Today's Labour News
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.
High executive turnover and governance issues played a role in Land Bank crisis
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BL Premium writes that the high turnover of executives and unresolved corporate governance issues contributed significantly to the Land Bank’s crisis, according to analysts and investors of the troubled state-owned agricultural lender.
Labour Minister moves to clear up confusion about Covid-19 temporary relief benefits
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BusinessLive reports that Department of Employment and Labour Minister (DEL) Thulas Nxesi has moved to clear confusion about the allocation of Covid-19 relief benefits.
Charges laid after Prasa fails to make contributions to Metrorail employees’ pension fund
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BusinessLive reports that dire financial challenges at the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) have resulted in the state-owned enterprise (SOE) failing to make payments to its employees’ retirement fund in the past two months.
About two-thirds of recalled miners back at work in SA, but it might be too late for some mines
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BusinessLive reports that about two-thirds of mineworkers asked to return to work have done so, and it will take weeks before mines can reach 50% of capacity.
With no Covid-19 budget, Home Affairs digs into travel, subsistence and accommodation allocations to buy PPE
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BusinessLive reports that the Department of Home Affairs has allocated R22m from its April travel and subsistence, and accommodation budgets to cover the cost of purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE) for its staff.
Cuban “medical brigade” comes with a R440m price tag
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BL Premium reports that it emerged on Tuesday that the Cuban health-care team that arrived in SA at the weekend to help combat Covid-19 is set to cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of rand.
Unions lament brain drain as public sector teachers continue to quit in droves
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The Star reports that over 57,000 permanent teachers resigned between January 2012 and December last year in what trade unions have described as a worrying brain drain for the education sector.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 28 April 2020
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In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Tuesday, 28 April 2020.
SA Express reportedly provisionally liquidated
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Fin24 reports that state-owned regional airline SA Express has reportedly been placed in provisional liquidation after its business rescue practitioners (BRPs) filed an urgent court application in the Pretoria High Court on 25 March.
Solidarity and AfriForum in court challenge to 'discriminatory' Covid-19 tourism relief fund
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Fin24 reports that Solidarity and AfriForum have challenged government's decision to use broad-based black economic empowerment scores to determine who is eligible for the R200m in emergency funding for tourism-related businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ters relief directives cause confusion, first through a lack of clarity, then through amendments
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Moneyweb reports that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has issued several directives relating to the temporary relief scheme offered to employers and employees affected by the national lockdown necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Opencast mines permitted to return to 100% of capacity from 1 May
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Mining Weekly reports that Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Saturday that opencast mines would be permitted to return in phases to 100% operation from 1 May, but underground mines had to continue at 50% of production capacity.
National health department to step up scrutiny of stocks of personal protective equipment
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BusinessLive reports that the national Department of Health (DOH) is planning closer scrutiny of provincial stocks of personal protective medical equipment (PPE) and will be adding these details to a real-time system already in place for monitoring key medicines.
Collapse of oil price pushing consumer inflation rate down
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Business Times writes that with the Covid-19 disaster having shut down much of the world economy, demand for oil has collapsed.
SA Medical Association ‘not happy’ about Cuban doctors being brought in, says it was ‘a bit premature’
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TimesLIVE reports that according to the SA Medical Association (Sama), the arrival of over 200 medical specialists from Cuba was a “little bit premature”.
SA's hotel industry 'near-decimated' by coronavirus lockdown
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Fin24 reports that SA’s hotel industry has been near-decimated by the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown, according to Lee-Anne Bac, director for tourism and travel at accounting group BDO.
Older teachers and those with underlying medical conditions ‘terrified’ of returning to classrooms
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TimesSelect writes that teachers with underlying medical conditions and those 60 and older are reportedly “terrified” of returning to classrooms because they are at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus.
Cubans are expert Covid-19 fighters, says health department
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HeraldLIVE reports that more than 200 Cuban doctors who jetted into SA on Sunday are world-renowned Covid-19 experts who will be deployed where they will be needed the most across the country, but mainly in the Western Cape and Gauteng.
Pepkor unit JDG Trading sued for selling unemployment and disability insurance to pensioners
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Bloomberg reports that a unit of retailer Pepkor has been sued by the national credit regulator for selling unemployment and disability insurance to pensioners on welfare who would never be able to claim those benefits.
More than 600,000 domestic workers might be entitled to grant from UIF’s Covid-19 Temporary Relief Scheme
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Business Insider SA reports that domestic workers whose employers contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) are entitled to receive a special Covid-19 benefit during the lockdown period.
Roundup on Tuesday, 28 April 2020 of weekend labour reports
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In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 24 April 2020.
Eastern Cape health workers facing protective gear supply issues, police union wants better social distancing in cop cars
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EWN reports that according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize, there is sufficient protective gear for health workers fighting coronavirus, but it has been distributed unevenly.
Nursing union Denosa says government is 'unpatriotic' for inviting in Cuban doctors and should hire jobless workers instead
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EWN reports that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) claims government is unpatriotic for welcoming Cuban doctors into the country but ignoring its own healthcare professions who remain unemployed.
Motor industry awaits terms under which it will be allowed to resume production at end of week
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BusinessLive reports that the motor industry is waiting to hear the terms under which it will be allowed to resume manufacturing from the end of this week.
SA secures vital stocks of personal protective gear for health workers
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BusinessLive reports that the protection of SA’s front-line doctors, nurses and community healthcare workers received a boost last week with the arrival of a major order of medical protective gear.
NUM rejects Village Main Reef's plan to retrench 6,309 workers, calls for Mantashe to intervene
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Business Report writes that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has rejected Village Main Reef’s (VMR) restructuring plan in which 6,309 mineworkers could likely be retrenched.
Over 75,000 jobs at risk if franchises can’t start working soon
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City Press reports that SA’s 48,000 franchise businesses are anxiously waiting to hear who will be able to do business again when the total lockdown ends at midnight on Thursday.
As school fees dry up, salaries and jobs of part-time teachers at risk
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Sunday Times reports that sports, music and dance coaches employed by governing bodies at some former model C schools will not be paid this month as parents increasingly stop paying fees.
Sassa to screen applicants for coronavirus R350 unemployment grant against databases to confirm eligibility
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EWN reports that last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a new coronavirus unemployment grant of R350 a month for the next six months until October.
Tourism BEE Covid-19 support to be challenged in court by Solidarity and AfriForum on Tuesday
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BusinessLive reports that trade union Solidarity and lobby group AfriForum are forging ahead with a legal challenge against tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane’s decision to provide support to distressed firms and establishments in the tourism sector based on broad-based BEE codes, among other considerations.