In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
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Transnet Freight Rail officially splits into two divisions – amid a backlash from labour Fin24 reports that Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has announced its official split into an infrastructure management company and an operations company, paving the way for third-party participation in SA's national rail network. In an update circulated to staff on Tuesday, Group CEO Michelle Phillips said 1 October marked the official start of the vertical separation of TFR into two operating divisions, namely, Transnet Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) and Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) as the operations company. Durban Port manager Moshe Motlohi will act as TRIM CEO while the recruitment process for a permanent appointment gets under way. TFR, led by Russel Baatjies, will focus on Transnet's operations business, moving volumes on the network. "Along with this milestone, TRIM will soon invite interested train-operating companies to apply for rail access and slots will be allocated based on availability in various corridors," Phillips indicated in the update. But Transnet's majority union, the United National Transport Union (UNTU), said the move was "unexpected and premature" and that it was left "blindsided", particularly after a meeting with Transnet management last week, when several key questions about the rail reform remained unanswered. The unbundling of TFR by October is one of the conditions tied to the R47-billion guarantee facility from the National Treasury. But, the funding model is a key concern for UNTU as neither Transnet nor national government has allocated sufficient funds to upgrade the dilapidated railway infrastructure, including critical signalling issues that have long hindered its ability to meet its performance and efficiency targets. Security issues on the line, such as cable theft, also remain a major challenge. A further concern for UNTU is the job security of employees who will be transferred to the infrastructure manager. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24
SAPS commissioner calls on cops to defend themselves ‘at all costs’ against dangerous criminals News24 reports that National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola has called on police officers to defend themselves when they come under attack from armed criminals. Speaking in Lusikisiki, Masemola highlighted the death of Warrant Officer Khangelani Nomatiti, 59, who was gunned down by criminals in Ngqeleni, Eastern Cape, on Monday afternoon. Nomatiti, who worked at the Ngqeleni police station, was killed in the small town's central business district. The officer's service pistol was taken by the criminals, who reportedly fled on foot. Masemola said he was hopeful Nomatiti's killers will be arrested and added: "The message we give to our police officers is that they must defend themselves when they are under attack [by criminals]. They must [also] defend the members of the public at all costs. We are sorry and send condolences to the family of our member (Nomatiti).” Eastern Cape police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli confirmed that a manhunt had been launched for at least two suspects. According to Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, the country's justice system needed a "serious review". Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene argued that the killing of Nomatiti was an attack on the authority of the state. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sithandiwe Velaphi at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Public sector unions reject government’s 3% wage offer, but parties agree to facilitated process BL Premium reports that unions representing teachers, soldiers, police and nurses have rejected government’s 3% wage offer and have elected to stick to their demand for an above-inflation wage increase of 12%. Parties met at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on Tuesday to try and find middle ground. According to Frikkie de Bruin, PSCBC general secretary, the parties were still “positional and neither of them at this stage is willing to give way on their positions”. But he added: “I must state upfront that it’s very early in the negotiation process as to make any assumptions as to where and which direction the negotiations will go.” Other demands by the civil servants for 2025/26 include a R2,500 housing allowance increment across the board, a nearly two-fold rise in the danger allowance to R1,000, a performance bonus, bursary schemes for dependants of employees, and permanent employment for education/teacher assistants, community health workers and reservists. De Bruin reported that the parties resolved on Tuesday night that “considering the urgency of finalising this round of negotiations, to revert to a facilitated process under the auspices of the council to attempt to bring parties closer. It is envisaged that the facilitation process will start on October 8”. It is said that the upcoming weeks will be crucial, especially with the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) looming. Unions are hoping that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will take their demands into account in the MTBPS. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Public sector wage talks: Unions and government turn to facilitator in negotiations, at City Press (subscriber access only)
DA defends Tshwane City manager for reprimanding staff who jeered at ousted mayor Cilliers Brink News24 reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane says that, if necessary, it will go to court to defend the City's administration from what it claims are attacks by the "Doomsday Coalition". This is their epithet for the ANC/EFF coalition in Gauteng, which, together with ActionSA, succeeded last week in removing the DA's Cilliers Brink as Tshwane's mayor. In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the DA's Kwena Moloto said the ANC and the EFF had "taken aim against" City manager Johann Mettler for reprimanding staff for the way they treated Brink when he left the building after his removal last Thursday. Brink left the building surrounded by a group of municipal workers and politicians, who booed and jeered at him as he made his way to the parking basement. Because he was no longer the mayor, he did not have any protection. In a letter to employees, Mettler called the behaviour "insensitive, humiliating, degrading, inflammatory, offensive and downright despicable". According to the DA, most of the staff who jeered at Brink were political support staff in the ANC's caucus office. In a letter to Mettler after Brink was jeered at, the ANC's Aaron Maluleka said he was concerned that the City Manager's response to the event "appears to take a specific political stance", which undermined the objective leadership that was needed. The EFF responded to Mettler's letter by saying that workers had the right to "voice their concerns" and "hold their leaders to account", without fear of retribution. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Alex Patrick at News24 (registration required)
Big medical aid contribution increases on the cards for 2025 Daily Investor reports that medical aid members should brace for big premium increases, with big providers, including Momentum and Discovery, announcing above-inflation contribution hikes. Last month, Discovery announced that its medical aid contributions would increase by a weighted average of 9.3% for 2025. Depending on the medical aid plan, the contributions will increase between 7.4% and 10.9%. Half of Discovery’s members will experience a contribution increase of 8.4% or less. The contribution increases and benefit updates will be effective from 1 January 2025, subject to approval by the Council for Medical Schemes. More recently, Momentum Medical Scheme announced it would implement an annual contribution increase of 9.4%. Momentum said that no medical aid members would see a double-digit increase and that benefits would not be reduced. Momentum Health Solutions’ Damian McHugh explained that the company’s price increases were guided by an analysis of healthcare cost trends. On Wednesday, Bonitas Medical Fund announced that it would increase prices by an average of 10.2% from 1 January 2025. Lee Callakoppen, principal officer of Bonitas Medical Fund, said the medical scheme industry has faced turbulent conditions over the past year. With three of the biggest medical aid providers announcing above-inflation price increases, most other providers are expected to follow suit. This means that South African medical aid members should prepare for significantly higher premiums next year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Daily Investor. See too, Bonitas joins in massive medical aid price hikes for 2025, at BusinessTech
Cosatu proposes an 8% increase in national minimum wage for 2025 BusinessTech reports that trade union federation Cosatu has proposed a national minimum wage (NMW) increase of 8% for 2025, which the Democratic Alliance (DA) has warned risks increasing employment in SA. Cosatu wants the NMW in 2025 to be increased by the average inflation rate plus 3%, in other words an estimate of 7.5% to 8.0%. DA spokesperson on employment and labour, Michael Bagraim, and the general secretary of Cosatu, Solly Phetoe, spoke to the SABC about their opposing views. Bagraim argued that since the introduction of the NMW in 2019, the situation has become far worse for low-wage workers and unemployed people in SA. Since its introduction, the NMW has not actually trickled down to the lowest-paid people in the country, he claimed. “What it has done is it kept more and more people out of the workplace.” Bagraim explained that small businesses in particular, which were the “engine room of job creation”, were negatively impacted by the NMW. As a result, they will choose to hire workers below the minimum wage and risk the consequences. Alternatively, small businesses may choose to outsource their work to people who aren’t paying wages at all, either through automation or by importing cheaper goods from places like China. However, despite the pushback, Phetoe made it clear that Cosatu would not change its stance on the NMW. He pointed out that the call for a NMW increase stemmed from the worsening economic crisis, rising poverty, inequality, and the high cost of living in SA. Phetoe stressed that the NMW has had a significant positive impact on workers. But, he emphasised that the NMW was not sufficient to meet basic living expenses and reiterated that Cosatu planned to launch a campaign for a living wage soon. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kirsten Minnaar at BusinessTech
KZN public works department plans to slash consultant spending in bid to save millions News24 reports that the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Public Works and Infrastructure plans to slash consultant costs and transition towards in-house expertise. It has already spent more than R100 million this financial year alone on consultants, including private land surveyors, architects, cost consultants, services engineers, civil engineers, structural engineers, environmental consultants for building design and construction, and others. "There is a lot of money that is being spent on these private guys. This has been the case for years, and the department ends up paying millions of rands to consultants. It depends on the project. For example, if you have a project worth R100 million, maybe about 20% of that will go towards consultants, and that will be R20 million," a department source indicated. When presenting the 2020/2021 Local Government Audit outcomes in Parliament last year, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke revealed that consultant fees amounted to R1.6 billion, or 13% of the total financial reporting cost of R12.3 billion. According to Maluleke, KZN municipalities spent the most, namely R309.26 million, followed by North West at R282.33 million, and Limpopo at R263.18 million. The KZN department's spokesperson, Steve Bhengu, confirmed that millions were being spent on consultants because of a pre-existing "culture". He said that, currently, there was a transition to turn around the situation, which would take some time. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sakhiseni Nxumalo at News24 (registration required)
Trial of seven Chinese nationals charged with human trafficking and child labour back in court The Citizen reports that the trial of seven Chinese nationals accused of human trafficking and child labour was due to continue in the South Gauteng High Court on Wednesday. Previously, the defense team, led by counsel Johan Kruger, requested a postponement to address “undisclosed issues of conflict of interest”. The seven accused Kevin Tsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian face a slew of schedule six offences. Among the charges are human trafficking, contravention of the Immigration Act, kidnapping, pointing a firearm and debt bondage. The group is also accused of benefitting from the services of a trafficking victim, facilitating trafficking, illegally assisting persons to remain in SA, and failing to comply with employer duties. Kruger told the court in September that resolving a conflict of interest was of utmost urgency, and failure to do so would necessitate his withdrawal from the case. The accused were arrested on 12 November 2019 during a joint operation in Village Deep, Johannesburg. The operation was conducted by the Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services, the SA Police Service and the Department of Home Affairs. The cotton fibre sheets factory where they were arrested was found to have employees locked inside. Among those discovered in the building were illegal immigrants and minors working in horrific conditions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Enkosi Selane at The Citizen
Emfuleni municipal employees in rampage over unpaid salaries Sedibeng Ster reports that tensions boiled over on Tuesday when hundreds of furious Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) employees went on a rampage after their salaries were not paid. Angry workers trashed the Vanderbijlpark Civic Centre with garbage scattered all over and the Emfuleni head office barricaded with burning tires, rocks, and debris. The unrest erupted following Eskom’s recent move to seize all four of Emfuleni’s bank accounts in a bid to recover R8b owed by the municipality. Workers, fed up with excuses, decided to take matters into their own hands. “We are tired of working for free while ELM mishandles our money. This is not what we signed up for,” said one employee. As the chaos unfolded, members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) showed their solidarity with the disgruntled staff. ELM spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni said: “Discussions to resolve the matter are underway with different stakeholders including Eskom, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as the provincial government. Workers are well aware of the situation and the municipality is working tirelessly to find a long-lasting solution.” Sangweni acknowledged that it was the democratic right of workers to protest, “as long as they do it peacefully. To trash around and vandalise infrastructure is unacceptable.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sifiso Jimta at The Citizen. Read too, Salaries unpaid after Eskom attached bank accounts, says Emfuleni municipality, at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Samwu in Free State tells municipalities to immediately pay over outstanding pension fund contributions TimesLIVE reports that the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) in the Free State has called for decisive action to be taken against municipal managers whose municipalities have defaulted on paying over pension fund contributions. The union noted that a recent report from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) revealed that 13 of the 27 municipalities in default nationwide were in the Free State. “This is a clear and shameful indication of mismanagement, reflecting a complete disregard for the wellbeing of municipal workers,” the union said in a statement on Tuesday. It said this reckless dereliction of duty not only undermined the financial security of municipal workers but also directly jeopardised their ability to access much-needed relief in times of crisis. According to the union, thousands of its members had been left unable to withdraw from the “two-pot” system, denying them the temporary financial relief many urgently need. The union demanded that municipalities immediately rectify this situation by settling their outstanding contributions. “Municipal managers, who are entrusted with overseeing the proper functioning of these institutions, must be held personally liable for this gross mismanagement. They cannot be allowed to shirk their responsibilities while workers suffer the consequences,” Samwu said Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE. Read too, Samwu in Northern Cape calls for action for non-payment of pension contributions by Renosterberg Municipality, at SABC News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Fourth police officers arrested for alleged involvement in Llandudno house robbery Maroela Media reports that a fourth police officer has been arrested in connection with involvement in a house robbery in Llandudno. Three of his alleged accomplices were already in custody. On 14 September, at approximately 1:35am, a house robbery occurred at the premises in Sunset Avenue, Llandudno, which allegedly involved several police officers. The case was reported to the Hout Bay SAPS and was later transferred to the Western Cape Anti-Corruption Unit for further investigation. The investigation led to the arrest of the involved police members over a period of time, according to a SA Police Service (SAPS) press statement. Early on Wednesday morning, Anti-Corruption Unit members arrested a 38-year-old sergeant at Philippi SAPS after the suspect was linked through fingerprints found at the crime scene. The final suspect was detained at Wynberg SAPS police cells and he is due to appear at Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on 3 October with the other three previously arrested members. Western Cape provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile praised the investigation team for the arrests. ‘Let this serve as a warning to those who think they can abuse the resources of the state for their disgraceful purposes,’ said Patekile. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Janice du Plessis at Maroela Media
Correctional Services officials who delayed reporting Thabo Bester’s escape given final written warnings TimesLIVE reports that Department of Correctional Services (DCS) Minister Pieter Groenewald has advised that officials who were found to be implicated in the prison escape by murderer and rapist Thabo Bester have been reassigned and have received final written warnings. This after Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcakela released a report on Monday which found there was “undue delay” in reporting Bester's elaborate escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May 2022. The privately owned prison is run by the international security company G4S. The report found that DCS officials Roseline Phahlane and Chris Mahonono committed improper conduct by taking six months to report the escape. It was initially believed Bester died when his cell caught on fire and a body burnt beyond recognition was found. The two officials were informed of the bogus death and escape in June 2022, but the DCS officially opened an escape case with the police in January 2023. DCS spokesperson Euné Oelofsen indicated: “While the minister acknowledges the officials were slow to report the escape, he firmly asserts G4S bears significant responsibility for the incident. G4S was tasked with ensuring such an escape did not occur.” Groenewald emphasised such behaviour was unacceptable, and assured the public that stricter consequence management would be implemented to avoid similar incidents during his tenure. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rorisang Kgosana at TimesLIVE. Read too, Prison officials who failed to report Thabo Bester's escape have been 'reassigned', says Groenewald, at News24 (registration required)
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