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 roundup of weekend and recent reports,
see summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that recently appeared.
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Job cuts ‘catastrophe’ looms over school funding Sunday Times reports that the head of parliament’s portfolio committee on basic education has warned that a schooling catastrophe is looming due to the budget cuts forced on provincial education departments. Committee chair Joy Maimela said on Friday that all provinces would be invited to give the committee detailed presentations on how budget cuts were affecting them. The government agreed to a 7.5% wage increase for teachers and other public servants for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 financial years, but did not increase provincial budgets accordingly. Now provinces are scrambling to adjust by making billions of rands in cuts. Teaching posts, early childhood development programmes and scholar transport are among the items likely to be pruned. The Western Cape has announced it will have to cut 2,400 teaching posts at the end of the year. Gauteng, where there is “forever increasing large numbers of pupils” will also be hard hit. KwaZulu-Natal education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, said the province already had 8,242 “unaffordable vacant posts” and the 7.5% pay hike meant another 2,716 posts could not be funded. This means the province will be short of about 11,000 teachers. Hlomuka said it was unfortunate that the salary increase agreements were reached at national level “without funding and provincial departments are expected to fund the increases from their baselines.” On Friday, Western Cape education MEC David Maynier wrote to teachers and principals saying the decision to cut posts had not be taken lightly, but the department “has been placed in an impossible position.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Isaac Mahlangu at Sunday Times (subscriber access only) Thousands of teacher jobs in danger, with KZN by far the worst off Fin24 reports that thousands of teacher jobs and school operations are under threat as provincial departments of education struggle to make ends meet with reduced budgets, increasing pupil numbers, and a rising salary bill from 1 July. National and provincial basic education ministers and departmental heads were deep in crisis meetings last week. Minister Siviwe Gwarube met her provincial counterparts in a special Council of Ministers meeting on Friday. All provinces are under extreme pressure, with KwaZulu-Natal by far the worst off. The province's spending projections show insufficient funding to pay as many as 11,000 teachers. There is no indication yet of how many jobs will be cut, with eight of the nine provinces set to announce the number of teaching posts for 2025 by 30 September. The Western Cape has already said it would not renew 2,400 contract positions that expire at the end of 2024. The basic education budget has been shrinking in real terms since 2020 as the National Treasury cuts spending to bring government debt under control and reduce borrowing. And, while budgets have fallen, costs have risen. In most provinces, the number of school learners has increased, and teacher salaries have also begun to rise. For the three years from 2020/21 until 2023/24, salaries for public servants, including teachers, were at first frozen for a year and then grew at a rate lower than inflation. On 1 July 2024, the first CPI-linked salary for teachers kicked in at 4.7%. Added to this was an additional 1.5% for pay progression, a long-established form of bonus for public servants. Salary negotiations for the next three-year agreement have begun, with unions tabling a wage demand of 12% for 2025/26. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24 (registration required) Western Cape activists organise to oppose teacher retrenchments GroundUp reports that scores of concerned parents, learners, teachers and union members gathered at Community House in Salt River on Saturday to discuss the planned retrenchment of thousands of teachers in the Western Cape. The organisers of the meeting described themselves as “anti-capitalist, pro-working class group of independent activists”. Some 2,407 teaching posts are to be cut in the province by 1 January because of severe budget cuts. This is about 6% of the approximately 37,000 teachers in the Western Cape. One of the organisers, Abeedah Adams, said about 100,000 learners would be affected. “We are looking at a situation where already overburdened teachers will have to take on even more work. [The budget cuts] are not limited to education; it’s all the services that we need to access.” SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary Sibongile Kwazi said that the province must redirect money to avoid losing teacher posts. She said the union would organise a meeting next week on the issue. Several speakers argued that rural schools would be affected the most by the budget cuts. The organisers suggested forums to organise teachers, learners and union members. In a statement on Thursday, Western Cape MEC for Education David Maynier urged teachers and unions to “fight alongside us, rather than against us”. Noting that the situation was critical, he said: “Even if we cut all the programmes suggested by the teachers’ unions, we would not come anywhere close to dealing with the massive R3.8-billion budget shortfall.” The provincial department advised that it had already cut R2.5-billion from budgets for non-personnel spending. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by atthew Hirsch and GroundUp staff at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
TMPD officer on motorcycle killed in collision with car at intersection in Pretoria on Saturday TimesLIVE reports that a Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) officer was killed on Saturday when his motorcycle was hit by a vehicle at an intersection in Pretoria. The constable lost his life while returning from duty in Brooklyn, where he had been stationed at a marathon event. TMPD spokesperson Isaac Mahamba said constable R Mnisi was known for his professionalism, dedication and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. He added: “He (Mnisi) will be remembered as a reliable and hardworking officer who always put the needs of the community first. His loss is deeply felt in the department and by all who had the privilege of knowing him.” Mahamba said the loss of Mnisi served as a stark reminder of the dangers that law enforcement officers faced daily carrying out their duties. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at TimesLIVE Gauteng police top brass hold commemorative ceremony honouring 10 slain SAPS members EWN reports that Gauteng police top brass held a commemorative ceremony on Sunday in honour of ten provincial SA Police Service (SAPS) members who died in the line of duty during the 2023/2024 financial year. Led by provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, police members and yop management converged at Linden SAPS Garden of Remembrance to commemorate the lives of the officers who perished while serving the public. Between April and June 2023, as many as 31 police officers were murdered countrywide, namely an average of one officer every three days. Deadly attacks on police, on and off duty, have become a common occurrence for the men and women in blue. With many losing their lives, days of remembrance have become a regular part of the police’s yearly schedule. On Sunday, 10 of the province’s finest officers were honoured for having dedicated their lives to protecting residents. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mongezi Koko at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Man and accomplice arrested for allegedly giving illegal miners access to shaft through hole in bedroom The Citizen reports that a 65-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly allowing a group of illegal miners to access a mine shaft from a hole in one of the bedrooms in his home. The man and his accomplice were handcuffed in the early hours of Thursday morning at the Nkandla informal settlement near the Khuseleka mine in Rustenburg. A search for other suspects is continuing. The home owner and accomplice are expected to appear in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday for illegal mining, tampering with and/or damaging of essential infrastructure and possession of suspected stolen goods. Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda Funani said the man, who lives in the house with his family, allegedly "allowed a group of men to utilise one of the bedrooms as an entrance to the nearby Khuseleka mine shaft". Following a tip-off, police raided the home. During the operation, a group of suspected illegal miners escaped through the hole in the floor. With the assistance of the mine security team, some of the mine’s property and other equipment were found inside the house. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen. Read too, Man arrested for allegedly giving illegal miners access to shaft hole in home, at News24 NUM signs five-year above-inflation wage deal with Petra Diamonds BL Premium reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has signed a five-year, above-inflation wage agreement with London-listed Petra Diamonds. The deal is effective from 1 July 2024 to June 2029. Workers will receive increases of 6.25% (or the consumer price index if CPI is greater) in the first year); 5.75%/CPI in the second and third years; and 6.5%/CPI in the fourth and final years. Consumer inflation eased to 4.6% in July, the lowest rate since July 2021. Masibulele Naki, NUM’s chief negotiator at Petra, commented: “We signed the wage agreement (on Friday) ... under a very difficult situation where the NUM is facing two retrenchments at Cullinan and Finsch mines. We managed to negotiate for salary increases that we think will sustain jobs and make ... workers happy.” Petra CEO Richard Duffy said: “We thank our partners in the NUM for their positive and constructive engagement in concluding this agreement against the backdrop of a challenging period for the industry. This allows for continued certainty on fixed labour costs at our SA operations and enables us to renew our focus on operational delivery as we continue to build further resilience in the business.” Petra Diamonds operations in SA include the Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein mines. The company also owns the Williamson operation in Tanzania. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Other general posting(s) relating to mining
ANC KZN denies owing salaries to employees or that branches are closing down The Witness reports that the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has refuted claims that it owes salaries to 40 parliamentary constituency administrators for two months and is closing some of its offices due to a budget shortfall. This after a leaked internal document, written by Zenzele Msomi, the ANC KZN caucus office manager and submitted to the ANC’s national working committee (NWC), reportedly highlighted several problems facing the ANC caucus. These included outdated signatories on bank accounts, unpaid salaries for two months, overdue rent for constituency offices, and budget cuts due to the election results. Msomi listed several “challenges” faced by the caucus, including that ANC caucus “owes” salaries to constituency administrators for two months (40 of them) and that the election results have caused the ANC caucus’s budget to “drop drastically which is resulting in the non-payment of salaries and rentals, as we are unable to keep up”. Msomi’s report further claimed that the ANC has closed some offices, and 30 more were expected to be shut down. However, ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo told The Witness that all staff members had been paid and he refuted claims of branches closing down or budget cuts. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khethukuthula Xulu at The Witness
Fat salaries indeed for SA bank bosses Sunday Independent reports that most of SA’s prominent banking chief executives saw their earnings skyrocket in the 2023/24 financial year. Among the country’s big-earning bankers, Investec's chief executive Fani Titi topped the list, with a whopping R175 million – about R475,452 a day – making him the highest-paid chief executive in the country’s banking sector. Yet, Investec’s directors are paid in pounds sterling, so their earnings are significantly higher when converted to the local currency due to the weakness of the rand. Nedbank chief executive Mike Brown earned R92.5m, about R253,425 a day. His earnings included significant long-term incentives. Standard Bank's chief executive Sim Tshabalala, who ranked at the top in the 2022/23 financial year, received R83.3m, translating to R228,230 a day. This was a significant increase on the R55.7m he earned in the previous year. Capitec’s chief executive Gerrie Fourie took home R65.74m, about R180,109 a day. Absa chief executive Arrie Rautenbach earned R40.03m, or R109,685 a day, which was a decrease from the prior year. FNB chief executive Jacques Celliers earned at least R31.9m, about R87,458 a day. The earnings of these banking bosses reflect the lucrative compensation packages typical in the banking industry. This raises questions about income disparity, especially in a country where the majority of the population lives in poverty. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabo Makwakwa at Sunday Independent Millions paid to former Transnet bosses who left the rail and ports entity in shambles Business Times reports that Former Transnet Group CEO Portia Derby and the former boss of its rail division, Sizakele Mzimela, received R11.9m and R9.2m, respectively, in exit payments – despite leaving the rail and ports entity in shambles. Transnet’s 2024 annual report, tabled on Friday in parliament, showed that Derby received a payout of R16.8m, of which R11.9m was classified as “other payments”. Mzimela received a final payout of R12.7m, with R9.2m falling under “other payments”. Asked to explain these “other payments”, Transnet said its remuneration policy included various elements such as salary, a 13th cheque, contributions towards retirement funding, acting allowances and leave pay, among others. It refused, however, to elaborate on the specific nature of the additional payments to Derby and Mzimela or whether they constituted golden handshakes, saying termination agreements were confidential. According to the report, Derby’s pay also consisted of R4.5m in salary, a R417,000 pension contribution and a R1m Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) contribution. Her total pay (R16.8m) was up from R8.5m a year earlier. Mzimela’s final payment doubled to R12.7m, up from R6.1m in 2023, and included R9.2m in “other payments”, a R3.5m salary and a R1m UIF contribution. No contribution towards pension was made in the year under review. In total, Transnet paid its 21 top executives – including group CEO Michelle Phillips – R107m in total, up from R87m in 2023. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dineo Faku at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Two-pot system is cooking as Sanlam Corporate processes over 20,000 claims in first two days Sunday Independent reports that the rollout of the ‘two-pot’ retirement system has led to a surge in activity for Sanlam Corporate, which received over 20,000 savings component claims via its portal and app on just the first two working days of September. This volume far exceeds the monthly average of 7,000 to 8,000 retirement, withdrawal, or retrenchment claims usually processed by Sanlam Corporate. The average claim amount remained steady at R20,000 over the two days. The high demand on the Sanlam Corporate Portal and Sanlam Portfolio App during the initial days of the system's launch demonstrates the strong interest in the two-pot system. The app and portal has seen a surge of new registrations since 3 September, namely 750% compared to the usual daily sign-ups. Nzwa Shoniwa, managing executive at Sanlam Corporate, indicated: “We know that South Africans are struggling financially given the current economic climate. The number of members resigning or being retrenched from their employers who encashed all or some of their retirement savings increased from 53% in 2022 to 72% in 2024. Of these members in 2024, 54% spent their encashed retirement savings on paying living expenses and reducing and settling debt. People are using these funds to make ends meet.” Tax directives requests have been submitted and received back from the SA revenue Service (SARS) without delays. Roughly 1% of the tax directive requests have been rejected and for 13% of requests, Sars issued an IT88 indicating that a member has outstanding tax from a previous period or has not submitted one or more annual tax returns for their personal taxes. These outstanding tax amounts will then be deducted from the members’ savings component claim prior to payment to the member. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Sunday Independent Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Thanks to water minister’s intervention, Amatola Water CEO back at work six days after he was fired News24 reports that Amatola Water CEO Siyabulela Koyo returned to work on Thursday, six days after the water utility's board fired him. Koyo was suspended on 18 July amid allegations of irregularities after just seven months in the job at the East London-based state-owned entity. He was dismissed on 30 August on interim board chairperson Pam Yako's last day in office, prompting Amatola Water workers to protest. Other grievances raised in their protest included alleged maladministration by the utility's board. The strike started on 2 September and was called off on Tuesday evening. Koyo's dismissal angered Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina, who ordered the board to reinstate Koyo. In a letter to the board on Wednesday, Majodina said she was disappointed that Koyo was dismissed "without the board following due legal process". "The precautionary suspension and investigation must be allowed to unfold," the minister wrote. On the same day, interim board chairperson Ndumiso Tyibilika ordered Koyo to go back to work the next day. However, Tyibilika advised Koyo that “there remain allegations against you which must still be addressed and require the board's attention.” Koyo was back at work on Thursday. The SA Municipal Workers' Union's Victor Tololo welcomed Koyo's reinstatement. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sithandiwe Velaphi at News24 (registration required)
Thirteen traffic officers arrested in Limpopo for allegedly accepting bribes News24 reports that in two separate incidents last week, thirteen traffic officers in Limpopo were arrested for allegedly taking bribes from motorists. In an undercover operation named "Coconut", 11 traffic officers were held on Friday for allegedly accepting bribes from bus operators, taxi drivers and motorists on the N1 highway between Polokwane and Musina. The group had been under investigation since March 2022 by the Road Traffic Management Corporation's (RTMC’s) anti-corruption unit and the SA Police Service. The RTMC indicated: "It is alleged the officers stopped motorists and conducted inspections, but they would demand bribes, instead of issuing traffic fines, when they found faults with the vehicles or driving licences. An undercover operation to prevent, detect or investigate the commission of an offence was conducted after an entrapment permission was obtained from the Director of Public Prosecution." The 11 are expected to appear in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court soon on charges relating to defeating the ends of justice, extortion, and the solicitation of bribes. Further arrests cannot be ruled out. In the second incident, two traffic officials – aged 33 and 36 – were arrested for allegedly trying to solicit a bribe from Hawks members who were driving in an unmarked state vehicle in Groblersdal. They are expected to appear in the Groblersdal Magistrate's Court soon to face corruption charges. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Sibiya at News24
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