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.
De Lille and Gungubele lose another court bid to block suspended public works DG Sam Vukela from returning to work
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TimesLive reports that Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele have lost another bid to prevent suspended director-general Sam Vukela returning to work.
National Taxi Alliance threatens total shutdown if government doesn’t respond positively to fuel price concerns
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The Citizen reports that the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has given government 21 days to respond to a letter of demands or face protest action.
Workers at Ashton fruit canning factory pray for investors to prevent its closure
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EWN reports that workers at a fruit canning factory in Ashton are praying for investors step in to prevent its closure. In May 2020, Tiger Brands decided to sell the Langeberg and Ashton Foods factory and exit the deciduous fruit business.
SARS deploys managers to Beitbridge to plug manpower gap due to strike
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News24 reports that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has deployed senior staff that fall outside of collective bargaining processes to work at the Beitbridge border post to avert a potential disaster posed by industrial action on the part of the revenue collector's employees.
Scientists worried about new Omicron sub-variant Centaurus spreading across the globe
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The Citizen reports that health scientists are starting to voice their concern about a new Covid sub-variant that was first detected in India and has rapidly spread to other parts of the world.
Health Minister Joe Phaahla tests positive for Covid-19
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TimesLive reports that Department of Health (DOH) Health Minister Joe Phaahla on Tuesday tested positive for Covid-19 after experiencing minor symptoms.
Thirty Numsa officials head to court to lift suspensions or halt union’s conference next week
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Fin24 reports that thirty National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) officials who claim they were suspended to sideline them ahead of a crucial conference, are headed to the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Friday to attempt to have their sanctions lifted.
Two security guards killed by same gunmen in separate Soweto shootings
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The Citizen reports that the police are investigating after two security guards were shot and killed in Soweto on Monday. The shootings took place in the White City area.
ANC staff call for national conference delay over salaries owed for work done in June
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BL Premium reports that workers at the ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House, have called for the party’s national policy conference scheduled for next week to be postponed over the nonpayment of staff salaries for June.
Delay in sentencing bogus Prasa head engineer Daniel Mthimkhulu
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Mail & Guardian reports that the lack of court transcripts have “unreasonably delayed” the sentencing of Daniel Mthimkhulu almost seven months after the former Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) head engineer was convicted of fraud.
Former Moretele council boss arrested for irregular R250-million IT tender
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The Citizen reports that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrest of a former municipal manager at the Moretele Municipality in North West over an irregular R250-million IT tender.
Sasbo demands that Old Mutual must reinstate its unvaccinated members who were fired
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BL Premium reports that Sasbo wants Old Mutual to reinstate its members who were fired for not complying with the group’s mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy, which was scrapped in June.
It’s been over one week since Ramaphosa promised an Eskom plan ‘in the coming days’
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Business Insider SA writes that more than a week ago, on 11 July, President Cyril Ramaphosa headlined his regular weekly newsletter with "We can and will do more to end load shedding".
About 40 SARS offices across SA closed due to wage strike, with no talks planned to break the impasse
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BL Premium reports that unions striking for above-inflation increases at the SA Revenue Service (SARS) said on Monday that tax collection was among the services affected by their continuing industrial action.
You can queue at dawn but still not be served at the employment and labour department in Belvillle
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GroundUp reports that queues form early outside the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) offices at Middestad Mall in Bellville. The office opens at 7:30am and closes at 4pm, but there are people who still don’t get served even when they have arrived early in the morning.
Morning roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 19 July 2022
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In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
Six Mpumalanga officials busted for multi-million Rand vehicle licensing fraud
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The Citizen reports that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) busted an alleged multi-million Rand vehicle licensing fraud ring in Mpumalanga on Monday.
IT guru accused of defrauding State Security Agency of more than R1 million to be tried in October
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News24 reports that a suspended State Security Agency (SSA) employee accused of defrauding the intelligence service of more than R1 million made a brief appearance in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Monday.
A total of 97 illegal miners and a farm owner nabbed in Heidelberg for a number of crimes
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The Citizen reports that a 62-year-old farm owner and 97 illegal Lesotho nationals were arrested on Monday in Heidelberg, Gauteng, for a number of crimes.
Four years after three Joburg firefighters died in Bank of Lisbon blaze, the families still wait for answers
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News24 reports that nearly four years have passed since a fire raged through the old Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg, killing three firefighters, but the findings of four investigations into the blaze have still not been released.
After second attack on a worker at Kruger National Park, leopard euthanised
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News24 reports that SANParks euthanised a leopard after it attacked a lodge employee in the Kruger National Park on Sunday morning.
Digital Vibes scandal leads to demotion for a year of two top health department officials
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City Press reports that the national Department of Health (DOH) has recommended that its suspended spokesperson Popo Maja and deputy director-general of health regulation and compliance Anban Pillay be demoted from their posts for a year.
Numsa marches to public enterprises department to demand that Denel pays outstanding salaries
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Fin24 reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) marched to the offices of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) in Pretoria on Friday, demanding that it re-capitalise state-owned arms manufacturer Denel so that salaries could be paid to employees.
We have border posts under control during strike, claims SARS
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Fin24 reports that the SA Revenue Service (SARS) has put "contingency measures" in place to ensure there is as little disruption as possible at land border posts during its ongoing wage strike.
Load shedding sees more people back at the office instead of working from home
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Business Report writes that as load shedding continues to disrupt workforce productivity, returning to the office may be becoming an attractive prospect.
Ramaphosa backs down from ‘Eskom 2.0’ idea
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EWN reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has backed down on his idea that a second state-owned power generator to rival embattled Eskom is a good idea.
Work at the office three times a week is the ‘new normal’
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Moneyweb reports that Discovery Insure’s new Work From Home Index, developed because of the Covid-19 lockdowns, shows that people are only physically travelling to work three out of five days a week.
Economists concerned that more wage strikes are afoot
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Business Times reports that as wage negotiation season gathers momentum, economists are warning of increasingly unstable labour relations and more strikes as workers demand higher pay to cope with the soaring cost of living.
Standard Bank does spectacular U-turn on mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations and to re-hire unvaccinated staff it fired
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BL Premium reports that Standard Bank wants to re-hire staff it fired for refusing to comply with its mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy, which it repealed last week after union threats to challenge the policy in court.
Sibanye wants to create ‘new positive narrative’ around 2012 Marikana massacre
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BL Premium reports that precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater has embarked on a variety of socioeconomic development projects at its platinum operations around Marikana, where 44 people were killed 10 years ago, in an effort aimed at changing the narrative around the massacre.