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.

numFinancial Mail writes that, mindful of the depressed economic environment, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will take a far less militant approach than before to the upcoming wage negotiations in the platinum industry.  

GEPFBDLive reports that public sector trade unions are gearing up to challenge in court a decision by the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) to amend the formulae used to determine payments to members who retire or resign early.  

amcu thumb medium80 81Financial Mail writes that with wage talks looming in the platinum industry, trade union heavyweight Joseph Mathunjwa appears to be relishing his role as perhaps the most powerful man in SA’s besieged mining sector.  

picBusiness Report writes that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) on Wednesday rebutted reports that the pensions of government employees lost R100 billion in two days in December after President Jacob Zuma axed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene.  

OakbayFinancial Mail reports about claims that the Gupta family short-changed their staff by making Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) deductions from their salaries but not paying the monies over to the labour department.  

sanral thumb100 TMG Digital reports that striking South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) members employed by Teti Traffic will hand over a memorandum of wage demands at the offices of the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) on Friday.  

healthcareANN7 reports that North West Health MEC, Dr Magome Masike, says the high number of mines in the Bojanala district impacts on health service delivery.  

VUTThe Citizen reports that staff members from the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) in Vanderbjilpark were warned not to report for duty on Thursday morning.  

fedusa thumb medium80 85BDLive reports that the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) on Wednesday opposed suggestions that value-added tax (VAT) be increased, saying it would burden the poor.  

weblinksOur links page provides references to South African labour news reports we have come across on the Internet on Wednesday, 11 May 2016

saa thumb medium95 76BDLive reports that South African Airways (SAA) insists that there is no deadlock in wage negotiations with four unions, despite fresh comments intimating that the national carrier is not in a financial crisis.  

saa thumb medium95 76eNCA reports that South African Airways (SAA) on Wednesday labelled "misleading"  reports that its general manager of human resources, Thuli Mpshe, has been placed on precautionary suspension by the chairperson of the board of directors, Dudu Myeni.  

news shutterstockIn our Wednesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Tuesday, 10 May 2016.

cosatuThe New Age reports that after President Jacob Zuma led discussions between the government, business and labour in Pretoria on Monday, Sdumo Dlamini, president of labour federation Cosatu, expressed grave concern over recent unemployment statistics.  

gavel thumb100 Fin24 reports that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) wasted close to R700,000 in taxpayers’ money because it failed to follow up on a court case.  

sabmillerFin24 reports that the Competition Tribunal on Tuesday conditionally approved a SABMiller and Coca-Cola deal to combine their African soft drink operations into what would be the continent's biggest Coke drinks bottler.  

glencoreSABC News reports that negotiations to end the nine week industrial action at Glencore's Wonderfontein coal mine in Belfast have deadlocked.  

sadtu90Daily News reports that the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has embarked on indefinite pickets outside the KwaZulu-Natal education department’s district offices, demanding the urgent filling of teacher posts around the province.  

solidariteitFin24 reports that trade union Solidarity has served court papers on the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) for unlawfully amending the formula for calculating employees' preservation fund payouts at the time of resignation.  

exxaroBloomberg reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) wants a buyer to step in at Exxaro Resource’s Arnot colliery to avert job cuts at the end of July.  

neasaBusiness Report writes that Gerhard Papenfus, CE of the National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa), has thrown down the gauntlet to government to review its decision to cushion ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) against cheap Chinese steel imports through tariffs.  

implatsheadgear smlANA reports that the general secretary of the Workers Association Union (WAU), Elifas Ngoepe, insisted on Tuesday that the union was formed to advance the interests of the workers, not to dilute support for other unions.  

samwu thumb medium80 78TMG Digital reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has called on local government to stop using labour offered through the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) and Community Works Programme (CWP) to render services to communities.  

boardroomtableEngineering News writes that this year will see organised labour and the automotive assembly and component manufacturing sectors return to the bargaining table to thrash out new wage accords.  

education blackboard thumb medium80 92HeraldLive reports that a Port Elizabeth school was forced to cram 84 pupils into a single classroom on Tuesday as a new wave of teacher shortages hit the northern areas.  

harmonyNews24 reports that the decomposing bodies of five illegal miners, known as zama-zamas, were found underground on Monday in Harmony Gold's Eland shaft in Welkom, Free State police said on Tuesday.  

saa thumb medium95 76BDLive reports that trade unions involved in wage negotiations at South African Airways (SAA) have reviewed their wage demands, raising them back from single to double digits, following statements made by the airline’s board chairwoman Dudu Myeni.  

fawuBDLive reports that the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) is determined to drag out the completion of the merger between Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev) and SABMiller in a bid to secure benefits for its members.  

weblinksOur links page provides references to South African labour news reports we have come across on the Internet on Tuesday, 10 May 2016

news shutterstockIn our Tuesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Monday, 9 May 2016.