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.
Tiso Blackstar’s Sunday World tabloid facing closure
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The Star reports that Tiso Blackstar intends to close its Sunday World tabloid as revenue plummets and workers continue to strike.
Durban Chamber of Commerce launches youth employment programme
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Fin24 reports that the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the Manchu group and MICT SETA, recently launched a three-month unemployed youth skills and enterprise development programme.
Steinhoff’s Markus Jooste got millions in unapproved bonuses in months preceding share price crisis
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Fin24 reports that Steinhoff's former Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste received almost $2.4m (roughly R34m at current exchange rates) of bonuses without required approvals in the months before the global retailer almost collapsed amid an accounting crisis.
Transition from coal to renewable energy won’t be ‘just’ in absence of inclusive social dialogue, says Vavi
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Mining Weekly reports that SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has called for urgent social dialogue on SA’s “inevitable” energy transition from coal to renewable energy.
Court orders Mhlathuze Water’s striking workers to stop protesting
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TimesLIVE reports that the Labour Court has granted water authority Mhlathuze Water an interim interdict preventing its workers from protesting.
Tiso Blackstar to cut jobs to avoid title closures, internal e-mail reveals
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Fin24 reports that the Tiso Blackstar Group will be cutting jobs amid financial troubles, according to an internal email sent out by managing director Andrew Gill.
Fatality at Harmony Gold’s Bambanani mine
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In a statement on Tuesday, Harmony Gold Mining advised that one of its employees had been fatally injured in a mining related accident earlier that day at the Bambanani mine in the Free State.
eThekwini municipality and trade unions resolve strike impasse
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News24 reports that according to eThekwini municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela, the two-week strike by the metro’s workers which brought the Durban CBD to a standstill last week has been resolved.
Mines safer in 2018, but noise-induced deafness and silicosis increased
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Rapport writes that up to March this year, five mineworkers had died in the country’s mines against 14 in the corresponding period last year.
Busa calls on business community to allow employees to vote on Wednesday
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Engineering News reports that Business Unity SA (Busa) on Monday urged all employers, including its members, to make it possible for employees to exercise their right to vote in the 2019 national election on Wednesday, 8 May.
Case against 17 Marikana mineworkers postponed to 18 October pending review
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ANA reports that seventeen Marikana mineworkers facing a range of charges briefly appeared in the North West High Court, sitting in Mogwase, on Monday.
Eleventh-hour talks avert a Nehawu election day strike
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The Star reports that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) have averted strike action planned for Wednesday by IEC employees.
Litter piles up as eThekwini city workers continue strike
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Daily News reports that the protest by workers in several eThekwini municipal departments entered its second week on Monday as bags of domestic refuse piled up on the sidewalks.
Nehawu gets interdict against DHET’s ‘no work no pay’ salary deductions without verification
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TimesLIVE reports that the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) has obtained a court interdict against the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) after the latter allegedly flouted a wage agreement and deducted money from employees' salaries.
New Polokwane Supported Employment Enterprise factory to employ 150 disabled persons
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ANA reports that a Supported Employment Enterprise (SEE) factory that will hire 150 people with disabilities was opened in Limpopo last Monday by Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant at Seshego Industrial Park.
North West beefs up Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp with 13 new specialists
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SowetanLive reports that the North West department of health has beefed up Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp with 13 high-level specialists to provide patients with quality healthcare.
Privatisation of Eskom still a heated debate, but Cosatu relaxes stance on unbundling
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The Citizen writes that the privatisation of Eskom is increasingly probable under the present government, but the power utility is mired in vested interests that favour the status quo, say critics.
Cosatu to try to end stalemate between ‘arrogant’ eThekwini management and workers
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TimesLIVE reports that Cosatu said on Monday that action must be taken against the "arrogant" management of the eThekwini municipality.
Hawks investigating after Matlosana municipal manager accused of hiding his criminal record
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Mail & Guardian reports that residents of the Matlosana local municipality in North West have approached lawyers to force the municipality to remove its municipal manager, claiming that he failed to disclose his alleged criminal record.
It’s mayday for unions as turnout at May Day rallies disappoints
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Mail & Guardian writes that May Day rallies across the country last week showed that trade unions have lost their lustre and are no longer the political force they were a decade ago.
CCMA receives over 6,000 disputes related to wages in first four months of 2019
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Moneyweb reports that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), which is responsible for dispute resolution between employees and employers, received over 6,000 referrals related to wage disputes in the first four months of 2019.
Roundup on Monday, 6 May 2019 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, 3 May 2019.
Committee turns down application to have public transport declared an essential service
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SowetanLive reports that bus drivers have scored a big victory with the Essential Service Committee (ESC) ruling that public transport in general cannot be classified as an essential service.
Arnot Colliery workers go from being jobless to owning a colliery
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City Press Business reports that the efforts of eight former Exxaro Arnot Colliery employees who were laid off in 2015 have paid off as their former employer has made them co-owners of the mine.
SAPS refutes that reservoir outside Durban was ‘bombed’ as part of illegal industrial action
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ANA reports that the SA Police Service (SAPS) said on Sunday that reports in the media suggesting that a reservoir in the Montclair area just outside Durban had been “bombed” were not only false, but also very irresponsible.
Cape Town paramedics and community health workers march to protest over work hours
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GroundUp reports that dozens of paramedics and community health workers marched on Thursday to the Western Cape Department of Health in Cape Town to protest against what they claimed were long hours and dangerous working conditions.
National Health lab fires CEO and CFO who were suspended in 2017
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BusinessLive reports that the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has fired its CEO and CFO after a disciplinary hearing found they were guilty of misconduct relating to tenders worth an estimated R200m.
Vavi, Jim fall out ahead of next week’s general elections over Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party
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Independent News reports that the relationship between trade union allies Zwelinzima Vavi and Irvin Jim appears to have soured following the decision by Jim and leaders of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) to form a party to contest next week’s elections.
Optimum Coal axes more than 400 workers as business rescue process drags on
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City Press reports that the ongoing business rescue at Optimum Coal has finally claimed its first victims, with more than 400 workers at the mine having been served with retrenchment letters on Tuesday.
Mining resumes at Sibanye-Stillwater platinum shaft as investigation into falling rails starts
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TimesLIVE reports that underground operations resumed at Sibanye-Stillwater's Thembelani shaft in Rustenburg on Friday after it was certified safe for normal hoisting operations.