Today's Labour News

newsThis 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.

SARSBusinessLive reports that Tom Moyane has delivered the first blow to the presidency in his disciplinary inquiry‚ forcing proceedings to be postponed pending the outcome of a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) application on the legality of the hearing.  

metrorail thumb medium90 92The Citizen reports that Metrorail has put the number of commuters injured during a collision between two passenger trains at Van Riebeeck Park Station near Kempton Park on Thursday evening at more than 320.  

JobsSummitBusinessLive reports that a deal between the government, labour and business struck at the Jobs Summit on Thursday fell short of agreeing to a moratorium on job losses, but could see the creation of another 275,000 jobs a year.  

news shutterstockIn our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Thursday, 4 October 2018.

westerncapeCape Argus reports that no jobs will be lost at the Western Cape Legislature, although a draft enhancement project plan recommends that at least 38 permanent jobs should go.  

durbanDaily News reports that the eThekwini Municipality has warned its own staff members not to post pictures of themselves on social media platforms wearing their work uniforms, while job seekers have been urged to disregard any advertisements on such platforms advertised by third parties on behalf of the municipality.  

boardroomtableFinancial Mail reports that there is widespread cynicism about how much the presidential jobs summit this week will help SA’s unemployment crisis.  

eskomFin24 reports that Eskom announced on Thursday that it had placed its Senior General Manager of Assurance and Forensics, Molefi Nkhabu, on a precautionary suspension.  

Busa2Fin24 reports that the Jobs Summit, which kicked off on Thursday, is set to agree to a mechanism which will see businesses that employ more than 50 people reporting on pay ratios in their Annual Financial Statements.  

Mathunjwa2Mining Weekly reports that Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) president Joseph Mathunjwa told the Joburg Indaba on Thursday that SA should transition from a constitutional democracy to a “social democracy” and implement more socialist policies to retain jobs in the mining sector.  

irrANA reports that the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) said on Thursday that the two-day jobs summit should address “job-destroying” policies such as the government’s plans to amend the constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation.  

education90The Citizen reports that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has dismissed media reports claiming that teachers were leaving the public education system in droves.  

employment thumb100 Reuters reports that SA’s burgeoning call-services sector, which gets more than half its work from Britain, could attract larger inflows as the effect of Brexit weighs and UK companies seek savings by moving operations offshore.  

AlexanderForbesBusinessLive reports that another top Alexander Forbes executive has resigned, just eight days after CEO Andrew Darfoor was fired.  SA’s largest pension fund administrator said Naidene Ford-Hoon would leave her role as CFO and director on 31 December.  

employment thumb100 BusinessLive reports that government, business and labour are convening today for a two-day summit to focus on the unemployment crisis, amid criticism that this will be another talk shop.  

LibertyBusinessLive reports that Liberty, SA’s third-largest life insurer, has been talking to staff amid concern that its "organisational redesign" would result in hundreds of job losses.  

metrorail thumb medium90 92The Citizen reports that the recently announced Western Cape premier candidate for the Democratic Alliance (DA), Alan Winde, has vowed to continue to put pressure on the national government to hand over the authority for Metrorail to municipalities in the Western Cape so that they could effectively manage the daily operation of the region’s trains.  

groupfiveBusiness Report writes that the jobs bloodbath in SA’s beleaguered construction sector is continuing, with construction and engineering company Group Five reducing its headcount by about 1,000 people in the past year, including the retrenchment of 600 permanent employees.  

MantasheEWN reports that Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has revealed that seven suspects linked to his department have been arrested on charges of corruption in a clean-up of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).  

effThe Citizen reports that the EFF has hit out at former Hot 91.9FM breakfast show host Sasha Martinengo, who was fired on Wednesday for referring to Julius Malema as ‘a monkey’ on live air.  

petrolpumpThe Citizen reports that the Southern African Bus Operators Association (Saboa) says the latest surge in fuel prices will cost bus companies millions to stay on the road.  This was in response to the latest fuel price increase of 8.6% at midnight on Tuesday.  

protestEWN reports that activist group ‘Unite Behind’ is planning a mass protest in Cape Town on Thursday against Metrorail's poor services.  The organisation said it would also launch its #DelayRepay campaign.  

petrolpumpEWN reports that there are concerns from workers and the business sector that this week’s record fuel price hike could lead to job cuts and, in worst case scenarios, the forced closure of small enterprises.  

southafricalogoANA reports that the public enterprises ministry has confirmed that director-general Richard Seleke will be leaving the public service.  

sandf thumb medium90 89Timeslive reports that a soldier who shot dead his girlfriend while they were both deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has failed in his appeal against a 20-year sentence for murder.  

CapeTownlogoANA reports that dozens of firefighters were dispatched to Blackheath outside Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon to extinguish a blaze at a factory in Range Road.  

harmonyReuters reports that Harmony Gold said on Wednesday that it had signed a three-year wage agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa, effective from 1 July 2018.  

mildredoliphantBusiness Report writes that SA’s Labour Minister, Mildred Oliphant, will deliver an address during the opening and closure of the Jobs Summit at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand later this week.  

ProductivitySABusinessLive reports that the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has stepped in to rescue Productivity SA once again, after the labour department agency failed to pay service providers for its turnaround solutions programme for more than seven months.  

hawksANA reports that two men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a warrant officer during a shootout in 2015, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said on Tuesday.