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.
State spends R54bn annually on jobs programmes with little to show for it
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Sunday World reports that the SA government spends R54-billion every year on labour market interventions, but the money is not producing the big changes needed to fight youth unemployment.
Employees of Department of Military Veterans stage lunchtime pickets over organisational structure review
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IOL News reports that employees of the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) are expected to embark on lunchtime pickets from Friday over the DMV’s failure since 2013 to review its organisational structure. They have not ruled out full strike action.
Mashatile asserts that cadre deployment in municipalities is merit-based and not a jobs-for-pals scheme
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EWN reports that Deputy President Paul Mashatile has denied claims that the African National Congress (ANC) sends unqualified people to head up municipalities, which then leads to their collapse.
Rubbish piles up in KwaMashu as striking waste workers dispute salary cuts
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GroundUp reports that rubbish is piling up in the streets of KwaMashu township in Durban as waste workers downed tools this week over cuts to their salaries. The workers are employed by several companies subcontracted by the eThekwini Municipality.
Mining Qualifications Authority finance manager faces investigation for misconduct and offensive behaviour
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Daily News reports that within the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), Finance Manager Myan Govender has become the focal point of an internal investigation spurred by multiple allegations of unprofessional conduct.
Solidarity barometer reveals impact of US trade tariffs
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Maroela Media reports that on Thursday, trade union Solidarity released its first tariff barometer report analyzing the impact of US trade tariffs on SA and its various industries. A similar barometer report will be released monthly.
Mashatile’s bodyguards exposed in viral N1 assault video want charges dropped for lack of evidence
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News24 reports that the lawyer representing eight police officers who were captured on video assaulting the occupants of a VW Polo in July 2023 on the N1 highway argued in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday that the case should be thrown out of court due to a lack of evidence.
South African employers race to hire AI talent
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TechCentral reports that demand for employees skilled in the use of AI has surged 77% in SA in the past year.
Morning roundup of labour news on Friday, 12 September 2025
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In our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
Macsteel workers back at work following strike over retrenchment packages
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BL Premium reports that according to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), workers at Macsteel are back at work following a strike after the steel producer “forcefully retrenched” workers for allegedly rejecting a R40,000 retrenchment package.
Endless payment delays at the Compensation Fund
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GroundUp reports that in recent years the Compensation Fund (CF) has faced allegations of inefficiencies and delays in payments of claims. In February, the Auditor-General’s office told MPs that almost every aspect of the institution was dysfunctional.
Critical shortages of specialists at KZN hospitals leads to lengthy patient backlogs
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The Mercury reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is currently experiencing extended patient wait times due to a severe shortage of specialist doctors in the province's government hospitals. There is a backlog of nearly 10,000 patients awaiting treatment.
Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe keeps it in the family with new Chief of Staff
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Daily Maverick reports that the current Chief of Staff in the Office of the Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, is allegedly the 22-year old niece of Tolashe’s special adviser, Ngwako Kgatla – and her qualifications for the role are questionable.
Labour Court gives Gauteng education department 30 days to finalise grievance lodged by Pretoria Girls’ High principal
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News24 reports that the Labour Court has given the Gauteng Department of Education 30 days to finalise a grievance lodged against it by Pretoria High School for Girls principal Phillipa Erasmus.
Nersa employee who made R54bn mistake in Eskom tariff determination suspended
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News24 reports that the person who made the R54-billion mistake in calculating Eskom’s electricity price increase has been suspended, the chairperson of the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa), Thembani Bukula, told MPs at a meeting of the Electricity and Energy Portfolio Committee on Wednesday.
Seven Chinese nationals get effective 20 years in jail for 'slave labour' factory
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TimesLIVE reports that the Johannesburg High Court has sentenced seven Chinese nationals to an effective 20 years in prison after they were found guilty of a raft of charges related to running a factory that treated its staff inhumanely.
Morning roundup of labour news on Thursday, 11 September 2025
- Details
In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
Vulnerability of unarmed Gauteng wardens laid bare by Daveyton ambush
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News24 reports that three years after Premier Panyaza Lesufi launched the Gauteng crime prevention wardens, they remain unarmed. Five on-duty wardens were shot over the weekend, one of whom remains in ICU.
Thirty-nine percent of SA's domestic workers earn below minimum wage
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IOL News reports that Sweepsouth’s recently released Annual Report on Domestic Worker Pay and Working Conditions reveals that a staggering 39% of domestic workers in SA earn below the national minimum wage.
ArcelorMittal SA must be ‘re-nationalised’, says Saftu
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Bloomberg reports that according to Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), the government must “re-nationalise” ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) to avert job losses and rebuild SA’s beleaguered manufacturing industry.
Former FNB employee jailed for stealing R800,000 from elderly customer
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TimesLIVE reports that the Gqeberha specialised commercial crimes court has sentenced Leonie Stella Stiemie, a former branch administrator at FNB Kirkwood, to an effective six years’ imprisonment for two counts of theft.
Court turns down Sibiya’s bid to return to work in showdown over task team
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BL Premium reports that a full bench of the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday dismissed deputy police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s application to return to work. Sibiya was ordered to stay at home by national commissioner Fannie Masemola following his disbandment of an elite task team investigating political killings in KwaZulu-Natal.
Labour Court slams CCMA commissioner’s conduct but upholds firing of employee whose refugee status had lapsed
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IOL Business reports the Labour Court in Cape Town found a CCMA commissioner’s conduct “unacceptable” during a hearing into the dismissal of a Lufthansa subsidiary’s employee after his refugee status expired. Yet, it found that the outcome that the termination of his employment had been fair and should be upheld.
Emirates Group looks to recruit over 200 IT boffins in SA
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BusinessLive reports that Emirates Group, the state-owned, Dubai-based international aviation holding company, is hoping to recruit more than 200 IT professionals in SA for “future-focused” tech roles.
Netball SA CEO Komane fails in CCMA bid to overturn final warning
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City Press reports that Netball SA (NSA) CEO Modiegi Komane’s attempt to have a written final warning against her set aside at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has failed.
New code of good practice on dismissal of employees
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BusinessTech reports that the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, has gazetted a new code of practice relating to the dismissal of employees.
ConCourt hears Solidarity’s bid to have sections of National Health Act confirmed as invalid
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BL Premium reports that lawyers representing trade union Solidarity and private doctors spent hours on Tuesday trying to convince Constitutional Court judges to confirm a court order which found provisions of the National Health Act, which controls where doctors work and where health facilities are established, invalid.
Morning roundup of labour news on Wednesday, 10 September 2025
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In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
Roundup on Monday, 8 September 2025 of weekend labour reports
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In our roundup of weekend and recent reports,
see the following summaries of our selection of
South African labour-related articles.
Morning roundup of labour news on Friday, 5 September 2025
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In our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.