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.
Sibanye Gold says union wage demands may lead to more shaft closures
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Bloomberg reports that the struggling gold mining sector would be forced to close more mine shafts if labour unions’ wage demands were implemented, according to the top producer of the precious metal.
Cosatu to decide on admission of new union affiliates
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Diamond Fields Advertiser reports that delegates to Cosatu’s upcoming national congress in September are expected to decide on whether to add more affiliates to the federation’s more than a dozen trade unions.
Solidarity members at Sasol’s Secunda plant vote to strike over exclusion of whites from scheme
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ANA reports that a total of 83% of Solidarity members at Sasol in Secunda in Mpumalanga have voted in favour of a strike to protest the exclusion of white employees from the company’s employee share ownership plan.
Lily Mine disaster report recommends prosecution
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City Press reports that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has submitted a report to the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) that contains recommendations for prosecution related to the mine accident that killed three workers at Lily mine in Mpumalanga in 2016.
Unions brace for fight with Eskom over job reductions
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Business Report writes that Eskom’s intention to cut 7,000 jobs through natural attrition will bring it perilously in contact with a live wire as affiliated trade unions threaten to short-circuit its operations with running strike action.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Thursday, 23 August 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
Thursday, 23 August 2018.
Tshwane alleged to have lied about using SAQA for verification of manager’s qualifications
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The Citizen reports that suspended Tshwane manager Moeketsi Mosola is alleged to have misrepresented the truth in his claim about the verification of the qualification of a senior manager with the SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
Gupta news channel is not dead, claims Manyi
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The Citizen reports that the owner of Afro Worldview, formerly ANN7, which was recently discontinued by Multichoice, says the channel is not dead.
Sibanye-Stillwater was not negligent on safety, says CEO Neal Froneman
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Miningmx reports that Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said on Thursday that the US and SA platinum group metals (PGM) and gold producer did not expect to be fined by the SA regulators for safety violations because it did not believe it had been negligent.
Audiologist and speech therapist guilty of 259 counts of medical aid fraud
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Cape Times reports that disgraced audiologist and speech therapist Wandile Theophilus Mashego has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of 259 counts of medical aid fraud.
Despite declaring dispute in gold mining wage talks, NUM hopes for ‘amicable agreement’
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The Citizen reports that despite being the only union to pull out of the gold mining wage talks with the Minerals Council SA (MCSA), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is hopeful about eventually reaching “an amicable agreement” with the MCSA.
Eskom drops bombshell that it expects to have 7,000 fewer staff in five years’ time
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Reuters reports that a senior manager at cash-strapped Eskom said on Thursday that it expected to have 7,000 fewer staff members in five years’ time.
Bail for man who allegedly beat up car guard and left him to die
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SowetanLive reports that the man accused of beating a car guard to death has been granted bail in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. Philani Milton Mkhulisa made his second appearance in court Wednesday and was granted bail of R2,000.
Emotional time for family of Sharks Board employee as they identify his body
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Daily News reports that the family of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board employee whose body was recently found, have said this was a very emotional time for them and they were hurting a lot.
Labour department welcomes high turnout by ex-mineworkers in Northern Cape seeking unclaimed benefits
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ANA reports that the Department of Labour (DoL) on Wednesday expressed its appreciation for the overwhelming turnout of former mineworkers in the John Taolo Gaetswewe (JTG) district, in the Northern Cape, who heeded the call to make applications for unclaimed benefits.
High unemployment figures, economy worry Cyril; details of stimulus package coming soon
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The Citizen reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa said during his oral question and answer session in the National Assembly on Wednesday that the high unemployment rate was a clear signal that the country’s economy could not continue to grow at the current rate.
To start fixing gender pay gap, don’t ask female job applicants what they currently earn
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The Thomson Reuters Foundation writes that asking job applicants what they earned served to entrench the gender pay gap because women often started work on lower salaries.
Gold mining wage negotiations to resume on 29 August
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Mining Weekly reports that gold mining wage negotiations continued on Wednesday between gold producers AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater and Village Main Reef and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), Solidarity and Uasa.
Pangas used in clash involving job seekers in coal mining town
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Timeslive reports that several houses were set alight and several people injured in clashes between community members in Phola near Ogies on Wednesday.
Pandor calls for rethink of plan to reduce number of Setas
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BusinessLive reports that Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) Minister Naledi Pandor has questioned her predecessor Blade Nzimande’s plans to reduce the number of Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas).
Balancing act in the election of Cosatu’s new leaders ‘will be tricky’
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BusinessLive writes that Cosatu’s affiliates will have to perform a fine balancing act between politics and the needs of workers when they elect the new leadership at the union federation’s September congress.
Solidarity welcomes Mantashe’s proposal to withdraw MPRDA Amendment Bill
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Mining Weekly reports that trade union Solidarity on Wednesday said the mining sector’s quest for policy certainty would receive a huge boost if Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe’s proposal to withdraw the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill was implemented.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Wednesday, 22 August 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
Wednesday, 22 August 2018.
Cosatu pushes for parliament to process and adopt PIC amendment law
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Bloomberg reports that labour federation Cosatu is pushing Parliament to adopt proposed changes to laws regulating the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which oversees state workers’ pension investments, to make it more accountable and give unions representation on its board.
East London airport evacuated as police close in on cop ‘killers’
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ANA reports that police have arrested two people in connection with the murder of Sergeant Simphiwe Sahluko on Sunday in the Eastern Cape.
Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama given extension to argue against suspension
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BusinessLive reports that Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama and two other top executives have been given an extension until next Tuesday to provide reasons to the board as to why they should not be suspended.
NUM members at Harmony’s Moab Khotsong mine threaten shutdown
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SABC News reports that members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at the Moab Khotsong operations of Harmony Gold in Orkney, North West, have threatened to down tools if mine management does not heed the workers’ demands for better wages and working conditions.
Employees at Baragwanath Hospital protest to get CEO to step down
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SABC News reports that employees at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto have been embarking on early morning and lunch hour protests since Monday.
Cash-strapped SABC prioritising payment of salaries and freelancers
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BusinessLive reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) financial situation is becoming more dire by the day. The SABC board told the National Assembly’s communications committee on Tuesday that it was unable to meet some of the corporation’s monthly financial obligations.
NHI will collapse healthcare, practitioners likely to leave, Solidarity warns
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ANA reports that according to a research report released by Solidarity on Tuesday, health practitioners in SA are very sceptical about government’s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) plan, with many considering emigrating if the ambitious project is implemented.