Today's Labour News

TOP STORY – GAUTRAIN DISRUPTION

Gautrain services between Park and Rosebank stations halted due to Illegal drilling on private property above tunnel

TimesLIVE reports that Gautrain services have been halted between Park and Rosebank stations due to water and soil seeping into the tunnel section of the system. According to the Gautrain Management Agency, investigations have established that illegal drilling was being conducted on private property above the tunnel. The agency's spokesperson, Albi Modise, said the activity had not been approved.   “This illegal activity therefore caused the ingress of water and soil into the tunnel that affects our ability to operate the system between these two stations,” Modise indicated. To mitigate the inconvenience to passengers, Modise said a Gautrain bus replacement service had been set up between Park and Rosebank stations. Buses will run every 15 minutes between the two stations from 05:30 am to 20:30 pm as a contingency measure. This bus service will be increased to accommodate additional passengers if necessary. Modise said Gautrain services would continue to operate according to schedule at unaffected stations. The agency said it would keep its customers updated as more information became available.   Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Shonisani Tshikalange at TimesLIVE. Read Gautrain increases bus services after illegal drilling disrupts service, The Citizen. En ook, Gautrain-busdiens opgeskerp tussen Rosebank, Parkstasie, by Maroela Media

SANDF DEPLOYMENT IN DRC

SANDF silent about status of troops still in DRC

Sunday Times Daily reports that there are more questions than answers about the safety of South African soldiers deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) choosing to remain mum on the subject. An intelligence source with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday that the situation was “in flux” and went on to comment: “Every high ranking officer is currently refusing to make eye contact with the politicians who sent them north. Some reinforcements have been sent to Lubumbashi. I hear it is more than 500 and fewer than 1,000, but the number has not been confirmed yet.” The intel source added: “But there are also wounded soldiers still in the DRC. We need answers on what will happen to them? If you consider that it took massive negotiations and the involvement of the UN just to get our deceased back, what will have to happen to get live soldiers back?”   The SANDF refused to comment on any of the claims. SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini was also unwilling to comment on rumours in the intelligence world that M23 had given SA a deadline for full withdrawal from the DRC. The remains of 14 South African soldiers killed in the DRC were handed over to their grieving families at Swartkops air force base in Pretoria last week.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Hendrik Hancke at Sunday Times Daily (subscriber access only)

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY

SA army forces units to move into severely dilapidated Bester Building in Pretoria

City Press reports that the National Defence Force (SANDF) last week forced two of its units to move into a half-burnt office building without power or water. The offices, in the Bester Building in Pretoria, have no windows and rats and pigeons have nested there since 2013. Shortly before the relocation order was issued, the SANDF's occupational safety inspectors found that the building, which is supposed to house 400 staff members, was unsafe. The roof of the upper floor has been destroyed, with water seeping into the offices below while electrical wires protrude everywhere. But, despite warnings from the SANDF's occupational safety division, the army is determined that the infantry and army support formations should be housed in the building. The infantry formation is directly involved in handling the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the deployment and repatriation of soldiers, but had to put its work on hold to move. The Bester Building, located behind the army headquarters on Dequar Road, suffered large-scale fire damage in 2013. After the fire, power and water supplies to the building were cut off because it was a fire hazard. Because of this, the army's electricians are unwilling to supply power to the offices with generators. On the first day in the burnt offices, one soldier was reportedly taken to the hospital after she had an asthma attack. The SA National Defence Union (Sandu) has issued an ultimatum on behalf of one of its members to the ministry of defence, army chief Mbatha, the departments of public works and labour, and other stakeholders that the move be halted immediately. The Public Service Association is demanding that the army stop the move for now and allow staff to work from home until a satisfactory agreement is reached. By Friday, the relocation process was 90% complete.

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

Court upholds its ruling against Johannesburg's VIP protection policy

News24 reports that the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has upheld its order of 2 January declaring the City of Johannesburg's controversial VIP protection policy unconstitutional and invalid. The policy allowed the mayor eight bodyguards as well as multiple bodyguards for the speaker, and guards for members of the mayoral committee. The DA took the policy to court after it was adopted in 2024. Judge Stuart Wilson's January order was suspended for six weeks to allow for a threat assessment to be obtained to justify any of the current allocations. In his January judgment, Wilson noted he had not received any information about the “extent to which such an order might place the affected municipal councillors in danger”. Nonetheless, the order was suspended until noon on Friday. On Thursday afternoon, “less than twenty-four hours before the period of suspension was due to expire”, the City filed an application to extend the suspension. Wilson ruled on Friday that his order “makes clear that an extension is not to be granted merely because the City might need more time to comply with the law.”   He added that the City failed to show that imminent harm would follow if the original suspension of 2 January expired.

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

LABOUR AND POLITICS

Cosatu warns that US tariffs threaten thousands of SA jobs

Business Report writes that labour federation Cosatu warned on Friday that US President Donald Trump’s announcement of impending tariffs on South African and other nations’ exports posed a threat to thousands of SA jobs. Jobs across sectors including agriculture, mining, jewellery, chemicals, automotive, clothing, and manufacturing could be affected. With an unemployment rate of 41.9%, SA could not afford further job losses, the federation said in a statement on Friday. “We are seeking clarity from the US government on the impact of this executive order on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which has granted tariff-free access to the US market for much of the African continent, including South Africa. It is crucial that the US government engages with South Africa’s government to ensure that the upcoming review of country eligibility and tariffs is based on facts and takes into account the severe socio-economic and developmental challenges facing both South Africa and the broader continent. Agoa and its renewal should be leveraged to support our economic development and regional integration,” Cosatu indicated. SA is one of 35 Sub- Saharan African countries that benefit from preferential access to the US market under the Agoa, which grants roughly 7,000 products duty-free status. The agriculture sector is a major beneficiary of trade between the two countries through the Agoa. Cosatu also expressed concern over the freeze on aid to SA and other countries by the US government, highlighting the potential negative effects on South Africans living with HIV/AIDS.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Business Report

SA farmers sceptical of Trump’s refugee offer despite expropriation fears

Mail & Guardian reports that SA farmers are not rushing to flee “land grabs” and relocate to the US to take advantage of President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order that recently offered them refugee status. Instead, some farmers view Trump’s executive order cutting aid to SA and extending asylum in the US to white Afrikaans farmers “who are victims of unjust racial discrimination” with suspicion, wondering exactly what his motivation might be and lamenting that he has stirred up racial tensions.   Several farmers from the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal spoke about to the newspaper their feelings regarding the order precipitated by President Cyril Ramaphosa signing the Expropriation Act into law last month, as well as the high number of murders and assaults on farms, said they have no intention of leaving SA. Their concerns about the Act ranged from worry that it could in future be used to expropriate land without payment under the “nil compensation” clause, which would allows the government to do so if it is was “the public interest”, to believing that the law was “unlawful” and that it could be challenged constitutionally. But the Expropriation Act is not part of SA’s land reform regime; it is designed to enable the state to acquire a specific property from a private owner to fulfil a public function. The scope of the Act is limited because only the department of public works is empowered to expropriate property in this context. While farmers might not be rushing to emigrate to the US, lawyers, doctors and other professionals are among the more than 20,000 people who, by Tuesday, had contacted the SA Chamber of Commerce in the US through email and social media to inquire about moving. The organisation said these inquiries probably represent about 50,000 to 70,000 people because many were inquiring on behalf of their families.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lyse Comins at Mail & Guardian

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

• Diplomatieke sendings op pad na die VSA, by Maroela Media

CHANGE AT THE TOP

End of an era for McDonalds CEO Greg Solomon

Business Times reports that McDonalds SA CEO Greg Solomon will be stepping down in August after 29 years with the company, including 15 years as CEO. Daniel Padiachy, chief marketing officer at McDonalds, said this was a mutual agreement between the company and Solomon. However, sources claim Solomon was pushed out amid allegations of poor performance, lack of transformation and a decline in market share, which the company denies. Globally, McDonald’s has felt the effects of high inflation and cash-strapped consumers opting for having meals at home. Locally, insiders have attributed the company’s 2% decline in market share between September 2023 and September 2024 to Solomon’s “lack of vision and innovation”. Under Solomon’s leadership earnings have declined due to a continued decrease in sales figures. McDonald’s has also allegedly been found wanting in one of SA’s crucial areas aimed at redressing the racial past. While McDonald’s SA has prided itself on having championed transformation in recent years with a focus on sustainability, technology and customer service, “the SA franchise has under Solomon’s leadership, lagged in several areas – especially transformation”, claimed a source. It is said by some to be time for McDonald’s to transform both the supply chain and the corporate level by appointing capable previously disadvantaged professionals to turn the business around. Padiachy dismissed the allegations saying that Solomon guided the company through its most successful milestones and its greatest challenges.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Gloria Motsoere at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, McDonald's SA CEO exits top job after 15 years, at Fin24 (subscription or trial registration required)

ENGEN ESOP

Engen's groundbreaking Employee Share Ownership Plan empowers staff

Business Report writes that Engen, SA’s largest petroleum and convenience services company, announced in a statement on Sunday the launch of its first-ever Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP). The company said that this landmark initiative marked a significant milestone for Engen’s history, reflecting the company’s commitment to employee empowerment and transformation through broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE). The Engen ESOP will be managed by the Engen Employee Trust, through which employees will initially own 5% of Engen Petroleum (Pty) Ltd.   “This ensures that through the Engen Employee Trust, employees have a direct financial stake in the company’s success. It also supplements the existing 21% ownership held by Phembani Group, a black-owned South African company and long-standing shareholder of Engen, such that today 26% of Engen is owned by historically disadvantaged persons. Vivo Energy owns the remaining 74%.” Engen added that it was proudly a B-BBEE Level 1 certified company. Seelan Naidoo, Managing Director and CEO of Engen, pointed out that key benefits of the ESOP included the following: no upfront cost to employees as the plan was fully funded by Engen, requiring no contributions from participants; dividend participation meaning that employees would be eligible to receive dividends; and equal access in that the ESOP treated all eligible employees equally, regardless of role or grade.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Yogashen Pillay at Business Report. Lees ook, Engen-werkers kry belang van 5%, by Netwerk24 (toegang slegs vir intekenare)

ALLEGED MISCONDUCT

Principal of Hoërskool Waterkloof to face six charges of misconduct at disciplinary hearing on Monday

News24 reports that the principal of Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria, Chris Denysschen, is expected to appear before a disciplinary hearing on Monday and Tuesday on six charges of misconduct. According to Paul Sauer of the Suid-Afrikaanse Onderwysunie (SAOU), the hearing will be conducted by the Gauteng education department, while Denysschen will receive “union defence”. Sauer declined to provide details of the charges, but added that none of them included financial misconduct. Netwerk24 reported on Saturday that the allegations against Denysschen included “inappropriate or indecent behaviour/ and remarks made towards certain pupils and staff”. Attorney Sean Hefferman, who lodged a complaint against Denysschen on behalf of a parent with the Gauteng education department in September last year, said that one of the charges involved touching a teacher inappropriately.   The department placed Denysschen on a precautionary transfer to an education district office in Tshwane for 90 days after the allegations surfaced. The chairperson of the governing body, Louis Perold, informed parents in a letter on Friday that like any citizen of our country, “every person has the right to be tried through a fair process. The governing body and school management believe that the process will have a positive outcome.”   He pointed out the process was completely independent of the school and would not affect the school culture or academic environment.

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

SUSPENSIONS / SPECIAL LEAVE

Sparks fly as SABC managers battle over reinstatement of Lesedi FM presenter ‘Ba2cada’

Sunday World reports that popular Lesedi FM radio presenter Nyakallo “Ba2cada” Leine is expected to be back on air today to co-present his morning show, Monate Breakfast following his fallout with management last month. The multi-award-winning radio host will be back on air after being yanked off by programmes manager, Mannini Nyokong.   According to an internal source, SABC Radio general manager Siphelele Sixaso instructed Nyokong to bring Leine back on air, saying that failure to do so would have dire consequences. It is understood that Nyokong protested and demanded that Leine be hauled before a disciplinary hearing. But on Wednesday, Siphelele apparently told Nyokong that she should swallow her pride and bring back Ba2cada on air and that on Monday he should be at work. According to an insider at Lesedi FM in Bloemfontein, Sixaso told Nyokong that failure to comply would mean that she was defying her boss’s instructions and that “if she was hellbent on defying him, she must be the one who must voetsek instead of Ba2cada.” In Sixaso’s view, the whole drama had created serious ructions for Lesedi FM and the SABC. A fortnight ago, it was reported that Nyokong had yanked Leine off air after he went AWOL for two days in December. This was after claims surfaced that he did not want to work with his colleague Thabo “Bundle of Joy” Mokone to co-host the popular Monate Breakfast show.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Mdakane at Sunday World

Embarrassed North West mayor takes special leave after nude video is released online

Sunday World reports that the mayor of a local municipality in the Ngaka Modiri District, in North West, has taken a one-month special leave from work after her nude video was leaked on the WhatsApp group of her party’s provincial structures. Norah Mahlangu, the ANC mayor in Tswaing, found herself in a sticky situation when the video, which resembles the trailer of a Z budget blue movie, was sent to various members of her party in the province. After the video was leaked, Mahlangu was reportedly plunged into depression and took a leave of absence from work due to embarrassment and being labelled a porn star wanna-be. The video leak came a few days after two municipal workers died when they fell in a sewer manhole, which they were working on to unblock the drainage system in Agisanang township outside Sannieshof.   Mahlangu was last seen in public on Wednesday when she attended the funeral of the two deceased municipal workers, where she urged law enforcement authorities to investigate the deaths of the employees. It was not yet clear how Mahlangu’s nude video ended up in the wrong hands. However, speculation is rife that Mahlangu originally sent the video to her partner, who later allegedly tried to extort money from her. When she refused to be blackmailed, he leaked the video to her political foes.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bongani Mdakane at Sunday World

ALLEGED CORRUPTION / FRAUD

Potential fraud at the Compensation Fund flagged by Auditor-General

GroundUp reports that the office of the Auditor-General (AG) has flagged the potential of fraud at the Compensation Fund (CF) and has advised that almost every aspect of the institution is dysfunctional.   Under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, employers pay an annual amount based on their payroll to the CF. Employers can claim back for salaries they pay employees who are sick or injured.   Medical service providers can claim for treating sick or injured workers, but they must register with the Fund. The Fund, therefore, has a list of bank accounts for medical service providers. There should be only one bank account per provider, AG senior manager Bulelwa Sikweyiya explained to MPs earlier this month. During the 2023/24 audit, they compared the bank accounts on the fund’s database against the account numbers paid. “What we found was there were accounts that were paid that were different to the accounts sitting on the funds system … which highlights potential fraudulent payments,” Sikweyiya said. There were also payments made to multiple bank accounts listed under a single medical service provider. She said system logs showed banking details were changed while someone else was trying to make a payment. The auditors could not see who had made these changes as the log function used to record the details of who went into the system had been disabled. Where they could determine who the users were, the users claimed their accounts had been hacked as they had not made those changes.   Altered creditors’ banking details are just one issue among a host of failures at the Fund, which has had the lowest audit outcome – disclaimer with findings – since the 2012/13 financial year. Dysfunction and possible fraud at the CF has continued despite the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) having been given a proclamation in 2014 to investigate the Fund. The SIU’s final report was submitted in February 2021.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Steve Kretzmann at GroundUp

OTHER REPORTS OF INTEREST

• New national minimum wage: what employers need to know, at Saturday Star
• More than half of 2024 strikes were unprotected, at GroundUp