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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Unions embark on final CCMA conciliation process over wage demands at Prasa BL Premium reports that two unions at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) are scheduled for a CCMA-backed conciliation process on 17 June. The SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) and the United National Transport Union (Untu) declared a dispute in March after Prasa management refused to formally table a wage offer. The decision to refer the matter to the CCMA came after three failed attempts to initiate wage negotiations for 2025/26. In April, Prasa was given 30 days to table a “just and fair” wage offer, but failed to table a wage offer on 10 May as expected. “The continued delay tactics employed by management have had serious financial consequences for our members, and we cannot allow the process to be drawn out any further. Should this final conciliation process fail, the CCMA will issue a certificate of non-resolution, enabling labour to exercise its legal right to embark on protected industrial action,” Untu spokesperson Atenkosi Plaatjie said. The consolidated wage demands of the two unions include a 15% across-the-board wage increase. They are also demanding a R3,000 housing subsidy, a standby allowance of R50 an hour, a night shift allowance of R10 an hour, a moratorium on retrenchments and a medical aid subsidy with the employer contributing 70%. Plaatjie said Untu would approach the upcoming CCMA process in good faith, “but we remain firm in our position that the conclusion of this process is long overdue”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Armed robbers tie up Eastern Cape Treasury security officer, steal minibus News24 reports that the Eastern Cape Treasury has condemned a brazen robbery on Monday at around 02:45 at its offices in Bhisho. Two armed balaclava-clad men entered the guard room where a security officer was on duty, threatened him with a firearm and tied him up with cable ties before stealing the department’s minibus taxi. The two men also made off with an occurrence book register. The security guard was not injured during the incident. The vehicle has yet to be recovered. Provincial Treasury spokesperson Mamela Ndamase said the department was exploring ways to enhance the security of its car park “as incidents relating to state vehicles are on the rise”. The interventions may include the installation of an electric fence and CCTV cameras. She added: “This is a concerning and disturbing matter for the department, considering that it doesn’t only violate the security of the department and our valuable resources, but it also poses a threat to the lives of the security personnel that is guarding our premises and resources.” No arrests have yet been made. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sithandiwe Velaphi at News24 (subscription / trial registration required) Eleven Gauteng cops killed in first three months of 2025, provincial commissioner reveals EWN reports that eleven police officers have been killed in Gauteng in the first three months of the year, as worrying attacks on law enforcement continue. The deaths comprise one officer on duty and 10 others off duty. Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni revealed the numbers while delivering the fourth quarter crime statistics for the 2024/25 financial year on Thursday. He said five suspects had been arrested during this period for their involvement in the murders, while investigations continued to trace more suspects. “We will not be deterred. We are strengthening our resolve to stabilise this threat by going out to the public through the soft approach to policing by engaging the communities we serve through izimbizo,” he indicated. Mthombeni also said more work needed to be done to win back the trust and confidence of communities in ensuring that criminals did not have a place to hide.” Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Nokukhanya Mntambo at EWN Pilot killed and passenger seriously injured after aircraft crashed at Lanseria Airport shortly after takeoff IOL News reports that a pilot was killed, and a passenger was left seriously injured after a small aircraft crashed in Lanseria, Gauteng. The Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) said the accident occurred on Thursday at around 10h00. "The aircraft departed from Lanseria International Airport (FALA) before crashing moments after takeoff, within the perimeter of the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve. There were two on board the aircraft, a pilot and passenger. The pilot was killed, and the passenger was left seriously injured and airlifted to a hospital," said AIID. It added that it had dispatched investigators to the site, and a preliminary report would be published on the SA Civil Aviation Authority website within 30 days from the date of the accident. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinenhlanhla Masilela at IOL News. Lees ook, Een sterf in vliegtuigongeluk naby Lanseria, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Miner killed on Wednesday at Blyvoor Gold Mine in Carletonville, says Amcu TimesLIVE reports that according to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), a miner died in an accident at Blyvoor Gold Mine in Carletonville, Gauteng, on Wednesday. The union said that at about 10h50 on Wednesday there was a fall of ground (FoG) incident that resulted in injuries to the employee which led to his death. The union said the high number of fall of ground-related injuries were indicators that the mining industry was heading in the wrong direction in fatality prevention. It noted that this was the twelfth FoG-related fatality in the industry this year, while there had been 107 FoG-related injuries. According to the union, the latest death brought the total fatalities in the SA mining industry to 26 this year, which was12 more fatalities compared with the same period last year. Amcu said the Mine Health and Safety Act must be amended to hold mine bosses personally liable when workers were killed on their watch. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ernest Mabuza at TimesLIVE. Read too, Amcu worried about rising number of FoG-related mining fatalities, at Mining Weekly Grim six-month safety spell for SA mining BL Premium reports that SA’s mining industry has had a grim start to the year. Deaths in the industry have accelerated in the first six months, with gold mining major Harmony accounting for most fatalities in the labour intensive sector. Harmony this week reported its tenth death this year – nearly half the total reported by the industry – with the group’s safety record coming under scrutiny. The latest death at the company occurred during a fall of ground incident at its Joel mine in the Free State. The deaths at Harmony, one of SA’s largest gold mining houses, have put pressure on new CEO Beyers Nel to improve the company’s safety record. Nel took over the reins at Harmony in January from Peter Steenkamp, who retired at end-December after nine years in the role. Nel has been with Harmony since 2003 and held various positions, rising to the role of group COO in January 2023. After the fatal incident, Harmony declared a day of safety at all its SA mines on Thursday. “Our day of safety is not simply a pause, it is a call to action,” said Nel. The Minerals Council SA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) said the industry was still committed to ensuring zero harm. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jacob Webster & Jacqueline Mackenzie at BusinessLive (subscriber access only) Scammer dupes college managers and students with fake internship jobs at Rustenburg mine SowetanLive reports that a scammer duped managers at a college in Ekurhuleni by promising its students nine-month employment contracts at a mine and then disappeared after they arrived to start work. The man, who called himself “Mike Mofokeng”, is said to have altered Siyanda Bakgatla Platinum Mine’s landline number on Google, replacing it with his cellphone number. He then approached the P&T Training Educational Institution in Germiston to encourage its managers to have their students registered and placed at the North West-based mine for a “life-changing opportunity to gain experience in mechanical and electrical engineering while earning a salary”. The college informed the students and instructed them to meet “Mofokeng” at the mine in Rustenburg on 2 June. On Tuesday, some of the students were seen leaving the college carrying their clothes and bedding in bags. The students took the two-hour trip to Rustenburg, little knowing that the journey would leave them angry and confused as the mine was not expecting them. The mine also knew nothing about a “Mike Mofokeng”. One student reported: “We called ‘Mike’ and he gave us another contact number [which appears] on the mine’s website. ‘Mike’ told us that we needed to meet him at Moruleng Mall, where we’d do a medical examination to get a medical certificate. He told us that we need to transfer R550 each to a TymeBank account. That’s when we realised that this was a scam because we do not know of a big company that uses that bank.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Herman Moloi at TimesLIVE. Read too, Fake job offers leave Ekurhuleni students stranded in North West, at News24 (subscription / trial registration required) Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
‘Painful to witness’ — behind the jobs bloodbath at Mail & Guardian Daily Maverick reports that the Mail & Guardian (M&) has become the latest victim of the declining South African and global media industry – but insiders say the seeds of its demise were sown some time ago. In May, staff at the M&G were served with Section 189 notices informing them that the publication was initiating a process of retrenchment. The figures are stark. A total of 24 positions across editorial, administration and IT were identified as affected, with 12 redundancies anticipated. The reasons provided in the notices included the Covid-19 pandemic, power shortages, rising inflation and an already strained SA economy”, alongside “rising costs for print materials and ink, alongside a marked reduction in advertising budgets, as advertisers increasingly turn to digital platforms to reach their audiences.” But behind the cold language of economic pressure lies a possibly deeper malaise. “There’s been a difficult climate for all media, but Mail & Guardian has been particularly poorly handled in recent years. It’s been extremely painful to witness,” the newspaper’s co-founder, Anton Harber, commented. Insiders painted the picture of a media operation that has been inching towards collapse for years. Staff have reported concerns about the retrenchment process to come, with unease over whether settlements will be fully honoured given the paper’s questionable track record on payments. Meantime, M&G owner Hoosain Karjieker Karjieker was adamant that it was not over for the M&G. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Rebecca Davis at Daily Maverick
Health Funders Association also takes legal action against NHI Act BL Premium reports that the Health Funders Association (HFA) has asked the Pretoria High Court to declare the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act irrational and unconstitutional. This marks the sixth legal challenge seeking to have the legislation set aside. The HFA is one of SA’s two leading medical scheme industry associations, and counts Discovery Health Medical Scheme among its members. Its case takes aim at the financial implications of the NHI Act and challenges section 33 which prohibits medical schemes from offering cover for benefits provided by NHI when it is fully implemented. The NHI Act is the first piece of enabling legislation for the ANC’s plan for universal health coverage and was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May 2024, but has yet been brought into effect. Drawing on a report commissioned from Genesis Analytics, the HFA argues that even if NHI achieves substantial savings and efficiencies, providing comprehensive healthcare for everyone at the level enjoyed by medical scheme members would be impossible as SA has neither the money nor the healthcare professionals to achieve that goal. In addition to alternatives previously suggested by other stakeholders, the HFA proposed a model that would combine NHI with a supplementary role for medical schemes. The Hospital Association of SA (Hasa), representing private hospitals, and the SA Medical Association (Sama), representing doctors, have also argued in their legal challenges that there is no feasible way to finance the NHI Act in the current fiscal environment. The HFA’s case follows legal challenges launched by trade union Solidarity, the Board of Healthcare Funders (representing medical schemes), Hasa, the SA Private Practitioners’ Forum (representing specialists) and Sama. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tamar Kahn at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Solidarity files complaint with UN’s ILO over SA’s breach of settlement on race laws Polity reports that Solidarity announced on Thursday that it had filed an urgent complaint with a UN agency regarding the South African government’s breach of the terms of its agreement with the trade union on race laws. It advised that it had called on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to urgently intervene in the “racial abuses” in SA. The settlement, ratified by a court order in 2023, provides that affirmative action policies must be applied in a nuanced way, that no absolute barrier to employment may be imposed on persons from any group and no terminations of employment may be effected as a consequence of affirmative action. According to Solidarity, the provisions of this agreement are not reflected in the Employment Equity regulations gazetted by the Department of Employment and Labour in the April. Solidarity’s deputy chief executive Anton van der Bijl noted that the union had already charged Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth with contempt of court in relation to the court order and said it would now also request intervention from the ILO to ensure that the settlement was honoured. Van der Bijl said that this urgent complaint marked the next step in Solidarity’s campaign against what he called “the race madness of the South African government”. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Polity. Read Solidarity’s press statement in the above regard at Polity
Ramaphosa demands answers from Minister Nkabane over Seta appointments and conduct in Parliament Daily Maverick reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested Higher Education Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane to report to him about her recent behaviour in Parliament and contentious Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) board appointments that have since been withdrawn. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Thursday: “President Ramaphosa has noted the content from and media commentary on the appearance of the Honourable Dr Nobuhle Nkabane before the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training on 30 May 2025 … therefore the President has requested that the minister provide him with a detailed report on the decorum and substance of her engagement with Parliament.” Magwenya added that Ramaphosa had also requested a report on “the process undertaken to appoint the board members to the Sector Education and Training Authority that were at the centre of the portfolio committee’s questions”. Nkabane’s appearance before Parliament followed leaked information last month about questionable appointments of chairpersons to Seta boards. On 16 May, Nkabane announced that she was withdrawing the appointments “in response to public concerns”. She said she would issue a notice calling for fresh nominations to the boards. A new independent panel will also be established to process the nominations and recommend candidates. Nkabane also drew the ire of the public after videos went viral of her seemingly chewing gum and being dismissive of MPs’ questioning in the meeting. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Victoria O’Regan at Daily Maverick. Read too, SETAs shake-up sparks nepotism storm in higher education, at IOL Business
Roman Cabanac sacked – on his birthday – as Steenhuisen’s chief of staff News24 reports that Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has fired his controversial chief of staff, Roman Cabanac, who got caught up in a storm over racist remarks he had made in the past. On Wednesday, Cabanac posted a video on X confirming that he had been fired. “I received a letter that terminates my tenure as chief of staff to the Minister of Agriculture. I received it yesterday, which was on my birthday, so fantastic timing. I believe there are a few flaws with the termination letter. I’ll be looking at options going forward, and I’ll keep you updated of the progress thereof,” he wrote. Steenhuisen’s office confirmed Cabanac’s axing from the ministry. After a controversy over Cabanac’s allegedly bigoted social media posts, Steenhuisen announced in September that he had asked Cabanac to resign. But Cabanac, who had been subjected to a six-week vetting process before his appointment, refused to go. In an apology posted on his X profile shortly before Steenhuisen announced that he had been asked to step down, Cabanac seemingly sought to distance himself from some of the posts without explicitly identifying which of them he believed were problematic. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jason Felix at News24 (subscription / trial registration required). Lees ook, Steenhuisen se stafhoof bevestig hy is gepos, by Maroela Media
Eastern Cape teacher accused of beating learner with a hosepipe due back in court GroundUp reports that the Eastern Cape Department of Education has issued a stern warning to teachers not to use corporal punishment to discipline learners. This comes as a teacher from Zamokuhle Junior Secondary School in Matatiele is due back in court later this month, accused of beating a 12-year-old learner with a hosepipe. According to the learner’s mother, her child returned from school with dark bruises on his buttocks on 19 May. According to the learner, on the day of the incident he and three other learners were washing their dishes after lunch after the bell had rung for them to return to classes. A male teacher approached them and instructed them to follow him to the staff room to “punish them” for being late to class. All of the boys were hit with a hosepipe, some on the hands and some on the buttocks. “I stopped counting at eight while he was beating me. I started feeling numb, I didn’t cry anymore,” the learner said. His mother went to the school to report the matter, but she was snubbed by the other teachers. She then decided to open a case at the police station. The teacher has since apologised. “To be honest I now feel sorry for him, I don’t want him to lose his job,” said the mother. A National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson said the teacher faced charges relating to corporal punishment at the Maluti Magistrate’s Court. His next court appearance will be on 25 June. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik at GroundUp
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