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.
Satawu mulls over new wage offer from bus operators amid threatened strike over Easter weekend
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BL Premium reports that the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu), which had threatened to embark on strike in the bus sector ahead of the busy Easter weekend, has received a revised offer from bus operators.
Public sector wage deal may not be as big a risk to budget framework as feared
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Columnist Hilary Joffe writes that over the past three years the government has firmly bent the curve on public sector pay, halting a decade-long trend of above-inflation wage increases.
Eighty-seven illegal miners arrested at Orkney mine in 2021 get a combined 696 years imprisonment
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The Star reports that eighty-seven illegal miners, who were arrested at Shaft 2 in Orkney on 20 October 2021, have been sentenced to a combined 696 years of imprisonment.
City Power employee, contractors among six nabbed for theft, vandalism
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TimesLive reports that a City Power employee faces disciplinary action while two of its contractors were fired after they were allegedly caught committing crimes against the entity.
Brace for 'significant tradeoffs', Treasury warns as final public sector wage deal is signed
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Fin24 reports that the National Treasury has pledged fiscal discipline and a commitment to reducing the fiscal deficit in the light of the final settlement on wages for public servants on Friday.
SANParks appoints its first ever female chief executive officer
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South African National Parks (SANParks) announced last week that had appointed Hapiloe Sello as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), making her the first female CEO since the body’s establishment in 1926.
Victory for former IT executive after legal fight for commission from 2018 to be paid out
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Fin24 reports that a former executive at Adapt IT has won a four-year fight for commission she earned before resigning but which the software company refused to pay out.
Roundup on Monday, 3 April 2023 of weekend labour reports
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In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 31 March 2023.
Tongaat Hulett gets more financial aid as deadline for rescue plan extended
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BL Premium reports that financial support for struggling sugar producer Tongaat Hulett has been extended until June, which will allow it to pay employees and the growers who provide it with cane to mill.
Within four years, YES initiative passes 100,000 jobs mark
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Engineering News reports that private sector-funded nonprofit the Youth Employment Service (YES) has deployed 100,000 young South Africans into the private sector within just four years.
Seasoned executive Martin Buys appointed Eskom acting CFO
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Engineering News reports that state-owned power utility Eskom has announced that group finance GM Martin Buys will serve as acting CFO with immediate effect and until further notice.
Government and a majority of public sector unions sign wage deal
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BL Premium reports that the government and a majority of unions in the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) on Friday signed a two-year, multi-term wage deal for a 7.5% increase.
Morning roundup of labour news on Friday, 31 March 2023
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In our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
South Africans’ salaries remain lower than a year ago, despite job market stabilising
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The Citizen reports that the latest BankservAfrica salary data suggests that the job market is stabilising and that, although salaries increased slightly in February, they are still lower than a year ago.
New study identifies jobs most exposed to generative AI
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According to a new study by OpenAI in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania, about 80% of jobs will potentially be impacted by the rapid developments in the capabilities of generative AI.
Due to backlog, Home Affairs grants relief to visa applicants
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BL Premium reports that the Department of Home Affairs has granted relief to applicants of long-term visas or waivers who are awaiting outcomes of their applications by extending the blanket concession to 31 December.
Hawks target 10 companies in R5 billion National Skills Fund graft probe
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The Citizen reports that a criminal investigation by the Hawks is underway into corruption and fraud by 10 companies that received millions from the National Skills Fund (NSF) but never delivered services.
FSCA cancels 6,757 inactive retirement funds after 16-year slog
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BL Premium reports that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has cancelled 6,757 inactive retirement funds that were found to have no members, assets or liabilities, with most also not having properly constituted boards in line with the Pension Funds Act.
Fired Mangaung prison guard boasted about brand-new car before and after Thabo Bester's escape
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TimesLive reports that one of the three G4S Correction Services prison guards who was fired for assisting “Facebook Rapist” Thabo Bester in his daring escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre boasted on social media about his brand-new car before and after the audacious jailbreak.
Employers urged by Institute for Risk Management to be ‘proactive’ in planning for total electricity blackouts
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BL Premium reports that businesses in SA are being told to make sure they are prepared to react to a total electricity blackout.
Eskom employee found safe after kidnapping ordeal
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The Citizen reports that an Eskom employee has been found safe following a kidnapping ordeal. The staffer was released this week, at a location south of Johannesburg, after he was kidnapped on 16 March.
Morning roundup of labour news on Thursday, 30 March 2023
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In our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
KZN accountant handed 15-year prison sentence for defrauding employer of more than R7m
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News24 reports that a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) accountant has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after having been found guilty of 93 counts of fraud amounting to more than R7 million.
Passenger injured as another three Intercape buses attacked in Eastern Cape
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Algoa FM reports that a passenger on an Intercape bus was wounded when three buses came under attack in separate incidents in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.
Disciplinary action initiated against 192 Western Cape employees for participation in Nehawu wage strike
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News24 reports that the Western Cape Health Department has initiated disciplinary action against 192 employees who took part in an unprotected strike by the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu).
Morning roundup of labour news on Wednesday, 29 March 2023
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In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
North West official arrested for double dipping salaries at two state entities
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TimesLive reports that an official has been earning two salaries, one from a North West municipality and the other from the national department of water and sanitation.
Satawu threatens wage strike by bus drivers in the lead up to Easter long weekend
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BL Premium reports that the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) says bus drivers will down tools before the Easter holidays in a bid to secure wage increases of up to 9%.
G4S says it dismissed three employees after Thabo Bester prison cell fire
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TimesLive reports that G4S Correction Services on Tuesday said it had dismissed three of its employees in relation to their conduct on the day that a fire broke out in the cell of convicted murderer and serial rapist Thabo Bester in May last year.
Formal employment rose in fourth quarter, but annual figure fell
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BL Premium reports that SA’s formal employment rose by 48,000 in the fourth quarter to nearly 10-million, excluding agriculture and private households. This was advised by Stats SA on Tuesday in its quarterly employment survey.