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.
Return to work on 26 July will be mandatory for staff in education sector
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BL Premium reports that all staff in the education sector will be required to return to work when schools open on 26 July whether they have been vaccinated for Covid-19 or not and even if they have been allowed to stay at home up until then due to comorbidities.
Motshekga affirms that schools will remain open amid third wave of Covid-19 infections
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News24 reports that the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has advised that schools will remain open even though the number of Covid-19 infections continues to soar.
Reduction in rate of retrenchments sparks hope of economic recovery
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Business Times reports that Alexander Forbes, SA's biggest pension fund administrator, says the rate of retrenchments across its client base has slowed significantly since the highs of last year.
Military medics to assist Gauteng in managing Covid-19 third-wave crisis
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BusinessLive reports that as Gauteng battles the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, military health practitioners have been brought in to help the province’s hospitals deal with the dramatic surge in cases.
Municipal strike risk rises as local government unions vote on independent facilitator’s wage proposal
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BL Premium reports that the risk of local government workers going on strike has increased with the two unions involved in wage talks indicating that they would be rejecting a proposal by an independent facilitator to cut wages in real terms and freeze other perks over the next three years.
‘Top heavy’ management structure at Sassa could see staff cuts
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Mail & Guardian writes that the R2-billion in losses racked up by the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) over the 2019-22 financial period could lead to its “top heavy” management structure being culled.
Morning roundup of labour news on Friday, 18 June 2021
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In our early morning roundup, see summaries
of our selection of recent South African labour-
labour-related reports.
Worried teachers question decision to keep schools open, as the virus decimates pupils and staff alike
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The Citizen reports that as Covid-19 rips through schools in Gauteng, frightened teachers are questioning the government’s decision to keep classrooms open.
Cluster outbreaks at mine, high school contribute to rise in Covid-19 cases in Limpopo
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News24 reports that Limpopo is again experiencing an increase in the number of Covid-19 cluster outbreaks, with 390 new infections reported in the 24 hours up until Thursday.
Remains of SA soldier killed in the DRC back home, but circumstances surrounding his death still unknown
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Pretoria News reports that the circumstances surrounding the untimely death of South African soldier Corporal Simanga Authur Khuselo, who was shot dead on 3 June in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are still unknown.
Siberian tiger kills worker and another tiger at Seaview Predator Park in Gqeberha
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SowetanLive reports that a worker at the Seaview Predator Park in Gqeberha was killed by a Siberian tiger on Wednesday afternoon.
CEO of Engineering Council of SA placed under precautionary suspension
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Fin24 reports that the Engineering Council of SA (ECSA) has placed its CEO Sipho Madonsela on precautionary suspension, following allegations of misconduct.
North West premier calls for immediate action after 20 bodies found near Orkney mine
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News24 reports that North West Premier Tebogo Job Mokgoro has called for immediate action in dealing with illegal mining after 20 dead bodies of suspected illegal miners were found near Lawrence Park's mine ventilation shaft.
CEO vacuum at AngloGold Ashanti turns it into world’s worst mining stock
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Bloomberg writes that AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) has had a bad year, with the company’s lack of a permanent chief executive officer and a suspension of its Ghana mine operations weighing on the stock.
Tito Mboweni tells investment conference that Treasury will not give in to wage demands of unions
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Bloomberg reports that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni apparently told an investment conference on Thursday that the Treasury would not back down on its insistence that any wage agreement for state workers must not breach the government’s fiscal ceiling.
Gauteng nurses 'overwhelmed, at risk of burnout', as Covid-19 cases soar above 13,000
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TimesLIVE reports that the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) on Thursday warned that nurses in Gauteng were overwhelmed, overburdened and at risk of burnout as Covid-19 cases in the country soared above 13,000 over a 24-hour period.
Covid-19 vaccination of teachers being fast-tracked, with close to 500,000 people in basic education sector to be vaccinated over 10 days
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BL Premium reports that the government is proceeding at a brisk pace with its plans to vaccinate teachers and, later, security personnel, as announced earlier this week by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Morning roundup of labour news on Thursday, 17 June 2021
- Details
In our early morning roundup, see summaries
of our selection of recent South African labour-
labour-related reports.
East London immigration officer allegedly demanded bribe from three illegal immigrants of R2,000 each
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ANA reports that an immigration officer from the Eastern Cape faces charges of extortion after she allegedly demanded a bribe from illegal immigrants following their arrest.
SA’s youth stressed or anxious ‘most of the time’ about the future, Deloitte survey reveals
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BL Premium reports that a survey by professional services firm Deloitte has found that unemployment, crime and corruption within business and politics top the list of concerns among SA’s young adults between the ages of 27 and 38 (millennials).
Off-duty police dog handler killed in KZN tavern shooting a day after three police dogs were shot while tracking cop killers
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TimesLIVE reports that an off-duty KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police dog handler was shot dead on Tuesday night.
CCMA confirms dismissal of ex-Sars chief legal officer for irregular VAT refunds to Guptas
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BL Premium reports that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has deemed the dismissal of former SA Revenue Service (Sars) chief legal officer Refiloe Mokoena to be fair.
Philippi farmworker ’attacks’ foreman attempting to administer breathalyser test
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Weekend Argus reports that a 40-year-old man appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on a charge of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm after he allegedly attacked a foreman with a farm tool in Schaapkraal, Philippi.
Government launches National Pathway Management Network to support young people to find pathways into the economy
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BL Premium reports that on Wednesday in Pietermaritzburg President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address as the country commemorated Youth Day and the 45th anniversary of the 16 June 1976 Soweto uprising in which young people took to the streets in to fight against the apartheid regime.
Bodies of 20 suspected illegal miners found at two locations in Orkney
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News24 reports that the bodies of 20 men, believed to be illegal miners, were discovered on Tuesday and Wednesday at two locations in Orkney in the North West.
ANC staffers reject looming retrenchments and warn they won’t go down without a fight
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News24 reports that ANC staff members have vowed not to accept any decision taken by the party that would result in employees losing their jobs at Luthuli House.
Smelters warn of jobs bloodbath in sector if tax on exports of chrome ore is delayed
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Business Report writes that Save SA Smelters has warned that 80,000 direct jobs would be on the line if the government continued to delay the implementation of the tax on raw chrome ore exports.
NUM to march on 15 July over rising unemployment in Mpumalanga
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Mining Weekly reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Highveld Region is preparing to march against continued retrenchments, outsourcing, use of labour brokers and the increasing unemployment rate in the Mpumalanga province.
We don’t have ghost workers, Duarte tells ANC staffers picketing outside Luthuli House on Tuesday
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News24 reports that ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte has revealed the party does not have ghost workers but "old" employees who have been on the organisation's payroll for a while.
Morning roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 15 June 2021
- Details
In our early morning roundup, see summaries
of our selection of recent South African labour-
labour-related reports.