs were also taken,” City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena reported. City Power was forced to immediately pull out all of its resources from the township over safety concerns. “By this morning (Wednesday), only skeletal service was provided as the technicians are scared to respond to Alexandra outages,” Mangena indicated. City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava emphasised that City Power would not hesitate to permanently withdraw its employees and contractors from areas where their safety was compromised. Mangena said the outage would remain prolonged due to the onslaught attack on the contractors. “City Power will only allow its full complement of employees and contractors to return to site when it deems it safe,” he pointed out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinenhlanhla Masilela at IOL News. See too, City Power denounces violent attack on its Alexandra contactors, at EWN Bolt blocked 6,000 drivers in last six months over safety issues and noncompliance Fin24 reports that in the last six months, e-hailing platform Bolt has permanently blocked 6,000 drivers from its platform in SA in a bid to increase compliance and improve safety on the platform. Bolt said in a statement that blocking the drivers from the platform was part of the company's commitment to make the platform safer. The company added that the most common reasons that drivers were blocked were "noncompliance" and "safety-related matters". Bolt did not provide insight into what happened to the drivers after being blocked. Bolt and Uber are the two biggest e-hailing platforms in SA. Owing to the prevalence of violent attacks in recent years, which have tended to target women riders in particular, the platforms have taken measures to improve the safety of their services. Other safety initiatives Bolt said that it had undertaken in recent years included stringent driver photo verification, in-trip audio recordings, and a tool which diverts drivers around areas that have been identified as being dangerous. E-hailing drivers across the world and in SA have frequently voiced their concerns about their working conditions. As drivers are not technically employees of big e-hailing companies, and just operate through the platform, they are not necessarily afforded standard labour rights and bargaining power with the platform. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by William Brederode at Fin24. See too, Bolt suspends more than 6,000 drivers over safety issues and noncompliance, at BusinessLive
Despite a 0.1% fall in GDP data in first quarter, the agriculture sector grew by 13.5% Business Report writes that despite a 0.1% fall in SA’s GDP data for the first quarter of this year, the agriculture sector grew by 13.5%. The sector had experienced consecutive contractions over the previous quarters. Thabile Nkunjana, senior economist at the Trade Research Unit of the National Agricultural Marketing Council (Namc), said this was remarkable given the sector’s numerous fundamental constraints, which to a great extent included infrastructure. “However, the efforts of key government that collaborated with companies to address these difficulties have been partially neutralised, and more work is needed in the future,” Nkunjana said. He advised that the agricultural sector’s expansion had been principally driven by increased economic activity for horticultural items, but there had also been noteworthy activities in the livestock industry. But, Nkhensani Mashimbyi, an agricultural economist at Absa Agribusiness, commented that due to the seasonality of agriculture, it was difficult to compare the performance quarter-on-quarter from a GDP perspective. “It is better to compare Q1 2024 data with Q1 2023 data. Here, the quarterly year-on-year GDP slowed by 7.7% due to lower commodity prices, subdued consumer spending and infrastructure bottlenecks. There have been great strides made in improving local port inefficiencies through better collaboration between industry stakeholders and Transnet. Prospective rate cuts later in the year will alleviate consumer pressure,” Mashimbyi advised. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Given Majola at Business Report SAFTU blames restrictive Reserve Bank policies for the decline in GDP The Star reports that the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has blamed the decline of the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) on the restrictive monetary policy of the SA Reserve Bank (SARB). According to the federation, this was one of the factors sabotaging the economy. Spokesperson Trevor Shaku said their premise was that inflation was always caused by “too much money chasing too few goods”. He went on to argue: “Their (the Bank’s) solution rests on restricting credit and reducing money supply by increasing interest on debt liabilities for businesses and households and discouraging further credit by hiking interest rates. Interest rates are high today, with the prime lending rate at 11.75%. Consequently, this has increased debt and credit liabilities for small businesses, causing them to default, go bankrupt and close businesses.” Liquidation statistics by StatsSA show that 513 companies were liquidated between January and April 2024 across all industries. Causes may be multiple, but increasing debt service costs have certainly contributed. Shaku said by increasing debt and credit service costs, the SARB was sabotaging businesses, not only directly but indirectly too. StatsSA also revealed that the GDP contracted by a marginal 0.1% in the first quarter (January–March) of 2024. This followed a revised 0.3% increase in the fourth quarter of 2023. “Weaker manufacturing, mining and construction drove much of the downward momentum on the production (supply) side of the economy, while the expenditure (demand) side witnessed a decline across all components,” StatsSA explained. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipho Jack at The Star
Over 16,000 jobs lost due to sugar tax, claims SA Canegrowers Moneyweb reports that at the annual general meeting of SA Canegrowers this week it was emphasised that the precarious financial distress of the Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow sugar mills underscored how the Health Promotion Levy (sugar tax) was undermining the sustainability of the industry, as well as the million of jobs and rural livelihoods it supported. Newly elected SA Canegrowers chair Higgins Mdluli said that with the sugar tax scheduled to rise next year, the organisation would once again urge the government to support the industry to protect the jobs in the industry. In a statement, the association noted that the sugar tax was intended to be reviewed under phase one of the Sugarcane Value Chain Masterplan; however, this promise has not been fulfilled, and no meaningful engagement had to date occurred with the industry. The sugar tax has depressed the market for locally produced sugar and has cost the industry over 16,000 jobs. Studies conducted by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy indicate that the increase in the sugar tax would result in reduced land allocated to sugarcane cultivation and decreased deliveries of sugarcane to mills. The research highlighted that the most substantial job cuts would affect small-scale farmers. SA Canegrowers urged government to accelerate the value chain diversification project in the second phase of the Masterplan, by providing support for diversification into strategic aviation fuels, among other areas. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Terri-Ann Brouwers at Moneyweb
Retirement Funds Institute welcomes ‘two-pot’ retirement system The Citizen reports that the Institute of Retirement Funds Africa (IRFA) has joined companies in the pension fund industry to welcome the President signing one of the bills required to establish the ‘two-pot’ retirement system into law. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill that establishes the two-pot retirement system on Friday. The two-pot retirement system will allow members of retirement funds to access a portion of their retirement savings while still employed. Geraldine Fowler, IRFA president, said the two-pot retirement system would offer retirement fund members an opportunity to think more about their retirement savings. Wayne Hiller van Rensburg, IRFA executive officer and spokesperson, added that the organisation consistently endorsed retirement reform and the impact the establishment of the system would have on assisting members in the short-term while securing future benefits. “This system provides flexibility for fund members that was not available in the past. Members will now need to engage with their retirement funds more often and consider the long-term impact and the taxation of benefits,” said Hiller van Rensburg. He went on to note: “However, we are waiting for the president to sign the Pension Funds Amendment Bill and look forward to its signature, which is necessary for full clarity but not necessary for the implementation of this reform on 1 September.” While many pension fund members are waiting to get access to their funds, pension fund administrator Sanlam has urged members to pause and think before withdrawing funds from their savings pot. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ina Opperman at The Citizen
Zizi Kodwa resigns as minister of state after arrest and court appearance BL Premium reports that sports, arts and culture minister Zizi Kodwa has resigned after his arrest and court appearance on Wednesday for allegedly receiving bribes amounting to R1.6m. A statement from his ministry after he appeared in the Palm Ridge specialised commercial crimes court indicated: “This comes as Mr Kodwa challenges the charges against him.” Kodwa and former EOH boss Jehan Mackay were each granted bail of R30,000. The case is a result of state capture commission, which heard testimony that Mackay allegedly paid Kodwa kickbacks. The Hawks arrested them under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act and Prevention of Organised Crime Act. The case was postponed to 23 July for disclosure of the docket contents to the defence and consultations for pretrial preparations. Chief justice Raymond Zondo’s state capture report showed that Kodwa benefited from contracts worth more than R460m that the City of Johannesburg awarded to EOH Holdings in 2016. The company was hired to upgrade and maintain the metro’s software systems. Read the original of the report in the above regard by Hajra Omarjee at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Ramaphosa accepts Kodwa's resignation, ANC says step-aside rule 'will kick in', at News24. En ook, Zizi Kodwa bedank, by Maroela Media Suspect found tampering with infrastructure at Matla sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment Engineering News reports that according to power utility Eskom, one of the two accused suspects in a case involving tampering with critical infrastructure has been convicted in the Kriel Magistrate’s Court and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. The two suspects were arrested on 24 February 2022 on suspicion of stealing copper bars and installed copper at a substation in Mpumalanga. Eskom used drone surveillance to confirm the crime and suspects involved. Both suspects were granted bail, but the convicted suspect remained in custody since the day of the arrest until sentencing. The other accused has a warrant of arrest out for him. Eskom commended the utility’s internal security investigations and the SA Police Service’s detectives, who helped to bring the perpetrator to book. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at Engineering News Latest accused in KPMG bursary fraud case worked for the Presidency SowetanLive reports that Dikeledi Moema, 66, who has become the latest accused in the KPMG bursary fraud and money laundering case for allegedly receiving almost R560,000 from her accused son, is a former high-level bureaucrat. Moema, who appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, is a former chief director in the Presidency. The state alleges that her account was used by her son, Fidelis, to siphon money meant for needy students who were beneficiaries of KPMG's bursary scheme. Instead of paying the university fees on behalf of students, Fidelis would allegedly pay the money into the bank accounts of companies belonging to friends. They would then pay him back the money and keep some of it. The state alleges that his mother also benefited from the scheme in that money was allegedly deposited into her bank account. She joins two accused, Trevor Machimana and Tshwane metro police officer Lebogang Sigubudu. The accused face more than 400 charges, including fraud and money laundering. In her bail application, Moema asked that the state consider that she was a sickly and elderly woman and that she struggled to make ends me to support her grandchildren. However, the state dismissed this, claiming that Moema lived a life of luxury as a pensioner. Moema worked in the government for more than 20 years. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malibongwe Dayimani & Lindile Sifile at SowetanLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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