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 Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
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Greater Afrikaans community decides on day of protest on 5 November against admission and language provisions in BELA Maroela Media reports that dozens of organisations representing the larger Afrikaans community accepted a resolution on Thursday during a BELA Action Summit in Pretoria to announce a day of protest against controversial articles in the Basic Education Act (BELA) relating to language and admission policy. Members of various Afrikaans organisations, institutions of the Solidarity Movement, members of school governing bodies, teachers, parents and advocates of mother tongue education from all communities plan to hold a protest march in Pretoria on 5 November to air their concern about BELA. The decision to take protest action was among several resolutions that were accepted at the summit led by trade union Solidarity, AfriForum and the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS). Other steps that were jointly decided upon include the following: to proceed with court action if BELA is implemented in its current format; to ask the DA and FF+ to suspend their participation in the government of national unity if BELA is implemented in its current format; to protect Afrikaans schools and Afrikaans in schools “with everything we have”; and to promote mother tongue education in general. According to Flip Buys, chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, these resolutions are an important moment in yet another battle of survival for Afrikaans. Dr Dirk Hermann, Solidarity’s chief executive, said decision to organise a protest march was not taken lightly, but “we must stand up for Afrikaans education and the important cultural transmission that comes with it.” The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, was also present at the summit. During her speech, she repeated several times that the differences regarding BELA were not insurmountable. More information about the day of protest will be announced soon. Read the full original of the report (in Afrikaans) in the above regard by Jana Smit at Maroela Media. Lees ook, Alles in stryd gewerp om Afrikaanse skole te red, by Maroela Media
Workplace plays a key role in mental health, say experts TimesLIVE reports that with at least one in three South African adults likely to experience a mental health disorder in their lifetimes and employed people spending the bulk of their hours at work, experts believe that work can be both good and bad for mental health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) ranks depression as the leading cause of disability and ill-health worldwide. A 2016 study found that lost productivity due to depression-related absenteeism and presenteeism costs the SA economy about R232bn a year, or 5.7% of GDP (in 2016 terms). In 2024, World Mental Health Day is being observed under the theme “It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace”. The SA Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) member and psychiatrist Dr Siki Gwanya-Mdletye commented: “Prioritising mental health in the workplace not only improves individual employees’ wellbeing but supports organisational performance and economic growth.” Given SA’s high prevalence of mental illness and the substantial treatment gap, she believes the workplace can also provide a good location for structured interventions to supplement the under-resourced community level of mental healthcare. Medical manager at Netcare Akeso, Dr Lerato Motshudi, said mental health was an essential component of happiness, and employers had a vested interest in promoting awareness and addressing misperceptions about mental health. Megan Gonsalves, Netcare Akeso’s Crisis Line manager, pointed out that mental health should never be stigmatised or be perceived to have career-limiting consequences. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at TimesLIVE Three persons injured, two with serious burns, in gas explosion at restaurant in KZN The Citizen reports that three people have been injured in a gas explosion at a restaurant in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The explosion apparently happened at the eatery in Howick on Thursday morning. Midlands EMC spokesperson Roland Robertson said Howick’s advanced life support ambulance, along with rescue medics, were dispatched to the Lions River area following the gas explosion at a local restaurant. Upon arrival, it was established that three people had been injured. Two of them had sustained serious burns, while the third suffered moderate injuries. “All patients were treated on scene before being transported to various hospitals for further care,” Robertson reported. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen Workers at Bapsfontein mushroom farm tell MPs about poor conditions, unsafe practices and health hazards The Citizen reports that workers at a mushroom farm in Bapsfontein on Thursday complained about bad working conditions, which ranged from injuries on duty and use of dangerous chemicals to irregular working hours. They made the complaints during an oversight visit by members of parliament’s portfolio committee on employment and labour, accompanied by officials from employment and labour, home affairs and the police. Country Mushroom Wettlewood farm grows, packages and distributes mushrooms to retail shops. It has 292 employees. The inspectors had visited the farm previously and found contraventions of occupational, health and safety rules and claims of unreported injuries on duty. Department of Employment and Labour spokesperson Teboho Thejane said preliminary findings upon inspecting the paperwork showed the employer was compliant with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). But during the inspection of the premises, workers complained about unspecified working hours and not knowing how much their overtime allowance was. They also claimed they do not have set working hours, but worked according to the loads they have to finish. Inside the picking rooms, female employees demonstrated how they picked up heavy ladders and climbed up them, showing they were unstable and they could fall off them. A mushroom picker said: “There is a process they use of wetting the mushroom bed with a certain chemical before we pick them and that poses a health hazard. We inhale that chemical. It makes us dizzy and affects our eyesight. When we complain, they threaten to fire us.” An inspection in the change rooms revealed women and men used the same hall, with no windows or ablution facilities. There are only cages for them to keep their clothes in and no curtains to close when they are changing. Three undocumented foreign nationals were arrested during the inspection. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jabulile Mbatha at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Kganyago sees consumer inflation dipping to below 4% in coming months Bloomberg reports that SA Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago says consumer inflation could fall below 4% in coming months, creating more room for an interest rate cut. The central bank’s forecasts see consumer price growth settling at 3.6% in the last quarter of this year and averaging 4% in 2025. Official inflation data showed consumer price growth slowed to 4.4% at an annual rate in August, falling back below the midpoint of the bank’s 3% to 6% target range. Cooler inflation encouraged the bank’s monetary policy committee to cut the repo rate by 25 basis point last month to 8%. Core inflation, which excluded food and energy costs and slowed to 4.1% in August, suggested that “the disinflation process is now firmly underway,” Kganyago said. “There is now a positive vibe about South Africa,” Kganyago said, adding that the economy probably continued its rebound in the third quarter, after expanding 0.4% in the prior three months. Read the original of the short report in the above regard at Engineering News
Business welcomes Schreiber’s far-reaching visa reforms BL Premium reports that organised business has welcomed the far-reaching visa reforms gazetted on Wednesday by Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Minister Leon Schreiber, which provide clarify on how the points system for granting critical skills and general work visas will work. Schreiber also gazetted requirements for remote working visas. He furthermore issue a waiver of the requirement for certificates from the Department of Employment & Labour for the critical skills and general work visas and a partial waiver of the requirement for a SA Qualification Authority (Saqa) certificate for both visas at the time of application. Business Unity SA (Busa) acting director of social policy Sanelisiwe Jantjies said the new points based system for general worker visas was very welcome and should result in a much smoother process. “A lot of the changes that are being put in place and which are immediately implementable are very, very business friendly and we welcome them. We also commend the department of home affairs for moving so swiftly. We are quite pleased and excited,” she said. It was not clear, Jantjies said, what would happen to individuals who had been issued with general work visas before the gazetting of the reforms and who might not qualify under the new system should they want to renew them. She cautioned that the new points system would have a dramatic impact on lower paid jobs where many existing work permits had been issued to date. It was also not clear whether applications already submitted would be assessed using the new points based system. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes visa reforms as boost for economy, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
To accommodate placement of medical graduates, provinces to convert other unutilised community service posts BusinessLive reports that Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has assured parliament a shortfall in community service posts for doctors and several other disciplines will be met by converting an oversupply in other fields. Community service is a compulsory requirement for medical graduates, who can only register with their professional bodies and practise independently once they have fulfilled that obligation. The policy, which also applies to 16 other disciplines, was designed to increase the number of healthcare professionals in under-serviced areas. In recent years, the public health system has struggled to absorb all those who must do community service, leaving hundreds of graduates in limbo since they cannot work in their chosen profession or train to become specialists until they fulfil their obligation. In a written reply to parliamentary questions, the minister said there were enough funded posts for nine in 10 medical students who will complete their training this year. Provinces are also short of funded community service posts for pharmacists, environmental health practitioners, physiotherapists and diagnostic radiographers. “To mitigate the shortfall, the department has already engaged provincial health department to convert certain posts across the nine provinces to medical community service posts,” Motsoaledi said. Provinces are expected to finalise their work to convert posts for community service positions by mid-October. Luvuyo Baleni, the health department’s chief director for human resources, explained that post conversion was restricted to community service positions. Provinces had an oversupply of some community service posts for 2025 due to a reduction in the number of graduates in some disciplines, including nursing, psychology and medicine, he indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Municipalities spent R1.3bn on consultants to prepare financial statements, but only 34 got clean audits News24 reports that SA’s 257 municipalities have collectively spent R1.35 billion on exorbitant consultants to prepare their financial statements, but only 34 received a clean bill of health. Municipalities in Limpopo have spent a whopping R279 million on external consultants, but not a single one received a clean audit. On Wednesday, the Auditor-General's Office briefed the Select Committee on Appropriations on the local government outcomes for 2022/23. Alice Muller, head of audit support, said consultants should not be used to replace the work of staff in finance divisions. Noting that in some instances consultants were paid R12 million for once-off work, Muller said: "Now you could have traded the best skill in the country to come and do that for you for maybe R2 million. But because you use the consultant, there's a lot of money lost. There was one council in Eastern Cape that saw consultants, over a three-year period, being paid R68 million. Muller went on to ask: "How do we make this sustainable, how do we get a sustainable, capable state in local government with a good culture by using the consultants wisely. I honestly believe that there's a new role to play also from the consultant role to make sure that there is cap capacity and capability left behind once they leave the best they get paid for." MPs expressed deep concern about the dire state of the country's municipalities. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24
Court bid launched to decriminalise sex work GroundUp reports that a Cape Town sex worker, with the support of the Sex Worker Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), has launched a constitutional challenge to laws which criminalise consenting adults soliciting and engaging in sexual acts for reward. The challenge, set down in the Western Cape High Court, has been spearheaded by SH, a mother of three, and SWEAT, with supporting affidavits by ten other sex workers and experts on the issue. The applicants want to be able to trade lawfully and with the respect and protections that legality brings. They are seeking wide-ranging relief. They want certain sections of the Sexual Offences Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) to be scrapped. They are further seeking an order against the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to withdraw all charges and criminal proceedings brought in terms of these impugned provisions, release anyone serving sentences and expunge criminal records. The respondents, the Minister and Director-General of Constitutional Development, the NDPP, and the City of Cape Town have all filed notices of opposition, but have yet to file papers. In her affidavit, SWEAT director Emily Craven indicated: “Sex work forms part of the informal sector, it is an economic necessity for some. It is not the norm for them to have a pimp, or to work in a brothel. The majority support between three and nine people. When comparing full-time sex workers income with data from Statistics South Africa on monthly earnings, sex workers are earning more than clerks, sales and services, crafts and related trades and up to six times more than domestic workers.” Craven said most claimed that sex work was their sole income and they were unable to find other work. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp
Police Minister declares war on SAPS corruption The Star reports that Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has commended the outstanding work of the SA Police Service (SAPS) in bringing about the successful arrest of a sergeant for allegedly killing six people in and around Polokwane for insurance claims amounting to R10 million. The police officer, stationed at Senwabarwana police station, was arrested on Thursday. The arrest followed an extensive two-month investigation led by the highly respected Captain Keshi Mabunda, who is renowned for his exceptional work in dismantling insurance fraud syndicates. Mchunu said: “I want to take this moment to commend Captain Mabunda and his team for their tireless and meticulous work in bringing this rogue officer to justice. Their dedication to the rule of law and the protection of our citizens is an embodiment of the integrity we expect from the SAPS.” He went on to say: “The nature of these crimes is deeply disturbing, with the victims meeting their ends in various violent ways. Such cruelty and disregard for human life is utterly reprehensible, and it is all the more shocking when perpetrated by someone sworn to uphold the law and protect the innocent” Mchunu reiterated the Ministry’s stance on corruption within the SAPS: “Let me be unequivocal: we will root out corruption and criminality from within the ranks of SAPS. Any police officer found to be involved in crime will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We will not tolerate such conduct, and we will continue to work tirelessly to restore the public’s confidence in our police service,” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntombi Nkosi at The Star. Read too, Arrest of Limpopo cop for allegedly killing six people for insurance claims shocks community, at SABC News. En ook, Polisievrou vas oor ses versekeringsverwante moorde, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Queenstown Girls' High suspends teacher over allegations of ‘multiple sexual relationships’ with pupils News24 reports that a top Eastern Cape girls' school suspended one of its teachers after allegations that he has sexually harassed pupils. Queenstown Girls' High School in Komani (formerly Queenstown) announced the suspension of the teacher on Thursday afternoon. The allegations against the teacher, who cannot be named because he has not been arrested, surfaced this week after a social media post went viral. In the post, the teacher is accused of having "multiple sexual relationships" with pupils at the school. "We don't feel safe at school because he is too flirty. We are terrified of the teacher," alleged a pupil. In a statement on Thursday, school governing body chairperson Lester van Schoor confirmed the teacher had been placed on suspension. "Queenstown Girls' High School notes the allegations made against an educator employed by the school, which are circulating on social media. The school regards the allegations as being extremely serious, and the matter was immediately reported to the Department of Education," said Van Schoor. He added that the safety and security of pupils were of "paramount importance" and would always be prioritised. The education department's spokesperson, Mali Mtima, confirmed the suspension. He said the department had sent a team to conduct a preliminary investigation into the allegations on Thursday. A team of psychologists and social workers will be dispatched to conduct debriefing and counselling to the learners Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sithandiwe Velaphi at News24 (trial registration required)
Construction workers in ‘dirty’ overalls claim discrimination by Gautrain security The Star reports that a construction worker and his colleague took to social media platform TikTok to express alleged discrimination and racism by Gautrain security staff at Hatfield station in Pretoria recently. The man was dismayed after being told they were too dirty to board a Gautrain. In the video posted by another commuter, the individual concerned is heard saying: “I am at Gauteng station in Pretoria, and according to the train (security) … we should not get into the train because we are dirty. So I don’t know now if this is a racist thing because there is nothing on the board saying anything about not getting on the train with overalls. Meaning that all people that are successful must wear suits to be reckoned as passengers on Gautrain.” When approached for comment, Kesagee Nayager, the spokesperson for Gautrain, said it was not true anyone deemed unclean could not board the train. She went on to say: “We are aware of this video circulating on social media concerning a person/people who were allegedly prevented from using the Gautrain service due to their attire. Whilst we are investigating the matter to establish the facts, we wish to reiterate that Gautrain is a public transport service, and we do not tolerate discrimination.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntombi Nkosi at The Star
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