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.
Appeal process suspends ECSA sanctions against engineer in George building collapse
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Engineering News reports that the disciplinary sanctions imposed on engineer Atholl Mitchell by the Engineering Council of SA (ECSA) following the deadly George building collapse are currently suspended pending the outcome of a formal appeal.
Patricia De Lille, SA Tourism board clash over suspension of CEO Nombulelo Guliwe
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Sunday Times reports that Department of Tourism (DOT) Minister Patricia de Lille and the board of South African Tourism (SAT) have locked horns over the board’s decision to institute disciplinary action against the entity’s now-suspended CEO over a R4.1m prepayment to a service provider for work that investigators claim was never done.
Calls for justice echo as Marikana massacre commemorated 13 years later
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IOL News reports that the Marikana massacre was commemorated on Saturday amid demands for justice for the 34 fallen mineworkers killed during a strike at Lonmin Mine in Marikana, North West, 13 years ago.
Despite challenges, SA’s agricultural job prospects remain hopeful
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Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA, writes that agriculture is generally viewed as one of the sectors that still has the potential to create more employment in SA.
City of Tshwane's response to Rosslyn tyre factory fire on Saturday criticised
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IOL News reports that a probe is under way to establish the cause of the devastating fire that gutted a tyre factory in Rosslyn in Pretoria North on Saturday amid claims by the DA that the City of Tshwane refused assistance from private fire fighters during the blaze.
Goodyear SA plant in Kariega closed its doors on Friday as workers accepted improved payout
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The Herald reports that the Goodyear SA plant in Kariega shut its doors on Friday after unions secured an improved severance deal in terms of which each retrenched employee would receive R100,000, plus four weeks’ pay for every year worked.
Roundup on Monday, 18 August 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.
Minibus taxi driver assaulted on Thursday at Maponya Mall, vehicle set alight
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TimesLIVE reports that a minibus taxi driver operating outside Maponya Mall in Soweto was assaulted on Thursday. His attackers stopped the vehicle and told the driver to get out. They beat him, took all his money and torched the taxi.
Untu threatens legal action over Prasa possibly reneging on implementing wage deal
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BL Premium reports that the United National Transport Union (Untu) is threatening legal action over attempts by the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) to renege on implementing the one-year 5.5% wage deal it signed with unions in July.
Horrific crash on major Limpopo route kills a police officer and six prison inmates
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The Citizen reports that a tragic accident on the R101 between Mokopane and Mookgophong in Limpopo has claimed the lives of seven people.
Suspects in Saturday’s murder of Mpumalanga cop gunned down in Eswatini hideout
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SowetanLive reports that two suspects linked to the murder of a Mpumalanga police officer were shot dead in Eswatini on Thursday morning, while a third killed himself before police could get to him.
Eastern Cape created 89,000 new jobs in second quarter despite economic headwinds
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SABC News reports that the Eastern Cape government has noted that the recently released Quarterly Labour Survey Results for the second quarter show that the province managed to create 89,000 new jobs during the period under review.
SA’s motor sector hit by job losses and business shutdowns
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Reuters reports that low domestic sales of locally made cars, an influx of imports and low local content have led to 12 company closures and more than 4,000 job losses in the SA motor industry over two years. Department of Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau told delegates at an auto parts conference on Wednesday that sales of 515,850 locally produced cars last year fell far below the SA Automotive Masterplan 2035 target of 784,509.
Pension Funds Adjudicator emphasises that in determining equitable death benefit distribution, extent of dependence must be investigated
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IOL News reports that the decision to allocate a large portion of a death benefit to the financially independent son of the deceased, while his unemployed life partner and her children only received a fraction of the benefit, was set aside by the Pension Funds Adjudicator.
Failure to disclose pending criminal case cost applicant appointment to Eastern Cape court post
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Cape Times writes that the failure to disclose a pending criminal case when asked to do so as part of a job application can have dire consequences, as an applicant who applied for the position of a court manager discovered.
Deputy police commissioner’s interim interdict against whistle-blower overturned
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IOL News reports that Deputy National Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya’s interim interdict barring former high-ranking police member Patricia Morgan-Mashale from publishing statements on social media accusing him of corruption has been overturned.
Numsa signs two-year pay deal with pharmaceutical sector companies
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BL Premium reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and companies in the pharmaceutical sector have signed a two-year wage agreement.
Calls grow for basic income grant as jobs bloodbath continues
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Following the release of Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey on Tuesday, which showed that the unemployment rate has risen to 33.2%, with 8.4 million people jobless and nearly one in two young people unable to find work, advocacy group Black Sash called for the urgent introduction of a permanent Basic Income Grant (BIG) for unemployed South Africans.
PSA proposes steps for government to take to tackle unemployment crisis
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TimesLIVE reports that according to the Public Servants Association (PSA), SA’s rising unemployment is a crisis that demands co-ordinated, bold and inclusive action.
ConCourt rules that dependency at date of death and not later crucial for allocation of pension fund death benefits
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IOL News reports that in a groundbreaking judgment regarding the distribution of death benefits, the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) last week held that dependency must be assessed based on facts at the date of the death of a pension fund’s member and not at the time distribution decisions were made.
SA ‘becoming a construction site’ as sector adds 55,000 jobs year-on-year
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TimesLIVE reports that according to Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) Minister Dean Macpherson, SA is “becoming a construction site” with the industry continuing to create thousands of jobs despite the rising unemployment rate.
One driver dead, another driver and passerby injured after e-hailing vehicles torched at Maponya Mall
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The Citizen reports that one person was killed and two others injured after e-hailing vehicles were attacked by unknown suspects at Maponya Mall in Pimville, Soweto, on Wednesday evening.
Morning roundup of labour news on Thursday, 14 August 2025
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In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
Ex-policeman receives 36-year sentence for colleague's murder during arrest
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IOL News reports that a former Namakgale policeman will serve 36 years behind bars for shooting and murdering his colleague after they made an arrest at a tavern where an armed robber was nabbed.
SA aviation sector faces talent drain as pilots retire or leave country
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News24 reports that Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has raised concerns about the increasing trend of South African aviators leaving the country or retiring from the industry. She was speaking at the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Summit in Durban on Tuesday.
Durban teacher fired for sending sex messages to 12-year-old girl
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TimesLIVE Premium reports that a Durban primary schoolteacher who admitted to inappropriate sex talk with a young girl but who pleaded remorse and begged not to be fired as his cancer-stricken mother depended on him, has been dismissed.
Germiston Department of Home Affairs fire linked to protest, roof collapses but no injuries reported
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News24 reports that a fire broke out at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) building in Germiston on Tuesday, allegedly after someone hurled a petrol bomb at the structure, causing the roof to collapse.
Unemployment in South Africa in Q2 jumps past 33% as jobs crisis deepens
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BusinessTech reports that the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) from Stats SA shows that SA’s unemployment rate has increased again, jumping to 33.2% in the second quarter of the year (Q2). This is up from the 32.9% recorded in the first quarter of 2025, which itself was higher than the 31.9% recorded in the quarter before.
Morning roundup of labour news on Wednesday, 13 August 2025
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In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
Kalahari AutoForce truck drivers in Gqeberha on strike for higher wages
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GroundUp reports that scores of truck drivers have been picketing in Markman, Motherwell since Saturday to demand higher wages from the Kalahari AutoForce company in Gqeberha.