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 Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
|
Stilfontein illegal miners are not trapped, they are afraid of arrest, Lt-Gen Mosiliki argues in court papers SowetanLive reports that deputy police commissioner responsible for policing, Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili, argued in court papers filed in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday that the illegal miners (zama zamas) in Stilfontein who did not want to resurface were not trapped, they just feared being arrested. He noted that there was an alternative safe exit at a nearby Margeret mine shaft where more than 500 of them had resurfaced without risking their lives. “Those who decided not to come out elected to not to do so, not because of any conduct from the police,” Mosikili argued in reply to the application in relation to the rights of the zama zamas brought by the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution. The respondents in the matter are the ministers of co-operative governance and traditional affairs, police, mineral resources and social development. The matter was postponed to Thursday to allow the applicants to read the respondents' papers and respond. In his papers, Mosikili said the Stilfontein mine shaft was considered to be a crime scene as the zama zamas were heavily armed. “Despite this, police in their operation 'vala umgodi' have never blocked illegal miners from exiting through the Stilfontein mining shaft. But instead, they have prevented explosives, alcohol, generators and illegal firearms from being lowered to these illegal miners,” Mosikili said. Human rights activist, Abderrrahman Regragui, argued in court papers that the illegal miners had been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining. On Saturday, the Pretoria High Court granted an order preventing the police from blocking the shaft. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeanette Chabalala at SowetanLive. Lees ook, Hofsaak oor Stilfontein-myners uitgestel, by Maroela Media Cage to be built and sent down to rescue Stilfontein illegal miners TimesLIVE reports that one of the community leaders involved in an operation to rescue illegal miners at a disused mine in Stilfontein, North West, says they will communicate with those underground to urge them to move away from the tunnel as mining experts prepare a cage to rescue them. “We (were) requested to communicate with the people underground to move away from the rattles so that the rescue team can start to prepare a safer way to rescue them because there might be some rocks falling, so they need to move away,” community leader Thembile Botman advised on Tuesday. He said it would take mining experts five to six days to build a cage that would assist in bringing the miners to the surface. “The cage will go down. No-one will go down, no police, no community member will be going down, just the cage. The machine that is going to be sent will be a lift that is going to lift them, as simple as that,” he stated. On Monday, North West community safety MEC Wessels Morweng reaffirmed their stance that no-one would be sent underground to rescue the miners. “We are rescuing serious criminals, hard-core criminals, people who have committed serious crimes before. It is not as if people don't know that we are dealing with zama zamas,” he indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeanette Chabalala at TimesLIVE. Read too, Retrieval efforts halted at Stilfontein for assessments, at SABC News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Eastern Cape police hunt for hijacked ambulance after crew, eight-year-old patient dumped on roadside at night Daily Maverick reports that the Eastern Cape health department and the police were hunting for one of the province’s ambulances on Tuesday after the vehicle was hijacked near Qumbu. The crew and their patient, an eight-year-old who was being taken to Nelson Mandela Bay Hospital in Mthatha, were left at the side of the road in Mbizana. The ambulance was hijacked at gunpoint and the crew and young patient were forced out and left stranded until another ambulance picked them up. Department spokesperson Mkhululi Ndamase confirmed the incident, saying the vehicle and equipment alone were worth R1-million. Eastern Cape health MEC Ntandokazi Capa condemned the targeting of healthcare workers and staff, saying this compromised service delivery. “We are relieved that the employees and patient escaped with no physical injuries,” Capa added. This was the fourth vehicle from the health department to be hijacked in the Alfred Nzo District, which borders KwaZulu-Natal. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Estelle Ellis at Daily Maverick
SARS says two-pot withdrawals as of 18 November were over R35bn, but not R49.5bn as originally estimated Moneyweb reports that the two-pot withdrawal frenzy continues ahead of the festive season, with the SA Revenue Service (SARS) confirming on Tuesday that just over R35 billion has been taken out from savings pots since the beginning of September. SARS originally estimated the withdrawals at R49.5 billion, but later issued a statement providing a new figure as of 18 November 2024. “Since its inception, SARS has observed an unprecedented and steady increase in tax directive applications, likely reflecting the economic challenges faced by households,” it said. Seemingly, Absa’s forecast of up to R78 billion in two-pot “savings pot” withdrawals in the first year is likely to happen. Other banks have been more conservative, expecting between R30 billion and R40 billion in withdrawals. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Suren Naidoo & Liesl Peyper at Moneyweb. Read too, Two-pot payouts: A third of pension fund members have now applied, at Fin24 Over 41,000 two-pot system applicants did not have enough funds to withdraw SowetanLive reports that at least 41,000 people who applied for the withdrawal of their pension funds in terms of the ‘two-pot’ system were declined because they did not have enough funds. The system kicked in on 1 September and it allows taxpayers to access to their pension fund savings and withdraw between R2,000 and R30,000 in one tax year. According to the latest figures released by the SA Revenue Service (SARS) on Tuesday, 41,523 directives were declined because of insufficient funds and wrong codes, among other things, while 28,525 directives were cancelled by taxpayers who changed their minds. The taxman also said a further 169,509 applications were declined for a myriad of reasons, ranging from systems failures on the part of the fund management entities to wrong identification numbers and wrong tax numbers. SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter cautioned taxpayers to avoid any actions that could constitute criminality and emphasised the importance of using the correct identity and tax numbers when applying for this benefit. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lindile Sifile at SowetanLive Municipal Workers Retirement Fund hits back at Samwu’s two-pot savings claim BL Premium reports that Municipal Workers Retirement Fund (MWRF) principal officer Themba Mfeka has lashed out at SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) general secretary Dumisane Magagula, who claimed workers have been unable to access the savings portion of their pensions. Magagula claimed on Monday that Samwu was having difficulty getting answers from the fund which was not processing workers’ applications to access their savings. He also said the fund wasn’t operating from its Auckland Park offices and maybe “they are avoiding our members”. Mfeka on Tuesday accused Magagula of “lying”, saying the “real reason” for the allegations was because “the fund has refused to adhere to their sponsorship request of R13.8m”. Changes to retirement fund legislation on 1 September enables workers to access a portion of their retirement savings before retirement. The MWRF’s Naledi Ntanyana said more than 6,000 applications for savings withdrawals had been received to date and more than 2,500 of those applications, valued at more than R78m, had been paid out. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) 149 municipalities are R1.4 billion in arrears with their pension fund contribution payments The Citizen reports that over half of SA’s municipalities are behind in paying their employees’ pension fund contributions. The Minister of Finance revealed the figures during a written parliamentary question and answer session on 6 November. The question was posed by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in response to the Bloemfontein High Court judgment ordering a Free State municipality to repay millions in unpaid contributions. The Mafube Local Municipality was in September found to have failed to transfer R38 million to the Municipal Workers Retirement Fund (MWRF) after having deducted the amounts from employees. The Finance Minister noted that Mafube was one of 58% of the country’s 257 municipalities which were in arrears with pension fund contribution payments. The combined amount owing from those 149 municipalities was a staggering R1.4 billion. Questions were asked as to where the unpaid contributions were used and if any criminal cases had been opened in relation to the unpaid contributions. “The National Treasury does not have the details on how the funds were used. The National Treasury is not aware of any criminal charges filed against officials who failed to pay-over pension fund contributions,” the finance ministry answered. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jarryd Westerdale at The Citizen. Read too, R26,000 hit on average for some pension fund members in SA, BusinessTech
Pretoria Girls High SGB takes legal action against Gauteng Education Department over handling of racism controversy The Citizen reports that the school governing body (SGB) of Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG) on Monday launched court proceedings against the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and the MEC for Education Matome Chiloane, arguing that investigators exceeded their mandate by reporting on issues beyond racism allegations. The SGB is demanding that the findings of the investigation by Madladlamba Attorneys be released. It claims the findings were only announced by Chiloane on 4 November, but not released to the school. The legal battle stems from allegations of racism at the school that the SGB claims were unfounded. The allegations started in July when 12 white pupils were suspended for alleged racist messages on a WhatsApp group. GDE officials insisted on charging the matric pupils with racism. The school’s principal Phillipa Erasmus and deputy principal Doret Schoombie were also suspended. According to the school, the pupils were cleared by an internal disciplinary tribunal. In a statement, the SGB said that despite professing to respect the outcome, the GDE continued to embark on “an entirely unjustified and groundless witch hunt for further examples of racism”. The body said despite the limited scope, the attorneys proceeded to investigate and report on other matters after finding minimal evidence of racism, citing only that “white educators do not greet their black colleagues”. The SGB also criticised Chiloane for denying the school an opportunity to review or respond to the allegations before announcing the findings. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Enkosi Selane at The Citizen. Lees ook, Ondersoeker erken glo hy kry ‘geen rassisme’ by PHSG, by Maroela Media
Two women in Free State court for 'fraudulent' Covid-19 Ters claims TimesLIVE reports that two women appeared separately before the Bethlehem Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in the Free State on Monday on charges of fraud and money laundering relating to Covid-19 temporary employer/employee relief scheme (Ters) claims. It is alleged that between March and October 2020, Marx Maria Karien, 58, submitted claims of more than R1m to the Department of Employment & Labour for Ters benefits through her company Pop Snax. The funds were approved and deposited into the company account. Allegedly, only a portion of the money was used to pay employees and the rest was for her personal use. Karien was arrested in Bethlehem on Monday and made her first appearance on the same day. She was granted R5,000 bail and the case was postponed to 28 November. Khahliso Isabel Motseremeli, 48, allegedly submitted claims for Covid-19 Ters funds through her nonprofit organisation Paballong Day Care Centre between March 2020 and April 2020 for employees who did not qualify for benefits. A total of R36,247 was paid to the accused for her personal benefit. After appearing in court on Monday, she was released on R1,000 bail and her case was postponed to 18 January. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at SowetanLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Nine Gauteng education employees found with sexual offence convictions The Citizen reports that politicians in the Gauteng Legislature were left stunned after they discovered that nine Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) employees were able to get jobs in the department with criminal records related to sexual offences. This was revealed in a presentation to the portfolio committee on education on 7 November. Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) Michael Waters said the presentation revealed that out of the 86,367 employees in Gauteng public schools, 8 782, or 10.2%, have been vetted against the National Register for Sexual Offences (NRSO). Those found with convictions include four primary school teachers, four general assistants, and one food handler. Waters indicated: “The discovery that nine school employees have prior convictions for sexual offences is worrying and confirms that our schools are far from safe. This situation also suggests that there might be more sexual offenders in our schools interacting with our learners due to the GDE’s failure to prioritise vetting.” He added: “As the next step, the DA will push the GDE to engage the Department of Justice to vet employees against the NRSO and issue certificates.” The National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA (Naptosa) encouraged all teachers to get vetted to ensure the integrity of the teaching profession. Neptosa’s Basil Manuel said that other challenges involved in the vetting process included delays in the issuing of a clearance certificate and the funding of the vetting process by the education department. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Itumeleng Mafisa at The Citizen
Medical report highlights that passengers, drivers at risk in overheated minibus taxis TimesLIVE reports that a recent medical report has highlighted significant health risks posed by extreme heat exposure in minibus taxis. The study by the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC), titled “Heat exposure and health risks in the minibus taxi sector”, was conducted in partnership with various other organizations, including a minibus taxi group in Chesterville, Durban. The study was conducted across 12 taxi ranks that service seven taxi routes in Durban. The Thermochron iButton, which is a low-cost sensor, was used to measure temperature and humidity. The study found that temperatures inside minibus taxis could reach up to 39°C, significantly higher than outside temperatures. These conditions create a serious health risk for both drivers and passengers who are exposed to prolonged periods of intense heat. Prolonged exposure increases the risk of dehydration, heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses, all of which can impair a driver’s concentration and ability to drive safely. Prof Caradee Wright, chief specialist scientist at the council and Prof Caradee Wright, head of the study, said: “With drivers spending more than 11 hours a day in these vehicles, and more than 16-million South Africans relying on minibus taxis as their primary mode of transport, the situation calls for immediate intervention.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Modiegi Mashamaite at TimesLIVE Commuters dissatisfied with Putco’s new electronic ticketing system SABC News reports that the recent launch of a electronic ticketing system by Putco bus service at the Moloto bus transfer point in Mpumalanga has caused frustration among commuters. Many claim that Putco has not provided adequate education about the new system, leading to confusion and disruptions. Reports indicate that several commuters are struggling to reach their destinations due to difficulties in navigating the new system. Mooiman Mahlangu, spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Commuters’ Organisation, said domestic workers and the elderly were the most affected by these challenges. “Tap system needs patience, they should organise a workshop for people. You cannot launch something that you have not experienced. Yesterday (Monday) it was the first day of the tap system, instead of them campaigning they launch it officially at Moloto” Mahlangu indicated. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at SABC News
|
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page