Today's Labour News

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Six firefighters killed on Sunday in runaway blaze in KwaZulu-Natal Midlands

News24 reports that six firefighters died after being caught in a runaway veldfire in the Boston area, near to Mpophomeni in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Sunday. Midlands EMS CEO Mark Winterboer earlier advised that three firefighters had died as a result of their injuries, while another four were transported to hospital with 100% burn wounds. Later, however, another three firefighters died in hospital due to serious burn wounds.   Midlands EMS crews, together with Midlands EMS rescue medics, worked to stabilise several patients on the scene.   A Netcare 911 aeromedical helicopter, with extra equipment, was called in to assist. Three firefighters were placed on ventilators, with one airlifted to the hospital. Two others, in critical condition, required urgent advanced life support treatment.   All patients were treated on the scene before being transported to the hospital for further care. The fire was eventually extinguished on Sunday afternoon. Siya Mkhize of Farmusa Agric and Forestry contractors earlier said it was their firefighters who had died. The company operates in fire protection and employs around 400 people. Provincial cooperative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) MEC Thulasizwe Buthelezi reported that the fire broke out in a plantation, characterised by difficult terrain, which complicated the efforts of the fire and emergency services deployed to the scene.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain, Nkosikhona Duma, Ntwaagae Seleka at News24

Husband still seeking answers about submarine tragedy that killed his naval officer wife

Weekend Argus reports that while the SA Navy, SA National Defence Force and the Minister of Defence pass the buck on the outcome of a board of inquiry into what happened 10 months ago when three naval officers died during a naval exercise in bad weather off the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, a grieving husband says he wants answers. Lieutenant-Commander Gillian Hector was the first woman in Africa to navigate a submarine, the SAS Manthatisi. On 20 September last year, the Heroine-class submarine was conducting a training exercise in rough conditions when tragedy struck.   Hector, together with Warrant Officers William Masela Mathipa and Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela, were killed when high waves hit the SAS Manthatisi while the boat was involved in a so-called vertical transfer exercise with a SAAF Lynx maritime helicopter. The incident occurred off Kommetjie when the submarine was on its way to Cape Town. Seven crew were swept into the sea and only four survived. Hector’s husband, Romero Hector, said he has yet to receive the final outcome of the inquiry into the deaths of the three naval officers. Romero, also a naval officer is restricted from speaking to the media, but he did say that he deserved to know the truth after warnings were issued by the weather service just days and hours before the 20 September tragedy. “My patience is running out and I want answers. It is approaching 10 months now and there has been no report on the incident. I have documents from the weather service. There is a clear indication that warnings were ignored. I have lost a lot,” Hector lamented. The board of inquiry panel was made up of four persons. The cause of death has yet to be revealed publicly.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Genevieve Serra at Weekend Argus

INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Ribas Manufacturers workers strike over R4 an hour increase

Sunday Independent reports that workers at Ribas Manufacturers protested outside the factory on Friday morning demanding a R4 per hour pay increase and an additional ten-minute tea break. Ribas manufactures sauces and condiments.   The strike commenced on 28 June after negotiations between workers and management deadlocked. This was after management offered a R1.75 increase, which could bring the hourly wage to R27.78. The workers were joined by their union, the General Industries Workers Union of SA (GIWUSA), and received support from representatives of other organisations such as the Socialist Youth Movement, 350.org, Marxist Workers Party and the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu).   GIWUSA members from Masterpack (Bidvest) also joined the protest, pledging their support for workers at Ribas.   The union advised that the strike would continue again on Monday. It indicated: “The demands for a 10-minute tea break paid by the employer and a R4 increase still stand, versus the company’s offer of a R1 increase. Workers are showing resilience and are determined to fight until their demands are met. Workers will be back at the picket lines on Monday.”   Meanwhile, Saftu’s general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the labour federation would be writing a letter to management to request an urgent meeting.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Manyane Manyane at Sunday Independent

MUNICIPAL WAGE NEGOTIATIONS

Local government wage talks to get underway on Monday

BusinessLive reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) is expected to start the first round of wage talks this week by demanding a pay hike equal to almost three times the inflation rate. Trade union and employer parties will meet on Monday at the SA Local Government Bargaining Council to negotiate on pay increases and improvements in other conditions of employment. Samwu’s central executive committee resolved in February to demand above-inflation increases, citing workers’ rising cost of living. Its primary demands include a one-year 15% or R4,000 wage increase, whichever is greater. An inflation rate of 5.2% was recorded in April and May. The union, representing 160,000 of SA’s nearly 300,000 municipal workers, is also demanding an industry minimum wage of R15,000; that employers cover 70% of employees’ medical aid costs; a R3,000 housing allowance; and the provision of serviced stands for municipal workers to build their own homes. It is asking for six-month paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave. The wage negotiations come against the backdrop of an announcement by Samwu that it had secured a 7% wage increase for its members in the water sector. The other trade union involved in the negotiations is the Independent Municipal & Allied Trade Union (Imatu), but Keith Swanepoel and Johan Koen, president and general secretary respectively, could not immediately be reached for comment. In 2021 parties in the council signed a three-year wage deal, which expired last month, for increases of 3.5% (2021/22), 4.9% (2022/23) and 5.4% (2023/24).

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive

MEDIA24 RETRENCHMENTS

Media24 pauses job cuts as it awaits outcome of Competition Commission process

BusinessLive reports that Media24 is continuing consultations with staff under its section 189 process in which hundreds of jobs are on the chopping block. But, the company said it would not make any cuts or shut down any of its embattled print businesses until a merger comprising the sale of its media logistics business to Novus was approved. Ishmet Davidson, CEO of Media24, said in a statement: “Media24 confirms that it will not implement any retrenchments (or newspaper closures) until such time as the Competition Commission process has been finalised relating to its proposed sale of On the Dot, the community newspapers and Soccer Laduma to Novus.” However, “this undertaking does not include ceasing the actual section 189 consultation process as it relates to the affected newspaper titles and the proposed closure of the digital hub SNL24”. Competing printing and publishing group Caxton has approached the Competition Commission to oppose the closure of the titles and the sale of the media logistics business. In mid-June, Media24 said it was seeking to close the print editions of five newspapers, transitioning three of them into digital-only brands. The strategic move will put 400 jobs at risk, with another 400 potentially transferring to Novus on the sale of On the Dot and community newspapers.   . Print editions on the chopping block are Beeld, Rapport, City Press, Daily Sun and Soccer Laduma, as well as the digital editions of Volksblad and Die Burger Oos-Kaap and the digital hub SNL24. Those transitioning to digital-only publications are Rapport, City Press and Daily Sun.The last day of publication for the affected newspapers has been earmarked for 30 September.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mudiwa Gavaza at BusinessLive

VISAS / WORK PERMITS

Visa extension for foreign workers raises ire of home affairs committee worried about 'capacity'

News24 reports that the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs is not entirely happy with newly appointed Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Minister Leon Schreiber's decision to extend the temporary concession for foreign nationals awaiting the outcome of visa, waiver and appeal applications.   Extending the visas of foreign nationals already in SA is said to shift focus and resources away from the needs of citizens. According to Schreiber, the extension safeguards applicants – including those who are contributing to SA’s economy through their scarce skills – from suffering adverse consequences or being erroneously declared undesirable while they await the outcome of applications submitted to the department. But the committee has raised concerns about capacity. These concerns were captured in the committee's report on the department's budget and plans for the 2024/25 financial year. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Schreiber was adamant that the measure would aid the economy. "Without this concession, international tourists and workers who contribute to our economy would have been punished if their documentation expired while they awaited the outcome of home affairs processes. This would be unfair and irrational and discourage investment, tourism and skills transfer," he argued. According to the DHA, the extension applies to visa holders who have applied for waivers and whose applications were still pending as of 30 June; visa holders who have applied for long-term visas – including study, business, relative visas and work visas – and whose applications were still pending as of 30 June; and those who have appealed a negative decision on their long-term visa applications, including study, business, relative visas and work visas.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24

EXECUTIVE PAY

Pick n Pay gives Sean Summers R100m incentive to fix the retailer

Moneyweb reports that Pick n Pay chief executive Sean Summers has been granted a substantial amount of shares as an incentive to turn the struggling retailer around. In an announcement, the group said that earlier in July it granted him four million shares in its restricted share plan. At R27 a share, these could be worth as much as R108 million. If the group’s share price rises to anything closer to R50 or R60 (where it had been trading prior to January 2023), Summers’s shares will be worth far closer to R200 million. The share incentives are subject to specific performance conditions that “combine qualitative and quantitative indicators critical to the turnaround of the core Pick n Pay supermarket business”. The retailer has not disclosed these, but will do so in next year’s annual report. Summers’s shares are in place for the next 32 months, which is the term of his employment contract. The shares will vest in three tranches. Summers will be under tremendous pressure to find a successor for himself over this time. Not only is it a specific criteria of his performance shares, it is also his number one priority to reorganise the company’s leadership structure and “strengthen it with seasoned experts and establish clear succession plans”.   Summers is being paid very modestly as CEO. In the five months between Pieter Boone’s departure and the end of Pick n Pay’s financial year (28 February 2024), Summers was paid around R10 million (R2 million a month). He received no retirement, medical or other benefits (and is technically above the group’s mandatory retirement age). It is unclear whether he will be paid at the same level in the year ahead.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Moneyweb

REMUNERATION RULING

Limpopo education department ordered to compensate rural teachers for unfair labour practice

TimesLIVE reports that a group of 270 rural schoolteachers in Limpopo have won a R17.6m payout after having been subjected to unfair labour practice. The Limpopo education department has until the end of the month to pay each of the teachers R65,342.20 in compensation, according to a ruling by the Education Labour Relations Council, which heard the matter last month in Tzaneen. The case was laid by Morema Justice and 269 other teachers against the provincial education department, which did not represent itself or defend the matter. The applicants are all employed by the department as educators. They referred a dispute of unfair labour practice after the rural incentive benefit they were receiving was suddenly stopped. They took the matter to the council, arguing that this amounted to unfair labour practice and asked to be compensated.   The rural teachers all qualified for and were receiving the rural incentive benefit incentive, which was withdrawn by the then-minister of basic education Angie Motshekga, effective from 1 April 2022. The last payment for R2,333.65 was received by the educators in March 2022. “In the matter before me, the employees led unchallenged evidence that they were subjected to unfair labour practice because the employer withdrew the rural incentive despite that PAM (Personnel Administrative Measures) provided them with same. I have no reason not to believe the applicants in their claim,” said arbitrator Nicholas Matloga in his decision on Friday. He found that the teachers had been subjected to unfair labour practice and should be compensated for the harm they suffered. Matloga ruled that the payout amount should generate interest should it not be paid out by the end of this month.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Gill Gifford at TimesLIVE

BACK-TO-OFFICE WOES

Companies face backlash as more than half of skilled workers threaten to resign over back-to-office

City Press reports that more than half of workers with scarce and sought-after skills, such as software developers, say they will resign if they are forced to return to the office full time. Even two years after the state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic was lifted, many South Africans are still working from home. Various studies show that especially middle to top earners still want to work from home or follow a hybrid work model, and dissatisfaction brews when companies adjust their policies to require workers to be more in the office or to return full time. In one of the latest cases, employees in certain departments of Nedbank complained that they were informed at short notice that they must now spend more days in the office. The Nedbank workers, who have been working from home for the past four years, were recently informed via WhatsApp that they must now be in the office three days a week, with Mondays and Fridays being mandatory. But, they claim to have an agreement to work hybrid and only be in the office two days a week. Some of these workers say that, with the agreement to work from home, they have spent a lot on solar power systems and high-speed internet connections to do their work. Brandon de Kock of BrandMapp says their survey last year showed 53% of South Africans were still working partially or full time from home, compared with 56% in 2022. In a new survey by OfferZen, more than half of IT experts and developers said they would change jobs if they were forced to work full time from the office. According to acting CCMA director Xolani Nduna, there are limited cases where the CCMA will have jurisdiction to hear cases specifically related to hybrid working conditions. Of the six cases referred to the CCMA in this regard, three were settled between the parties, one was withdrawn by the employee, one is still in process and the other was outside the jurisdiction of the commission.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Riana De Lange at City Press (subscriber access only)

‘TWO-POT’ WITHDRAWALS

‘Two-pot’ withdrawals to attract transaction and admin fees as industry seeks to recoup costs

Fin24 reports that Alexforbes has warned consumers that withdrawals from their retirement savings when the so-called two-pot retirement system comes into effect on 1 September will likely incur transaction and administration fees. The retirement fund administrator says players in the industry will need to recoup the enormous cost of implementing the system later this year, but it's looking to ensure that these costs are spread equitably among its members.   "Many, if not all administrators will be charging a transaction fee on savings pot withdrawals," according to Fiona Rollason, the group's head of legal. She added that Alexforbes will charge a 2% transaction fee on savings pot withdrawals, though it will apply a sliding scale starting with a minimum admin fee of R100 up to a maximum of R600. Alexforbes said the reason for its sliding scale approach was to ensure some degree of cross-subsidy to prevent an onerous cost burden on retirement fund members with smaller savings, something that was arguably necessary given the severe wealth and income disparities in South Africa. This means there was likely to be a wide range of withdrawals, ranging from the smallest eligible savings pot withdrawal amount of R2,000 up to the limit of R30,000 per tax year. Alexforbes' John Anderson, said the group expected the average transaction and administration fee on savings pot withdrawals to be about R350. But, Alexforbes had instead opted for a broader sliding scale, as imposing a flat fee on the smallest saving pot withdrawal amount equated to a significant portion (17.5%) of the amount being withdrawn. "Most providers seem to be sitting on a R350 transaction charge. As a percentage of the benefit, that's quite a lot … and those are usually the members that are most in need,” he noted.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Garth Theunissen at Fin24

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

GNU ministers should move away from NHI, says trade union Solidarity

Sunday Independent reports that trade union Solidarity said on Friday that rather than trying to push National Health Insurance (NHI), cabinet members in the Government of National Unity (GNU) should move away from the idea. This followed newly-appointed Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi stating on Thursday that he was determined to push ahead and implement the NHI Act, which was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa a fortnight before the 29 May elections. Solidarity believes the NHI Act to be “impracticable, unnecessary and totally unaffordable”. It commented: “Plans by Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi to introduce the National Health Insurance Plan as a tool to correct inequalities is testimony of his distorted idea of the reality regarding healthcare. According to all indications, it will result in disaster for all South Africans, yet Motsoaledi began his return as health minister on another false note, with his statements in which he presented the NHI as an ‘equaliser’.” According to Solidarity Research Institute economic researcher Theuns du Buisson, the NHI will mean that “the middle class and the rich – a shrinking group of people – will be further used as the state’s cash cow, without any efforts being made to really lift the poor out of poverty.” He noted that in terms of the extended definition of unemployment in SA, 42.4% of the population would not be able to contribute to the funding of the NHI at all. “Contrary to what his (Motsoaledi’s) proposal says, people getting world-class treatment in private hospitals is exactly what we want. We would like to see state hospitals also move in that direction as much as possible, rather than private healthcare being dismantled by the NHI in the name of ‘equal care’,” Du Buisson stated. Solidarity has vowed to fight NHI through the country’s courts and served court documents on the government on 24 May this year.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntando Makhubu at Sunday Independent

COP CRIME

Three cops arrested in Gauteng for robbery at Welkom petrol station earlier in July

News24 reports that three police officers have been arrested in connection with a robbery at a Free State petrol station. The police officers were arrested after photos circulated on social media at the start of July, allegedly showing them robbing a man at a petrol station in Welkom. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said: "In pictures that are seen circulating on social media platforms, two men and a woman are seen wearing SAPS bulletproof vests and an SAPS mask". Preliminary investigations revealed that the three officers allegedly pulled over a vehicle and ordered the man to step out.   The man refused and drove to the nearest filling station, where the officers followed him. At the petrol station, the police officers allegedly grabbed the victim's cellphone and sped off. A white VW Polo sedan used in the robbery had flashing blue lights.   Mathe advised: "Maximum resources were mobilised, and a dedicated team of detectives have been working on the case to trace the suspects." Two constables and a sergeant were arrested in Gauteng on Saturday, she reported.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicole McCain at News24. See too, Three SAPS officers arrested after allegedly robbing a motorist and fleeing, at EWN

OTHER REPORTS OF INTEREST

• Public servants warned: Be loyal, non-partisan to GNU, at Sunday Independent
• Altron to launch ICT skills-focused education trust, at Engineering News