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.
Strike by magistrates over wages would be illegal and unbecoming, justice ministry warns
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TimesLIVE reports that the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services has warned magistrates who have threatened to strike over wages that doing so will be illegal, improper and unbecoming.
Man dies after falling through roof at Middelburg shopping centre
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Middelburg Observer reports that the old Pick n Pay centre in the Middelburg central business district is currently under lockdown after a man fell through the roof of the centre near the Walter Sisulu Street entrance of the sparsely occupied centre.
Angry mineworkers disrupt Cosatu May Day rally in Soweto
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GroundUp reports that angry mineworkers disrupted the May Day rally hosted by Cosatu at the Elkah Stadium in Soweto on Wednesday.
Workers hold night vigil outside Gauteng health department, demanding permanent jobs
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GroundUp reports that scores of people working in hospitals and clinics across Gauteng gathered outside the offices of the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) for a night vigil on Wednesday.
Morning roundup of labour news on Thursday, 2 May 2024
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In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.
SA strike action dipped again in 2023, but more than half were wildcat stoppages
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Fin24 reports that industrial action continued to decrease in 2023, with 83 worker strikes reported last year, according to the Casual Workers Advice Office’s (CWAO’s) Strike Barometer.
Bronkhorspruit police detective arrested for allegedly pocketing R500 meant for drunk driver’s bail
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IOL News reports that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has arrested a Bronkhorspruit Detective Services police officer who allegedly pocketed R500 that was meant as part of the bail money of a suspect who was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Former top cop Khomotso Phahlane’s R54m SAPS tender fraud case moved to regional court
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IOL News reports that former Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and his five co-accused, who were arrested in connection with two police tenders totalling more than R54 million, will have their case heard in the Pretoria Regional Court.
Thai national arrested in Edenvale for alleged trafficking women under pretenses of job opportunities
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News24 reports that a Thai national accused of human trafficking will remain in police custody pending further investigations and the attendance of a Thai court interpreter.
Thousands of Post Office job cuts set to go ahead as ‘unpersuasive’ bid for TERS funding fails
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Fin24 reports that business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for the SA Post Office (SAPO) say their application for funding from the Temporary Employment Relief Scheme (TERS) has been rejected. This means retrenchments – which the application had hoped to limit – will have to be implemented as planned.
Social media posting about deadly Covid-19 strain is fake, says health department
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TimesLIVE reports that the Department of Health (DOH) has dismissed social media reports of a new Covid-19 variant and asked the public to ignore the misleading message.
Eastern Cape health department spokesperson's fake qualification case transferred to commercial crime court
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News24 reports that an attorney has questioned what prompted the State to charge his client in connection with allegations that he submitted a fake matric certificate to the Eastern Cape government when he was hired in 2002, even though the client had already been cleared in disciplinary proceedings.
Nedlac urges employers to allow workers who have to work on 29 May time off to vote
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Engineering News reports that organised business, labour, community and government represented in the National Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) have urged all employers to support and allow their employees to vote in the upcoming general elections on 29 May.
Long-serving Gold Fields CFO takes early retirement, Alex Dall appointed on interim basis
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Engineering News reports that long-serving Gold Fields CFO Paul Schmidt, who is also an executive director of the listed gold mining company, is to proceed on early retirement.
Three in Free State court over alleged Covid-19 Ters fraud
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TimesLIVE reports that the Hawks in the Free State on Monday announced that the owners of two companies alleged to have scammed the Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) were arrested last week.
Civil servants took home billions in extra pay over the past five years
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The Citizen reports that civil servants have been generously remunerated over the last five years – taking home nearly R3 billion’s worth of performance bonuses, 13th cheques and incentives.
Over 140 undocumented migrants nabbed at illegal mine near Rustenburg
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The Citizen reports that the military, police, and Hawks swooped down to close an illegal mining operation in the North West recently, arresting over 140 suspected undocumented foreigners in the process.
Solidarity slams Minerals Council for saying SA mineworkers are best paid
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Business Report writes that Solidarity has vehemently disagreed with the Minerals Council of SA’s (MCSA’s) assertion that mineworkers are among the best-paid employees in SA.
Inside Sibanye-Stillwater’s war with illegal miners
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BL Premium reports that its 2023 annual report released on Friday, Sibanye-Stillwater laid bare its efforts to tackle the illegal miners who have infiltrated its operations to fleece the group of millions of rand in precious metals.
Presidency denies spying on SABC executives
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BL Premium reports that war has erupted between President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office and the SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) over the alleged targeting of the national broadcaster’s executive through a security vetting process by the State Security Agency (SSA).
Eastern Cape businessman allegedly pocketed R300,000 from Covid-19 Ters fund without paying workers
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IOL News reports that a 34-year-old Eastern Cape businessman is the latest to appear in court over allegations of Covid-19 Temporary Employer Relief Scheme (Ters) fraud.
Philippi gangsters say they’ll only stop the killings if government pays them protection money
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GroundUp reports that following the murder of two security guards in Philippi East last week, members of an extortion gang stated that they, and not security companies, should be paid to protect City of Cape Town infrastructure and workers.
Petrol price will be hiked on Wednesday, but diesel gets a cut
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Fin24 reports that petrol prices will be hiked by 37c a litre on Wednesday, while wholesale diesel prices will fall by 30c a litre (0.05% sulphur) and 36c a litre (0.005% sulphur).
Numsa welcomes SIU probe into botched SAA deal
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IOL News reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has welcomed the decision of the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on public enterprises to refer the botched SAA-Takatso consortium deal to the Special Investigating (SIU).
Eastern Cape nursing unions call for protection after deadly robbery at a rural clinic
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News24 reports that nursing unions have called on the Eastern Cape Department of Health to ensure proper safety measures for staff after another robbery, at a rural clinic in Ngqeleni, near Mthatha.
Morning roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 30 April 2024
- Details
In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.
CEO Neal Froneman’s fall in pay to R55m reflects Sibanye’s woes
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BL Premium reports that the pay of Sibanye-Stillwater’s CEO, Neal Froneman, has diminished from the R300m he earned in the 2021 financial year to R55m in the year to end-December.
Sassa staff in eMkhondo ‘traumatised’ by ‘rituals’ performed in office after hours
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The Citizen reports that SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) officials in eMkhondo (formerly Piet-Retief), Mpumalanga have been left “traumatised and dejected” after footage emerged of alleged “rituals” being conducted in their office after hours.
Amplats names Sayurie Naidoo as its new CFO in the place of Craig Miller, who is now CEO
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Fin24 reports that Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) said on Friday it had named Sayurie Naidoo as its CFO and executive director with effect from 1 May, replacing Craig Miller, who has taken up the position of CEO.
No economic adviser, no problem, says Presidency
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Business Times reports that the Presidency has defended the year-long vacancy in the role of economic adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying it hasn’t paralysed decision making on the economy.