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.
Restaurant sector still in ‘very, very dark waters’, warns Restaurant Association
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EWN reports that even with alcohol sales returning to normal, the Restaurant Association of SA (Rasa) warned that businesses were still trying to keep their heads above water.
Survey shows a third of SA's doctors have suffered verbal or physical abuse during Covid-19 pandemic
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TimesLIVE reports that a third of doctors in SA have suffered verbal or physical abuse from patients, their relatives or members of the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism industry pleased with lifting of international travel restrictions
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BL Premium reports that tourism industry stakeholders said on Thursday that the decision to lift international travel restrictions, ahead of the festive season, would help the R400bn sector recover from the Covid-19 lockdown and instill confidence that SA was a safe destination to travel to.
Cosatu wants R350 special Covid-19 support for the unemployed to become a permanent basic income grant
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BusinessTech reports that labour federation Cosatu has welcomed the extension of government’s R350 Covid-19 unemployment grant, but says that the funding should be extended into a more permanent form of support.
Unemployment data for third quarter shows signs of lasting damage to labour market
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BL Premium reports that SA’s unemployment rate hit a fresh high in the third quarter, with signs emerging that, even as lockdown restrictions eased, the country’s labour market faced permanent damage.
Over 1,600 contract invigilators at Unisa face the axe as exams move to online
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City Press reports that more than 1,600 contract invigilators at the University of SA (Unisa) face the axe following the university’s decision to shift all examinations online.
Hundreds of Ipid investigators to be redeployed back to provinces
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TimesLIVE reports that in a bid to address a growing workload and to beef up capacity, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) announced on Thursday that it would be redeploying hundreds of investigators across SA.
Unemployment in third quarter of 2020 at record rate of 30.8%, with SA now having 6.5 million jobless
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Fin24 reports that SA’s jobless increased to 6.5 million in the third quarter of the year, according to Statistics SA’s (Stats SA’s) quarterly labour force survey released on Thursday.
SABC forges ahead with up to 400 job cuts despite objections
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BL Premium reports that the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) management stuck to its guns on Wednesday stating that it would proceed with job cuts at the public broadcaster despite objections by the government, MPs and labour unions.
Dimension Data asks court for postponement of Ngcaba’s R271m ‘corporate racism’ pay case
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BusinessLive reports that Andile Ngcaba's damages claim against Dimension Data (Didata) got off to a wobbly start on Tuesday when the High Court in Johannesburg refused to hear special pleas raised by the IT firm.
National Assembly adopts motion recognising efforts of farmers and farm workers, rejects EFF's ‘divisive’ motion
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News24 reports that the National Assembly adopted a motion on Tuesday that recognises the role of farm workers, farm dwellers and farmers in the agricultural sector, but also that the sector was faced by many challenges.
Fraud case opened against Western Cape non-profit organisation for illegally getting nearly R5m from Ters scheme
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Cape Argus reports that a case of fraud has been opened against a Western Cape non-profit organisation (NPO) for illegally applying for, and receiving, nearly R5 million from the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF’s) Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (Ters).
Nursing staff go slow at Addington Hospital on Tuesday, but still no end in sight to lift saga
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Daily News reports that according to the chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Health Portfolio Committee, Nomakiki Majola, there was still a long way to go to end the Addington Hospital lift crisis.
Senior managers at Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital frog-marched out of building by angry workers
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The Mercury reports that senior managers at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg were humiliated and chased out of the hospital building on Tuesday by angry workers who stormed their offices and wrote threatening messages on the hospital’s walls.
Deadly cash-in-transit heist in Bekkersdal claims lives of security guard and female motorist, leaves several injured
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News24 reports that a deadly cash-in-transit (CIT) heist in Bekkersdal on Tuesday claimed the lives of a security guard and a female motorist and left seven people including guards, traffic officers and two minor children wounded.
Over 9,500 state employees ‘double dipped’ to irregularly receive Ters payments
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Moneyweb reports that it was revealed in response to parliamentary questions that about R161 million paid out from the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s (UIF’s) Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme (Ters) was to people who should not have received it.
Durban businessman and three KZN top cops to appear on Wednesday for 2010 World Cup fraud case
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TimesLIVE reports that the case against controversial businessman Thoshan Panday and his co-accused, retired KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni and former police officers Ashwin Narainpershad and Navin Madhoe, was scheduled to resume in the Durban Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
Unisa’s performance assessment system for lecturers questioned for including students’ pass rates among performance indicators
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TimesLIVE reports that an academic at the University of SA (Unisa) has expressed fears that lecturers will be “pressurised to falsely inflate marks” as pass rates in modules are among the performance indicators now used to determine staff bonuses.
Two Hawks officers and former cop get bail in 'promotions corruption' case
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TimesLIVE reports that two senior members of the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) and a former police officer implicated in irregular promotional appointments were granted bail on Tuesday in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Solidarity in court bid to secure rights of SA Post Office workers
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Pretoria News reports that trade union Solidarity is planning to turn to the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for an urgent application against the SA Post Office (Sapo) in a bid to secure workers’ rights.
Thousands of retirement fund members stand to gain as Supreme Court of Appeal rules on surplus unclaimed benefits
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Fin24 reports that thousands of retirement fund members, former members and pensioners stand to benefit from millions of rands held in surplus unclaimed benefits of retirement funds following three judgements of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
Business Unity SA says hard decisions are needed to tackle public sector pay
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BL Premium reports that in the light of a new report released on Tuesday by Business Unity SA (Busa), big business has called for hard decisions to be made over SA’s public sector wage bill.
Director’s wife gets top job meant for the disabled in department of women, youth and persons with disabilities
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City Press reports that the Department of Women, Youth and Persons With Disabilities has found itself mired in controversy for allegedly overlooking qualified disabled candidates for a senior position.
Nkandla policeman gets life imprisonment for murder of his branch commander in charge office
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TimesLIVE reports that a 31-year-old Nkandla policeman has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his branch commander, whom he shot twice in the charge office where they both worked.
Two senior Hawks officials and former cop arrested for corruption related to promotional appointments
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TimesLIVE reports that two senior members of the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) and a former officer were arrested on Tuesday on charges of fraud and corruption related to appointments made in the specialised unit.
Thulas Nxesi says government and social parners exploring ‘alternatives’ to Ters
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BusinessLive reports that the government and social partners are exploring possible alternative arrangements to provide relief to workers affected by Covid-19 and, at the same time, the long-term sustainability of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
Doctors trained in Cuba feel intimidated, stigmatised and ‘not wanted’
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City Press reports that new research among SA medical students who were trained in Cuba show that they feel intimidated, stigmatised and carrying an ever-present fear of rejection from the very environments in which they were trained to be of value.
For past five years, twenty municipal employees have received salary payments from Emfuleni as well as from Sedibeng
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Sunday Independent reports that an audit report has found that at least 20 employees of Emfuleni Local Municipality have been double-dipping and drawing salaries from Sedibeng District Municipality.
Mpumalanga school principal returns to work five months after having been chased away by Satu members
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SowetanLive reports that a Mpumalanga principal who had been chased away from her school by unruly members of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) will be returning to her position five months later.
Retirement funds feel impact of pandemic, with contributions declining at height of lockdown
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Business Times reports that there can be little doubt that the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on the retirement funds industry. A key trend is that financial distress is on the rise among South African employers, and contributions declined at the height of the lockdown.