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.
Morning roundup of labour news on Wednesday, 18 August 2021
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In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
Report into 2018 deaths of three firefighters at Bank of Lisbon building to be released in September
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The Star reports that the report of investigations into the death of three firefighters at the now demolished Bank of Lisbon building in Johannesburg are set to be made public next month.
State lays out breakdown of payments to Marikana claimants, and the remaining pending cases
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The Citizen reports that Monday marked the ninth anniversary of the 2012 Marikana massacre, in which 44 people lost their lives, but the actual figures of longstanding claims by families were only released to the public on Tuesday.
Teacher unions united in rejecting cancellation of October school holidays
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SowetanLive reports that five teacher unions have rejected the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE’s) intention to cancel the October school holidays to compensate for the days lost as a result of the early closure for the winter holidays.
Health department worried that SA’s vaccination programme has lost momentum due to vaccine hesitancy
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TimesLIVE reports that the national Department of Health on Tuesday conceded that its Covid-19 vaccination programme had lost momentum due to vaccine hesitancy.
Magistrate appointed to senior position after 12 years of exclusion due to his race
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Solidarity announced on Tuesday that, after 12 years of being excluded for reasons of race from a job, Martin Kroukamp must be officially appointed as a senior magistrate in Alberton.
ANC risks missing IEC deadline to register municipal election candidates as staff on a ‘go-slow’ refuse to work extra hours
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SundayTimes Daily reports that the ANC runs the risk of failing to register its candidates to contest this year’s municipal elections by the IEC’s 23 August deadline, as staff refuse to work overtime and at weekends due to outstanding salaries and other benefits.
Treasury aims to stamp out widespread abuse of employment tax incentive to prevent claims on behalf of trainees
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BL Premium reports that the Treasury is seeking to stamp out abuse of the employment tax incentive to prevent employers claiming it on behalf of trainees rather than full-time employees.
Aftermath of recent unrest threatens thousands of sugar industry jobs
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The Citizen reports that the unrest in parts of KwaZulu-Natal last month wreaked an immense amount of economic havoc, particularly in the sugar industry.
Health experts see Covid-19 fourth wave starting in early December and lasting about 75 days
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The Citizen reports that with SA still recovering from the third wave of Covid-19 infections, leading health experts are saying a fourth wave could be here by early December and that it will last about 75 days.
Metropolitan Life sees unexpected surge in Covid-19 deaths during third wave
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Fin24 reports that Momentum Metropolitan Holdings (MMH) says Covid-19 death claims during the recent third wave of infections were more severe than the company initially expected.
Morning roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 17 August 2021
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In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
Security guard suspended for beating alleged intruder who punched guard at Sassa office
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The Mercury reports that a security guard has been placed on precautionary suspension after a video “implicating the guard” in an assault of a man at a SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) office went viral.
Bench Marks Foundation laments that nine years on, little progress made in case against those implicated in Marikana massacre
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TimesLIVE reports that monitoring NGO Bench Marks Foundation (BMF) said on Monday that nine years after 34 miners were killed at Marikana, little progress has been made in bringing those implicated to book.
Second KZN pupil’s Covid-related death renews calls to revisit school plan
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Independent Media reports that the death of a second KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) schoolgirl from Covid-19 complications has renewed calls for the Department of Basic Education to review its school policy as the province battles the third wave of the coronavirus.
ConCourt reserves judgment in case of Cape Town firefighter injured on duty who seeks advancement
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News24 reports that the Constitutional Court has reserved judgment in a case involving the City of Cape Town and a firefighter who was refused an advancement after suffering permanent injuries during a work accident.
Taxpayers footing bill for Phiyega’s ‘zombie litigation’ to fight findings of Marikana inquiry
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Mail & Guardian reports that the government has thrown R5.5-million — and counting — into a black hole of litigation for former police commissioner Riah Phiyega to clear her name in relation to the Marikana massacre.
Law Reform Commission proposes maternity benefits for women in informal sector
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Sunday Times reports that women in the informal sector could in future be in a better position in regard to maternity benefits thanks to a proposal to extend those benefits to them.
Government accused of having abandoned Marikana victims
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BusinessLive reports that questions about whether the government has done enough to acknowledge its central role in the 2012 Marikana massacre and make amends to the victims and their families took centre stage on Monday as nine years were marked since the atrocity.
CFO of National Health Laboratory Service and company director in court over PPE tender fraud
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TimesLIVE reports that the CFO at the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) and a company director appeared in court on Monday on alleged personal protective equipment (PPE) tender fraud amounting to more than R14m.
'Bogus' doctor, charged in Mpumalanga with practising without a licence, released on R5,000 bail
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News24 reports that a Congolese national has been released on R5,000 bail after he was arrested in Mpumalanga for allegedly practising medicine without a licence.
Restaurants call for end to Covid restrictions as 1,100 eateries close, leaving tens of thousands jobless
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BL Premium reports that the Restaurant Association of SA (Rasa) is calling for the cabinet to end restrictions on eateries after an estimated 1,100 restaurants shut down during the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Roundup on Monday, 16 August 2021 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, 13 August 2021.
Inmate charged in connection with murder of Leeuwkop prison official
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The Citizen reports that the department of justice and correctional services confirmed on Friday in a statement that an inmate had been charged for the murder of an official at the Leeuwkop correctional centre in Tshwane.
Covid-19 third wave sees more under-59s hospitalised
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Sunday Times reports that patients younger than 59 have been admitted to hospital in greater numbers during the Delta-driven third wave, according to clinicians on the frontline of the war against Covid-19.
SERI calls for 16 August to be a national holiday as sign of respect to 34 Marikana miners
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The Star reports that as SA marks the ninth anniversary of the Marikana killings on Monday, there have been calls for 16 August to be made a national holiday as a sign of respect to the miners who died in the country’s first post-apartheid massacre.
Pro-jab message drowned out by disinformation
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Saturday Citizen writes that with SA showing signs of some people being reluctant to vaccinate against Covid, government’s communications strategy appears not to be strong enough to counter the growing wave of massive disinformation on social media.
Employee files R2m lawsuit against state over slur that she slept her way up the promotions ladder
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SowetanLive reports that an employee of an agency of the Department of Human Settlements has filed a R2m defamation suit against her employer and a senior manager for allegedly spreading rumours that she had slept her way to promotions.
Unrest relief fund 'is not a salary holiday, it is meant for bad days', says UIF
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News24 reports that the newly established relief fund to assist companies looted during the recent unrest has been infiltrated by fraudsters.
Automobile Association submits that Gautrain is a white elephant, its extension unacceptable
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Engineering News reports that according to the Automobile Association (AA), proposed route extensions to the Gautrain must be rejected by the Gauteng provincial government, as this will perpetuate a system which “caters for the minority of citizens who don’t need it, instead of the mass market which does”.