In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
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Two farmworkers killed and 20 injured in Wellington truck crash SABC News reports that according to Western Cape traffic authorities, two people died and 20 others were injured after a truck transporting agricultural workers overturned in Wellington. Spokesperson for the provincial Mobility Department, Muneera Allie, indicated that that the workers had been traveling to a farm in a nearby area. She also advised that the truck driver had been arrested. Provincial Agriculture Minister Ivan Meyer reacted that farmers and producers who transported agri-workers had to ensure the safety of their vehicles and the transportation of their workers. He added that these workers were the key to the Western Cape’s agricultural sector. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Berenice Moss at SABC News Gauteng e-hailing drivers allege intimidation by taxi drivers and fear for their lives SABC News reports that e-hailing drivers in Gauteng say they fear for their lives following an increase in incidents of intimidation and harassment, allegedly by taxi operators. According to the E-hailing Partners Council, Bolt and Uber drivers are being intimidated by members of the taxi industry. Allegedly they are harassed while picking up or dropping off passengers in certain areas. Secretary-General of the Council, Melithemba Mnguni, said the harassment was becoming unbearable, as it was having a negative impact on the drivers’ earnings. “The situation is bad and it’s been bad. It is really bad in Eastgate Mall, Southgate Mall, Sandton by the Gautrain Station and by the Michael Angelo Hotel, it is really bad … a lot of times it is affecting us where these guys would harass drivers and damage the car, they would hold drivers to ransom and extort money, so these are some of the issues that drivers are faced with.” However, National Taxi Alliance (NTA) spokesperson Theo Malele refuted these claims. He conceded though that at some point an incident had happened in the East Rand, “where some members belonging to a particular association belonging to our sister structure Santaco was spotted and disciplinary procedures were effected to those who were found to be on the wrong side of the law.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sashin Naidoo at SABC News Nehawu raises safety concerns after PPT bus fire and EMS vehicle crashes The Mercury reports that safety concerns have been raised by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) after a Planned Patient Transport (PPT) bus caught alight near Cedara in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on Monday. The bus, from the uThukela Emergency Medical Rescue base, caught fire while transporting 52 patients. No patients were harmed. “All patients were safely evacuated and transferred to Greys Hospital in the uMgungundlovu District using three 22-seater buses,” the KZN Department of Health reported. An internal investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. In separate incidents, two road crashes involving the Department's Emergency Medical Services (EMS) vehicles also recently occurred. A bus from the Nakekela Hub in Manguzi overturned near Mbazwana in the uMkhanyakude District after colliding with a stray cow. “One patient who was trapped in the wrecked bus sadly passed away, while the rest of the passengers and two crew members sustained minor injuries and were transported to eMseleni Hospital,” the department said at the time. In a second accident, an EMS vehicle carrying two injured minors from Itshelejuba Hospital to Ngwelezane Hospital also hit a stray cow and overturned, but there were no injuries. Nehawu raised concern over safety issues for both health workers and patients. Spokesperson Ntokozo Nxumalo said the incidents underscored the risks faced by EMS staff. He lamented that Nehawu had previously advocated for a death grant to support families if a health worker should die on duty, but that proposal had been rejected. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siphesihle Buthelezi at The Mercury Labour department declares a number of Makana municipal offices unsafe and orders them to be closed TimesLIVE reports that the Makana local municipality’s traffic department, and its engineering and infrastructure offices, have been shut by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL), which declared the structures unsafe. A number of buildings were condemned after inspections on Monday and Tuesday due to various issues such as bad lighting, leaking roofs and damaged floors. Municipal spokesperson Anele Mjekula indicated: “Despite the short notice, the municipal manager met the [labour] department officials twice on Monday. The first meeting was with managers and a subsequent meeting took place with directors. In the meeting with the directors, the department requested to do walk-throughs on Monday, and it was agreed that they should continue with their walk-through. They were given maps of all the Makana buildings as well as the names of the directorates.” The municipality was given 60 days to fix its problematic buildings – a time frame that could be extended if materials were required from outside service providers. Ward councillor Cary Clark said local councillors were not informed about the closures and had been asking the municipality about its response. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kim Swartz at TimesLIVE Other internet posting(s) in this news category
NUM agrees to one-year wage deal at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mining operations Reuters reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday that it had agreed to a wage deal with Sibanye-Stillwater's gold mining operations after months of negotiations. The diversified miner agreed to increase monthly pay for its lowest paid workers by R900, while so-called ‘miners, artisans and officials’ would get a 5.5% raise, the NUM advised in a statement. The NUM and the other recognized unions at the operations, namely the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), Solidarity and UASA, have been jointly negotiating a new wage deal to replace a three-year agreement that lapsed in June. Sibanye, AMCU, Solidarity and UASA were not immediately available to comment. The one-year deal with the NUM is set to be signed in Johannesburg on 8 November. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Fin24. Lees ook, NUM onderteken loonooreenkoms met Sibanye-Stillwater, by Maroela Media By Wednesday, North West police operation had resulted in 1,004 illegal miners resurfacing from underground TimesLIVE reports that Operation Vala Umgodi in North West, aimed at curbing illegal mining, had by Wednesday seen the resurfacing of 1,004 illegal miners from underground shafts in Orkney and surrounding illegal mining hotspots. Police and soldiers began by blocking supplies of food, water and other necessities to the illegal miners last week. At the weekend, starving miners started resurfacing at Orkney and more than 550 had resurfaced by noon on Sunday. Operations continued on Monday and more than more 140 illegal miners resurfaced at Margaret Shaft in Stilfontein. The illegal miners included Mozambicans, Zimbabweans and Malawians. North West police said 55 suspects arrested on Saturday appeared in court on Tuesday. “However, charges against the accused were withdrawn. They were then detained by immigration officials in terms of the Immigration Act, pending their deportation,” said police. Other suspected illegal miners were due to appear in court on Wednesday. Vala Umgodi operations are being carried out in the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape and North West. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE. Read too, Anti-illegal mining operation in Orkney 'bearing fruit', say police, at SowetanLive
Putco warns of 400 job losses should subsidy agreement with Gauteng transport department be amended BL Premium reports that public transport company Putco has told the South Gauteng High Court that about 400 jobs at the company are on the line, and nearly 30,000 commuters in Gauteng will be left without transport, should the provincial Department of Transport (DoT) have its way and cut back on its services. Putco, a subsidiary of the Larimar Group, is subsidised by the DoT so that it can offer lower prices to thousands of commuters from low-income areas. The most recent contract between Putco and the DoT was entered into last year, but thereafter the government had a change of heart and wanted to amend the terms and conditions of the contract. This led to a dispute being declared at the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (Afsa). One of the amendments the DoT wants to make is to reduce the kilometres agreed upon, as a means of reducing the quantum of the monthly subsidies it pays to Putco. The company approached the court for an interdict stopping the department from amending the contract pending the resolution of the dispute before Afsa. The company argued that it would be short-paid by R20m every month, with about 28,300 passengers cut off from its services daily. The company, which has a fleet of more than 1,000 buses, told the court that the effect of the department’s decision would be having to let 400 workers go and reducing its fleet by 212 buses. On Friday, the court granted the interdict after Putco convinced it that it would suffer irreparable harm should the contract be precipitously amended. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Edward Kieswetter paid multi-million rand salary by SARS Daily Investor reports that SA Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter was paid R11.71 million for his services in the 2023/24 financial year – an 83.4% increase from the year before. Kieswetter has led the reconstruction of SARS following years of state capture, which hollowed out the institution and limited its enforcement capability. He rejoined SARS as its commissioner in 2019 after coming out of retirement and a period as CEO of the Alexander Forbes Group. He was charged with using his extensive experience at the institution under Pravin Gordhan to turn it around and enhance its enforcement capacity. Kieswetter began the long process of rebuilding SARS into the globally respected institution it once was, with a particular focus on improving staff morale. The Commissioner and his executive team met with employees to understand their concerns and how they could be addressed while also ensuring the rebuilding of his own leadership team was very public and visible. Kieswetter’s efforts bore fruit, with the revenue service collecting a record R1.7 trillion in tax revenue in the 2023/24 financial year. Kieswetter has been financially rewarded for his efforts to rebuild SARS, earning R37.27 million for his five years at the institution. His salary increased sharply in the past financial year, rising by 83.4% to R11.71 million. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shaun Jacobs at Daily Investor
It’s now time to talk about BELA Act, says Solidarity Maroela Media reports that the Solidarity Movement has made an urgent call on President Ramaphosa to intervene so that talks over controversial clauses in the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA) can continue. According to Solidarity, the government of national unity (GNU) is facing its greatest test in the form of BELA. Noting that the President allowed three months for dialogue, the organisation said in a statement on Wednesday: “The ANC’s National Working Committee’s call to implement BELA in its entirety will bring dialogue to an end. It undermines the President’s call for dialogue. This will simply increase tension and will damage confidence in the country. This will jeopardise the entire Government of National Unity. Coming at a time when the new government is still fragile such a call is reckless. It is also not in good faith to issue such a one-sided statement in the middle of talks.” It noted that good progress had been made over the past two months in talks between the Solidarity Movement, including Solidarity and AfriForum, the Afrikaanse Onderwysnetwerk and the ANC. “These talks showed that there is indeed common ground, and that an agreement is possible. Those talks must continue. Disputes should rather be dealt with in talks and not by means of threats. While we want to find a solution, the ANC is managing factions,” Solidarity argued. It made an appeal that talks about BELA should continue in all seriousness. “It will send a powerful message that a solution can be found about divisive issues such as BELA,” the statement noted. Read the full Afrikaans report in the above regard by Janice du Plessis at Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
GEPF says 95% of its two-pot withdrawals have now been paid Fin24 reports that after getting off to a rocky start with thousands of complaints from members of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) about payment delays, the Government Pension Administration Agency (GPAA) announced this week that it had paid 95% of the two-pot withdrawal applications. It had received 326,596 claims and paid 309,514 cases as of 5 November 2024. This accounted for approximately 25% of all two-pot retirement withdrawals across the entire retirement fund industry. The GEPF had warned members that payment would take up to 60 days to process. However, many members were desperate to be paid sooner to relieve financial pressures. With private sector retirement funds paying members within weeks and no communication from the GEPF, members took to social media to raise their concerns. These included complaints about the self-service app which was only fully functional on Android and Harmony apps by Monday, 2 September, while the IOS platform only became available from 18 September. The web platform only became available from 30 September. There were also delays with paying members who had previously been divorced, as the GEPF had to verify that all divorce payments had been made. It seems that most members have now received their funds within the allotted 60-day period; however, the exceptions are those members who bank with Bidvest or Old Mutual Money, Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Maya Fisher-French at Fin24 (subscription or trial registration required) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Gauteng legislature considers probe into Emfuleni municipality's R55m legal bill in six-year unfair labour dispute News24 reports that the Emfuleni local municipality spent as much as R55 million on legal fees in a six-year unfair labour practice dispute between it and a former employee. This has prompted the Gauteng legislature to consider investigating the massive spend. "I think there is a general problem in Emfuleni about the use of law firms. We will look into the matter, and it is clear that this is something we need to look into. We will engage the municipality and look into this," Gauteng Cogta MEC Jacob Mamabolo told the legislature on Tuesday. Mamabolo was responding to oral questions from DA MPL Kingsol Chabalala on why the municipality had spent so much money on law firms instead of using its legal department. R1.1 million was paid to Rapela Attorneys, R219,535 was paid to Khumalo Attorneys to preside over the hearing, and the rest was spent on legal costs incurred over the six-year period. Chabalala said: "The MEC must tell us, if this makes sense, how does a municipality pay R1.1 million to a law firm to come and preside over a simple labour matter? What is Emfuleni's legal department doing? What is the labour relations department doing?" Meanwhile, the Emfuleni municipality has been plagued by water shortages, blocked sewerage systems, poor refuse collection and persistent power outages. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyamtanda Capa at News24 (subscription or trial registration required) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Services Seta embroiled in tender irregularities and corruption scandal The Star reports that a damning investigation has uncovered widespread corruption and irregularities in the Services Sector Education and Training Authority (Services Seta), with nine service providers implicated in tender manipulation. The investigation, conducted by Werkmans law firm, revealed that some companies were awarded tenders without following proper Supply Chain Management (SCM) processes, despite being already contracted. The probe was prompted after three whistle-blowers approached the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) with damning evidence of tender manipulation on several different tenders. The alleged breaches of protocol occurred between 2016 and 2023 during the tenure of former board chairperson Themba Mhambi and chief financial officers Andile Nongongo and Tsheola Matsebe. Outa’s Rudie Heyneke described the findings as “shocking”. He added: “It’s even more shocking that no action has been taken against the employees or service providers implicated.” Included in the report’s findings was that there were “serious flaws” in SSETA procurement processes. The investigation found that tenders were advertised without due procedures, and some score sheets were missing or unsigned. Phillip Kwampe, board secretary, denied claims that the Services Seta has failed to implement the report’s recommendations. “The recommendations on SCM were implemented through the review and approval of the amended SCM policy, which was approved by the board in February 2024,” Kwampe indicated. However, Heyneke disputed this, saying: “The fact that no action has been taken against those implicated is a clear indication that Services Seta is not taking this seriously.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Mashudu Sadike at The Star Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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