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.
Proposed amendments to Employment Equity Act challenged by Institute of Race Relations
- Details
BL Premium reports that proposed amendments to the Employment Equity Act (EEA), which seek to give the labour minister the authority to set employment equity targets for employers across the economy, will trigger a flight of scarce skills and capital.
Fatal conveyor belt incident at Gold Fields’ South Deep gold mine
- Details
Mining Weekly reports that an employee at gold producer Gold Fields’ South Deep mine lost his life in a mining incident on 13 April.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Tuesday, 13 April 2021
- Details
In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Tuesday, 13 April 2021.
Security guard killed in explosion to blast open safe in cash-in-transit heist in Gugulethu on Monday
- Details
EWN reports that a security guard has died in a cash-in-transit heist in Gugulethu, Cape Town. On Monday, robbers targeted a cash van in the area.
Security guard injured, passengers unscathed after Cape Town commuter train caught fire on Monday
- Details
News24 reports that a security guard was injured after a passenger train caught alight in Cape Town on Monday. The T2520 train from Kraaifontein to Cape Town caught alight at around 16:00, causing delays of around an hour after the northern line trains were temporarily suspended.
GEPF definitively tells members that use of their pensions as security for loans is not permissible
- Details
BL Premium reports that the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) has informed its more than 1-million members in the public service that they cannot access their pension funds while they are still working.
Testing times for SAA subsidiaries, with staff at SAAT ‘very close’ to withholding their labour
- Details
Moneyweb reports that the staff of SA Airways’ (SAA’s) subsidiaries are bearing the brunt of the precarious financial situations of those companies. SAA has been in business rescue since December 2019, but this has not included the subsidiaries.
Nearly 35% of SA’s senior government officials not qualified for their jobs
- Details
Independent Media reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) intends writing to parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) to urge an investigation regarding the fact that nearly 35% of senior managers employed by national and provincial departments do not have the required qualifications and credentials for the positions they occupy.
Positive impact of teacher assistants leads to DBE seeking further contract extension beyond 30 April
- Details
News24 reports that the contracts of more than 300,000 teachers and general assistants employed at schools across the country under the Presidential Youth Employment Stimulus programme have been extended to the end of April.
Legal dagga use poses challenges to workplace policies
- Details
Pretoria News reports that the 2018 Constitutional Court decision to legalise the consumption of cannabis “in private” has created a number of challenges for employers and employees.
Solidarity and AfriForum in court on 13 April to challenge race-based terms of Tourism Equity Fund
- Details
Engineering News reports that trade union Solidarity and civil rights group AfriForum were scheduled to be in the North Gauteng High Court on 13 April for the hearing of their case against the Department of Tourism and Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane.
Salga on collision course with municipal unions as it presses for wage cuts in real terms
- Details
BL Premium reports that trade unions and municipal bosses are heading for a showdown after the SA Local Government Association (Salga), the body representing SA’s 257 municipalities, called for financially distressed municipalities to cut wages in real terms and freeze other perks linked to wage hikes.
SAA pilots reject final offer by business rescue practitioners to end strike
- Details
BL Premium reports that the business rescue practitioners (BRPs) of SA Airways (SAA) have made a final settlement offer to pilots, who are both on strike and locked out, also warning them that once the business rescue process ends the offer expires.
LRA guidelines requiring secret ballot of union members prior to strike action set aside by court
- Details
The Star reports that a set of labour guidelines viewed by some as the government’s attempt to curtail workers’ right to embark on strikes have been set aside by the North Gauteng High Court.
Afternoon roundup of labour news on Monday, 12 April 2021
- Details
In our afternoon roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that appeared thus far on
Monday, 12 April 2021.
Two Fidelity Services guards shot and killed in Langa while escorting an Albany Bakeries vehicle
- Details
Cape Argus reports that the Langa community has been left reeling after two Fidelity Services guards were shot and killed in Zone 23, while escorting an Albany Bakeries vehicle on Saturday morning.
Ramaphosa says future of job creation is in the digital economy and SA is well positioned for growth
- Details
Fin24 reports that according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the digital economy presents opportunities to create jobs, now even more so as the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated changes.
SA Local Government Association tables tough 2.8% municipal wage hike offer
- Details
BL Premium reports that in what could signal tough wage talks ahead, the SA Local Government Association (Salga), which represents the country's 257 municipalities, has proposed a three-year wage deal with a 2.8% wage increase for 2021/2022.
Former Gauteng health MEC Masuku fails in court bid to challenge SIU report pn PPE
- Details
The Citizen reports that former Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku has failed in his bid to challenge the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report that was used to discharge him of his duties.
Some CCMA offices no longer accept walk-in cases, while workers pay for services that were once free
- Details
GroundUp reports that Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) offices in Johannesburg and Benoni have stopped allowing walk-in cases.
Railway station vandalism ‘bad’ and has gotten worse, Prasa chairperson laments
- Details
The Citizen reports that Leonard Ramatlakane, chairperson of the board of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), says vandalism of train stations across the country is bad and has gotten worse.
Tshiamiso Trust ‘struggling to identify’ miners for lung disease compensation
- Details
SowetanLive reports that nearly two years after a R5bn landmark ruling that would change the lives of former mineworkers who contracted deadly lung diseases at work, only seven claimants have been paid out in a trial run.
Two men shot dead on Mkhondo farm were looking for jobs, say cops
- Details
TimesLIVE reports that according to Mpumalanga police, the two men who were shot dead last Friday on a farm at Bampoen outside Mkhondo had gone to the farm in search of employment.
eThekwini municipal employee convicted of fraud in relation to bogus EPWP project
- Details
The Citizen reports that yet another eThekwini municipality employee has been nabbed for fraud, this time in connection with the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
Hostility between farmers and workers a trend in KZN, says premier Sihle Zikalala
- Details
TimesLIVE reports that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) premier Sihle Zikalala said at the weekend that ongoing tensions between farmers and workers was endemic in many parts of the province.
‘Race card’ played by government as pilot strike at SAA turns nasty
- Details
The Citizen reports that the ongoing row between striking pilots at SA Airways (SAA) and the government has degenerated into racial slurs.
Off-duty Western Cape police officer's body found on Sunday with gunshot wounds
- Details
TimesLIVE reports that Western Cape police are investigating the shooting of a police officer whose body was found with several gunshot wounds on Sunday morning in Disa Street, Vrygrond.
Roundup on Monday, 12 April 2021 of weekend labour reports
- Details
In our roundup of weekend news, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related stories that appeared since
Friday, 9 April 2021.
Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke calls for civil service shake-up
- Details
Business Times writes that Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke says that SA needs a "properly professionalised" civil service characterised by stability, competence and a culture of performance and accountability.
City Power employee's alleged scam backfires after he is locked up by Troyville customer
- Details
TimesLIVE reports that a City Power employee was arrested on Friday for allegedly trying to scam a Troyville customer out of R780. The 37-year-old is expected to appear in court on Monday facing charges of fraud and malicious damage to property.