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.
Senior HR director takes Mangosuthu University of Technology to labour court over suspension
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Sunday Tribune reports that a senior director at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) has taken the institution to the Durban Labour Court over his precautionary suspension.
Addington Hospital in Durban in hot water for allegedly hiding coronavirus infection rate
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Sunday Tribune writes that Addington Hospital in Durban is sitting on a time bomb as management comes under fire for allegedly hiding information on the infection rate after more nurses and a doctor apparently tested positive for Covid-19.
Government says SAA liquidation put on hold, consultations on structured wind-down suspended
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BusinessLive reports that government said on Saturday that SA Airways’ (SAA’s) business rescue practitioners (BRPs) have agreed not to consider liquidating the ailing state-owned airline and also to suspend consultations about a structured wind down proposal that would include culling the entire workforce.
As lockdown eases, workers must have say in the health and safety of reopening businesses, Cosatu says
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BusinessLive reports that Cosatu wants workers and unions to have a say on whether a business can reopen when the hard Covid-19 lockdown ends on 30 April, following a risk assessment and a signed agreement by stakeholders.
Firms are receiving millions from UIF’s Ters scheme, with some left unsure how much to pay each worker
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Business Insider SA reports that the Unemployment Insurance Fund has so far paid out more than R1.6 billion in special coronavirus benefits – known as the Covid-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (Ters) – to 37,000 companies.
Survey paints a grim picture, with three quarters of businesses considering redundancies, pay freezes
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BL Premium reports that three quarters of businesses in SA are considering cost-saving initiatives such as redundancies and pay freezes as they navigate the economic crisis brought by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Thursday, 23 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
Thursday, 23 April 2020.
Massive job losses, closure of companies on the cards, warns labour minister Thulas Nxesi
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The Star reports that Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has warned about massive retrenchments and scores of companies likely to go under after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Healthcare workers testing positive for Covid-19 on the rise, with six pharmacy staffers at Charlotte Maxeke hospital the latest cases
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SowetanLive reports that the numbers of healthcare workers who have tested positive for Covid-19 are on the rise, with Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital being the latest facility to report employees who have contracted the virus.
Vavi to test for Covid-19 for a third time after second test comes back positive
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Sowetan reports that SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi says he will be testing for Covid-19 for a third time after his second test result came back positive.
Why the war on Covid-19 needs an extra 73,180 soldiers
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SowetanLive reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed an additional 73,180 defence force members on Tuesday to support government departments and to control borders to combat the spread of the coronavirus in all nine provinces until the end of June.
New Covid-19 distress grant of R350 per month for the jobless hailed
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SowetanLive reports that around seven million unemployed South Africans qualify for the Covid-19 distress grant, which has been hailed by economists and labour analysts as an important intervention by government.
SA Express again turns to UIF for money to pay salaries
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Fin24 reports that SA Express will not be able to pay salaries for April unless it obtains financial support from the Covid-19 Unemployment Insurance Fund or the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) overseen by the CCMA.
Sasol slashes salaries across management levels in bid to protect balance sheet
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Fin24 reports that Sasol has announced a range of salary cuts across its management levels as the company navigates the impact of Covid-19.
SAA Technical wants workers to ‘sacrifice’ half their wages
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Moneyweb reports that SAA Technical has informed workers that the travel bans and the nationwide lockdown have left the aircraft maintenance entity’s finances in dire straits, with just enough to pay only 50% of some employee net salaries and full medical and pension contributions.
Denosa claims five health workers at Addington Hospital in Durban 'tested positive' for Covid-19
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TimesLIVE reports that the Democratic Nursing Union of SA (Denosa) claimed on Thursday that five health workers at Durban's Addington Hospital have tested positive for Covid-19.
Public service unions preparing for ‘mother of all fights’ over salary increases
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Financial Mail reports that public sector trade unions are preparing for "the mother of all fights" after the government last week reneged on the final leg of its 2018 wage agreement.
Restaurant industry on its knees and its workers are starving due to lockdown
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Financial Mail reports that Wendy Alberts, head of the Restaurant Association of SA (RASA), says hundreds of thousands of restaurant workers are starving as they haven’t earned any money during the national lockdown in which restaurants are not allowed to be open.
Amcu’s court application for regulations regulating health and safety of employees returning to mines to be heard on 29 April
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TimesLIVE reports that a legal challenge by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) to force the government to regulate the health and safety of employees returning to mines will be heard urgently by the Labour Court on 29 April.
Labour inspectors find that many employers not adhering to lockdown health and safety regulations
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BusinessLive reports that Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) inspectors have uncovered a high level of noncompliance by employers with the health and safety regulations related to Covid-19.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Wednesday, 22 April 2020
- Details
In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Wednesday, 22 April 2020.
Denosa warns government against redeployment of state health workers
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EWN reports that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) has warned that the new regulations giving government powers to redeploy health workers would leave many state health facilities in distress.
KAP Industrial cuts salaries by 20% for three months due to Covid-19
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BusinessLive reports that KAP Industrial, which has automotive, chemicals and logistics businesses, has cut the salaries of some of its employees by 20% for three months to shore up finances during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over 130 police, security and government officials arrested during national lockdown
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TimesLIVE reports that at least 131 police officers, security members and government officials — specifically councillors — have been arrested for Covid-19-related lockdown crimes over the past month.
Teachers employed by SGBs face losing salaries if parents don't pay school fees during lockdown
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The Star reports that if parents don’t pay school fees during the national coronavirus lockdown, thousands of teachers might not receive their salaries.
Soldier killed on Tuesday by out-of-control truck at N12 roadblock
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The Citizen reports that a soldier was crushed by a truck on the N12 in Johannesburg while taking part in a routine roadblock on Tuesday morning.
Female police officer shot in the head and killed in Vereeniging on Tuesday night
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The Citizen reports that a female police officer has died after she was shot in the head in Waldrift, Vereeniging, on Tuesday night.
Consumer inflation dips to 4.1% in March, but data only reflects prices before lockdown
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Fin24 reports that the consumer inflation rate dipped in March, after sustained increases since November 2019 saw the rate reach a 15-month high in February.
Employment losses due to lockdown ban on alcohol sales could exceed failing SOE job numbers
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Michael Fridjhon writes that SA is the only country where Covid-19 lockdown regulations include a blanket ban on all liquor sales, and the job losses directly attributable to this action are considerable.
Government not giving up on SAA and wants to work with unions for a ‘new financially stable airline’
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BL Premium reports that the government has not given up on saving SA Airways (SAA) and told employees on Tuesday it wanted to work together with them to establish “a new financially viable airline”.