Today's Labour News

TOP STORY – LOOMING SAA STRIKE

SAA pilots locked on Wednesday in 11th-hour pay talks as strike on Thursday looms

BL Premium reports that the management of SAA and the two pilots’ unions threatening to go on strike from Thursday were in “active negotiations” on Wednesday with no indication of whether passengers would find themselves stranded within less than 24 hours. “We aim to avoid any disruptions to our services and will keep the public updated on any developments,” SAA spokesperson Vimla Maistry said. A strike will come just after schools officially close countrywide on Wednesday, with large numbers of South Africans having booked flights for the December holidays. SAA’s pilots are represented by two unions, namely the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA) and the National Transport Movement, with SAAPA leading the negotiation process. The pilots initially wanted a 30% salary increase, which they have since reduced to 15.7% (plus associated benefits). SAA has offered increases of 8.46% backdated to April 2024.   According to sources, the pilots from both unions held a strike ballot which indicated that almost 94% of them were in favour of strike action. SAA said in a statement on Wednesday that its final wage offer made in September 2024 was significantly higher than salaries in SA. According to SAA, the offer was also benchmarked against international pilot salary adjustments. However, according to aviation experts, SAA pilot salaries compare poorly with bigger airlines.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Erika Gibson at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• SAA pilots set to protest on Thursday outside company’s Airways Park offices over salary increases, at EWN

SCOURGE OF ILLEGAL MINING

Police Minister in contempt of court for restricting supplies to Stilfontein zama zamas

News24 reports that the North Gauteng High Court has found Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to be in contempt of a court order by restricting the amount of food lowered to illegal miners during retrieval operations at a disused mine in Stilfontein in the North West. The original order was made on Tuesday last week by Judge Nicoline Janse van Nieuwenhuizen, who heard the matter brought by a lobby group, Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua), on an urgent basis in a virtual sitting. Macua took the minister to court again, accusing the police of restricting the amount and type of food, medication, and batteries provided to the miners during the retrieval operation. On Sunday, 1 December, the same court ordered that such essentials and other lifesaving necessities be allowed to be provided to the hundreds of illegal miners believed to be trapped down the shaft. Janse van Nieuwenhuizen subsequently ruled that imposing limitations was in breach of the 1 December order. She questioned where the Minister got the idea of placing limitations on the provision of the essentials. Macua asked that the minister cover the costs of the application, the outcome of which is expected to be delivered on Thursday. Illegal miners have been in the shaft for weeks, with hundreds of them resurfacing in dribs and drabs. About six bodies of deceased miners have been retrieved so far from various shafts of the mine.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Noxolo Sibiya at News24 (subscription or trial registration required)

Seven bodies retrieved at disused Stilfontein gold mine

SABC News reported on Wednesday that police in North West advised they have now retrieved seven bodies from shafts of a disused gold mine in Stilfontein. Six more bodies were retrieved in the last 24 hours. One body was retrieved last month. The High Court in Pretoria recently granted an interim order, allowing for food to be delivered to those who are still underground. While food is being delivered through a makeshift structure at Shaft 11, some illegal miners are also emerging from other disused mine shafts. Police spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone advised as follows: “Total of 26 illegal miners resurfaced from underground at Margaret Shaft between Tuesday, 03 and Wednesday, 04 December 2024, as operation Vala Umgodi continues. Of this number, 11 resurfaced yesterday while 15 came out today. They include 14 Mozambicans, 11 Basotho and one South African. Meanwhile, a total of seven bodies have been retrieved since early November 2024, to date.”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at SABC News

One hundred and fifty illegal miners trapped in Mpumalanga abandoned mine, six saved and three dead

The Citizen reports that law enforcement agencies are monitoring as rescue teams are working to free around 150 illegal miners trapped inside an abandoned mine in Sabie, Mpumalanga. Six people have already been rescued, while three bodies have been recovered. Members of the K9 unit of a private security company were patrolling around farms in the area on Tuesday afternoon when they encountered four men who appeared to be fleeing from the area. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said the suspected illegal miners informed the security guards that they had been trapped inside an abandoned mine. They also said others were still in the mine. Police officers executing Operation Vala Umgodi promptly dispatched a team to the scene. Mdhluli said rescue teams successfully extracted two foreign nationals, aged 23 and 24, and four South African citizens from the mine. “According to the rescued individuals, they had been forced to work and mine for gold by their captors under dangerous and dire conditions. Tragically, three individuals lost their lives while trapped inside the mine shaft,” he indicated. The police believe the people running this illegal operation could be heavily armed.   This situation comes as scores of illegal miners have yet to resurface from a mine at Stilfontein in North West.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chulumanco Mahamba at The Citizen. Lees ook, Tientalle mynwerkers glo vasgekeer in verlate mynskag by Sabie, by Maroela Media

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

Findings of provincial probe into deadly George building collapse to be handed over next year

News24 reports that according to Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, the findings of the provincial government's investigation into the devastating George building collapse will be handed over to him next year. On Wednesday, Winde joined residents and survivors of the collapse to honour rescuers who worked tirelessly to save lives. Thirty-four people died when an apartment building collapsed while under construction in George in May. Sixty-two people were on-site at the time of the collapse, many of whom were rescued alive in a 10-day rescue and recovery operation. The premier commented that the families needed closure “and what really will give them closure is when one of the investigations comes up with a finding and there are consequences. Our own investigation is completed and is currently going through a peer review, and they said I will have it next year. Primarily, we will cooperate with the police and the Department of Labour (DEL)." Three probes into the collapse, namely by the provincial government, the DEL and the police, are under way. Last month, Deputy Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala called on the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to look into the collapse.   He claimed the building collapse highlighted exploitative practices in the construction sector.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marvin Charles at News24 (subscription or trial registration required)

Acting principal at Joburg high school shot six times in his office

IOL News reports that an acting principal at a high school in Johannesburg was shot several times in his office on school premises on Tuesday. The Gauteng Education Department confirmed the incident and said the acting principal at Northview High School was shot six times. Provincial Education MEC Matome Chiloane expressed shock at the incident and said the unidentified suspects entered the school premises under false pretences. “According to information at our disposal, two unidentified armed men entered the school premises on Tuesday morning under the guise of seeing the acting principal to give him a quotation for tree felling. The men then reportedly entered the acting principal’s office and suddenly opened fire at him, hitting him six times before fleeing the scene. The acting principal was rushed to a medical facility, where he is currently in ICU,” Chiloane reported. A police investigation into the shooting incident is under way. The department is working closely with law enforcement to ensure the perpetrators are brought to book. The department’s psycho-social support unit was dispatched to the school on Wednesday to provide the necessary trauma counselling for learners and educators who might be affected by this incident.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Robin-Lee Francke at IOL News. See too, Police investigating attempted murder of Northview High School acting principal, at EWN

MINING LABOUR

Exxaro suspends CEO amid allegations of governance failures

Fin24 reports that Nombasa Tsengwa, Exxaro Resources' first female CEO, has been placed on precautionary suspension with immediate effect, pending the outcome of an independent probe into allegations related to workplace conduct and governance practice. Exxaro said in an announcement on Wednesday: "The independent investigation will be conducted by a reputable law firm, ENS. The board takes any such allegations and resultant investigations very seriously but makes no presumption as to its conclusion. The company will be guided by the outcome of investigation before taking the appropriate action, if any."   Tsengwa's suspension on Wednesday comes just 11 days after insiders made claims of her harsh management style in an article published by Business Times. According to anonymous sources cited in the article, Tsengwa, who is also the president of the Minerals Council SA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) and deputy chair of the Energy Council of SA, was the reason behind several executive exits, having purportedly created a culture of fear within the organisation. The publication reported that nine top Exxaro executives had either quit in frustration, been fired, or placed on suspension since Tsengwa took over in August 2022. But, other sources said Tsengwa was being targeted because she has been working to clean up corrupt activities, especially as it related to the trucking of Exxaro coal. The misconduct charge on which she was suspended on Wednesday, was also "flimsy", they claimed.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at Fin24 (subscription or trial registration required).   Read too, Exxaro CEO skates on thin ice after suspension, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

OVERTURNED JOBURG APPOINTMENT

Joburg City Manager Floyd Brink must go, High Court rules again

BL Premium reports that a second court order has been handed down against the City of Johannesburg’s decision to appoint Floyd Brink as city manager, ordering his removal from the post within the next 10 days or once an acting person has been appointed. It declared a resolution appointing him by the city council in November 2023 as “unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid”, and set it aside. Wednesday’s judgment was the latest development in the long-running battle over Brink’s appointment between the ANC-run city and the DA. It comes as the City of Joburg is in deep crisis, facing a financial crunch and a water crisis, linked to the collapse of its infrastructure and a lack of maintenance by its entities. The latest decision handed down by Judge James Wilson follows a judgment in the same court in November last year by Acting Judge Steven Budlender, which set aside Brink’s appointment by the council, declaring it unconstitutional and invalid. The court at that time ordered Brink to vacate his post and for the process to appoint a city manager to be started afresh. However, instead of adhering to that judgment, the city reconvened a council meeting the very next day in which it purported to correct the procedural flaws in Brink’s original appointment and once again selected him for the post. “I am satisfied that the City breached the terms of Budlender AJ’s order, at least by readopting the resolutions he invalidated in breach of its own rules, by failing to cause Mr Brink to vacate his office and by failing to appoint an acting city manager,” Wilson said in the written judgment. But, he did not find the city and its officials in contempt of court for their actions.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Natasha Marrian at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, High Court orders Floyd Brink's removal as Joburg city manager, at News24 (subscription or trial registration required). En ook, Floyd Brink onregmatig aangestel – hof, by Maroela Media

BELA IMPLEMENTATION

‘Our agreement is legal, the president can't renege’, says Solidarity on Bela implementation

TimesLIVE reports that trade union Solidarity says its agreement with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Presidency regarding the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act is legal and cannot be rejected. The agreement, signed on 27 November, states that two contested Bela clauses will no longer come into force on 13 December as gazetted, but that, as the agreement stipulates, norms and standards, regulations and national policy must first be finalised before the articles can be implemented. This reaction comes after comments by President Cyril Ramaphosa's office declaring that the agreement has no bearing or influence on his final decision on the implementation of Bela should the aggrieved political parties not resolve their issues successfully in the GNU clearing house. His deputy Paul Mashatile echoed these sentiments, pushing back on DA demands to have certain clauses of the Bela Act scrapped. Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann poured cold water: “Mashatile, who is part of the presidency, criticised the agreement, but he is also bound by the agreement. This indicates divisions within the ANC which are also reflected in the presidency.” He went on to say: “The necessary norms and standards must first be developed, which can take up to 18 months … President Ramaphosa cannot put the Bela articles into effect on his own authority, especially if the minister advises him otherwise.” Ramaphosa signed the act into law in September but delayed the implementation of two clauses, 4 and 5, by three months to allow for further parliamentary discussions. The three-month period for parties to finalise proposals on the matter ends on 13 December. Hermann warned that Solidarity would take the battle to the courts should the President proceed with full implementation.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sisanda Mbolekwa at TimesLIVE (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Bela: Ooreenkoms ís bindend – Hermann, by Maroela Media

SASSA CEO SUSPENSION

Sassa CEO Busisiwe Memela-Khambula suspended pending probe into her appointment

TimesLIVE reports that SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) CEO Busisiwe Memela-Khambula has been placed on precautionary suspension on full pay pending the outcome of an investigation into her appointment.   Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe announced the suspension on Tuesday, saying it was prompted by the need to conduct an investigation without hindrance or interference given Memela-Khambula’s position as CEO of the agency. She said the Office of the Public Protector had raised serious issues that prompted her to take appropriate action as the executive authority over Sassa. The decision was important to protect Memela-Khambula dignity and integrity, Tolashe said, praising the humility the CEO demonstrated when the decision to suspend her was communicated. The regional executive manager for Gauteng, Themba Matlou, has been appointed as the acting CEO until the matter has been concluded.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Lees ook, Sassa-hoof se skorsing verwelkom, by Maroela Media

EXPEDITED DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Labour Court rules against expedited disciplinary process in case of police spy boss Feroz Khan

News24 reports that one of the police's top spymasters, Major-General Feroz Khan, has been given a lifeline in his fight to save his job. This after the Labour Court ruled in his favour to interdict the police from instituting an expeditious disciplinary process which would have seen him summarily dismissed from his post. Khan, the head of counterintelligence and security within Crime Intelligence, approached the court on 5 November to prevent his employer from commencing with the process. Acting Judge Lindiwe Vukeya indicated that Khan's disciplinary hearing should be convened in terms of regulations 8 and 11 of the police's disciplinary regulations - which would involve a less pared-down process.   "Regulation 8 allows the employee to exercise his or her right to representation by a fellow colleague, union representative or union official and bringing witnesses to a hearing," Vukeya noted in her judgment. She added the employee should get an opportunity to examine any physical documentary evidence or any report that may be produced in evidence and is allowed to have access to any statement or report relating to the subject matter of the hearing.   Vukeya highlighted the contrast between the regulations by bringing into focus Regulation 9, which was not a hearing but a meeting between the parties.   Regulation 9, which is known as an expeditious hearing, exists to deal with police officers caught red-handed in the commission of serious offences. Khan's battle to save his job is rooted in an incident that occurred on 9 July 2021 when 715kg of cocaine disguised as Scania truck parts was discovered in Aeroton, Johannesburg. In Khan's version, he went to the scene, questioned several police officers over their activities, and then after the Gauteng head of Hawks, Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa, arrived, he left.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tankiso Makhetha at News24 (subscription or trial registration required)

COMMUTING / PUBLIC TRANSPORT

KZN commuters desperate for alternative transport amid long-distance taxi strike

SABC News reports that taxi commuters say they are still finding it difficult to source alternatives as the strike by the Long Distance Taxi Association continues in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). Members of the association claim that the Transport Department is not issuing them with permits. Some people have been sleeping at the Durban taxi rank waiting for things to change. These commuters have appealed for all stakeholders to come together to resolve their challenges as soon as possible. Mcabangeni Nala from the Long Distance Taxi Association said they were aware of recent announcements by the Department that their permits were ready for collection. Nala commented: “We cannot say much about those permits because we haven’t collected them. But the Department says they are ready for collection. But the route to Kranskop is not included, therefore we cannot collect them. Why did they cancel this route as it has been operating for years? We want all the routes to be included in the permits.”

Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Khalesakhe Mbhense at SABC News

OTHER REPORT(S) OF INTEREST

• Vodacom tops corporate social impact rankings for eighth year, at Business Report