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.
Top Germiston cop wins damages from police force in ‘Johnnie Walker’ libel case
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Pretoria News reports on the case of a former station commander at the Germiston police station who instituted a damages claim against the police force and a fellow officer after he was bad-mouthed in a document issued to his superiors.
Northern Cape organisation assisting illegal miners to get permits
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SABC News reports that the Northern Cape Artisanal Small Scale Miners organisation is assisting illegal diamond miners in the Namaqualand region to obtain mining permits.
Cash-strapped Denel still awaits R1bn state guarantee needed to pay workers and suppliers
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BusinessLive reports that cash-strapped arms manufacturer Denel has not yet received the additional R1bn guarantee it has requested from the government, a move that could have serious implications for its cash flow.
Fired Alexander Forbes boss vows to fight instant dismissal
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Business Report writes that sacked Alexander Forbes boss Andrew Darfoor indicated on Tuesday that he would be fighting his instant dismissal.
KPMG still losing South African staff and clients from Gupta fallout
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Bloomberg reports that KPMG in SA is continuing to lose staff and clients more than a year after issuing a public apology for some of the work it did in the country, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Health department go-slow at Civitas building scuppers projects, stops life-saving drugs
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The Citizen reports that many licensing and registration applications are not being processed at the Civitas Building headquarters of the health department in Pretoria while staff are protesting the “unsafe” condition of the building.
SABC gives reassurance that it will follow the law to the letter in retrenchments
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Timeslive reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) says it will scrupulously follow the Labour Relations Act (LRA) in respect of possible retrenchments at the financially struggling public broadcaster.
Plan of unified medical scheme for all public servants hits first big roadblock
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BusinessLive reports that the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has hit its first stumbling block over its proposed consolidation of all the medical schemes for public servants with the Government Employees Medical Scheme (Gems).
Fatally stabbed teacher’s family need time to heal
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SowetanLive reports that the family of Gadimang Mokolobate, the teacher who was stabbed to death at school, allegedly by a pupil, could not hide their anger during his funeral service at the weekend.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 25 September 2018
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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, 25 September 2018.
Private cannabis is legal, but employees can still be fired for going to work stoned
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BusinessLive reports that a labour advocate has warned that the legalisation of private marijuana use does not mean an employee cannot be fired for arriving at work stoned.
Eastern Cape teacher who hit a pupil 58 times on the hand faces assault charge
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Daily Dispatch reports that the Department of Basic Education in the Eastern Cape has confirmed that one of its teachers is facing trial on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
‘Good Morning, Mlungu’ sees three eThekwini metro police officers fired
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Sunday Tribune reports that an eThekwini metro police officer, and his two co-workers, got fired for greeting his boss with “Good morning, mlungu,” while the boss who referred to him by the k-word got a slap on the wrist.
Bushveld Minerals and Amcu resolve unprotected industrial action
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Mining Weekly reports that Bushveld Minerals has reached an agreement with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), thereby ending a strike at Bushveld Vametco Alloys’ mine, near Brits.
Alexander Forbes CEO Andrew Darfoor gets fired over loss of confidence and trust
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BusinessLive reports that Alexander Forbes CEO Andrew Darfoor has been fired, two years into the top job.
Health sector unions cautious over Ramaphosa’s stimulus package
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EWN reports that unions in the health sector have questioned those aspects of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s stimulus package that would see funding to immediately buy beds and linen, saying a quick fix won’t solve the overcrowding at hospitals.
Two involved in illegally mining in Giyani in Limpopo killed
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SABC News reports that two illegal miners have died and another hospitalised after illegally mining at an unused mine outside Giyani in Limpopo.
Germiston mortuary strike over protective gear ends
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SABC News reports that according to Gauteng Pathology Services, the strike of more than two week at the Germiston mortuary, east of Johannesburg, has ended.
Blame for parliamentary employee’s suicide said to be ex-MP’s bullying
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The Citizen reports that the parliamentary manager who shot himself in his office last week laid the blame in his suicide note for his death at the door of a former ANC MP.
Employment equity amendment bill seeks to set sector-specific targets
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BusinessLive reports that the cabinet has approved for public comment the publication of a draft law allowing sector-specific numerical targets to be set for employment equity.
Roundup on Tuesday, 25 September 2018 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, 21 September 2018.
Civitas building in Pretoria ‘safe’ for workers, says health department
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EWN reports that the national Department of Health says there is no reason to believe the Civitas Building in Pretoria is unsafe for workers.
KZN, Cape Town bracing for transport troubles on Tuesday
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News24 reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Cape Town residents are expected to experience transport troubles on Tuesday morning.
It's not about me, says Cosatu’s Zingiswa Losi
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City Press reports that Zingiswa Losi, newly elected president of Cosatu, advises never to take things personally in any organisation, because when they have been addressed and dealt with, “you still have to lead those who were raising the issues.”
Metrorail operations in KZN won’t resume until it is safe to do so, says Prasa
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EWN reports that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has said that operations in the province would not resume until it was safe to do so.
Cosatu hits a serious cash crunch
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City Press reports that the 1.6 million-strong Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is in serious financial trouble.
Parliament must carry the can for ‘protest’ suicide of employee
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City Press reports that former and current employees of Parliament have called on the House to be held accountable for a tragic “protest” suicide, instead of shifting the blame on to the police.
Whistle-blower Rosemary Hunter loses dormant pension funds battle
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BusinessLive reports that whistle-blower turned activist Rosemary Hunter has lost her legal battle to force the pension funds’ watchdog to do more work investigating the closure of dormant pension funds.
NUM signs wage deal with AngloGold Ashanti
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Reuters reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) signed a three-year wage deal with AngloGold Ashanti on Friday, inking the same agreement that other unions reached with the gold producer earlier in the week.
Sea Point security company in court over nonpayment of provident fund contributions
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GroundUp reports that the Western Cape High Court has given the owners of a Sea Point security company until 2 October to defend themselves against allegations that the company failed to pay contributions to its workers' provident fund for several years.