Today's Labour News

newsThis 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.

artisan2Mining Weekly reports that Yershen Pillay, CEO of the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA), announced at this week’s Green Hydrogen Roundtable, which was hosted by Nedbank, the establishment of the first centre of specialisation of green hydrogen skills.

news shutterstockIn our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.

GeorgeNews24 reports that it was quiet at the scene of the collapsed building in George on Wednesday, with little progress in the rescue operation. The death toll remained unchanged at 33 since 15:00 on Tuesday. Nineteen people have not yet been found.

ramaphosa2BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law, setting in motion the government’s fiercely contested plan for universal health coverage.

Nasi IspaniTimesLIVE reports that the Gauteng government has partnered with the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) to introduce another leg of Nasi Ispani, which the government says will result in almost 500,000 youths being trained in specialised skills before being placed in employment.

ambulanceRekord reports that in a shocking incident, an ambulance was spiked on Saturday night on the N4 highway before the R80 intersection, leaving the crew vulnerable and highlighting the growing concern of spiking incidents in Gauteng.

petrolpumpBusinessLive reports that according to the Automobile Association (AA), motorists can look forward to significant fuel price cuts in June.

GeorgeTimesLIVE reports that authorities in George have identified 47 of the estimated 81 people who were on site when a partially completed block of flats collapsed last week in George.

SolidarityBL Premium reports that legal challenges to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act have already started against President Cyril Ramaphosa, after his signing of the bill into law.

TASEZEngineering News reports that on Tuesday the Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) celebrated the first cohort of 526 local youths trained in safety, health, environment and quality to participate in different parts of the automotive value chain.

MantasheMining Weekly reports that on Wednesday Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe held a stakeholder engagement session that deliberated on the plans to reopen the Lily and Barbrook gold mines in Mpumalanga.

GeorgeNews24 reports that Atholl Mitchell, the consulting engineer who was overseeing the construction of the apartment block in George that collapsed a week ago, was under investigation by the Engineering Council of SA (ECSA) at the time of the deadly incident.

News24 reports that alleged sabotage targeting a company contracted for the multimillion-rand M4 upgrade near Westbrook in Durban has turned fatal, with a worker having been shot dead at the construction site.

SolidarityTimesLIVE reports that Solidarity threatened legal action on Tuesday on the eve of President Cyril Ramaphosa's signing of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law.

News24 reports that it was revealed by Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala on Monday that Liatel Construction, the main contractor for the collapsed George building development, was not registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

busaBL Premium reports that news that President Cyril Ramaphosa will sign the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law on Wednesday has been met with dismay by organised business and healthcare professionals.

gavel thumb100 News24 reports that the Western Cape High Court has ordered the beleaguered Knysna Municipality to restart the process of finding a new municipal manager – more than two years after it first began searching for a suitable candidate.

news shutterstockIn our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.

labourcourtsMoneyweb reports that the Labour Court (LC) in Johannesburg has ruled that the strike notice issued by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) in February was defective.

handcuffsNews24 reports that a second person is in custody in connection with the murder of an off-duty police officer in Delmas, Mpumalanga, after he handed himself over to police on Sunday.

cosatuBloomberg reports that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) indicated on Tuesday that it welcomed Anglo American’s commitment to South Africa.

Stats SABusiness Times reports that Statistics SA has announced that the official unemployment rate grew from 32.1% to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2024, with the unemployment rate according to the expanded definition increasing to 41.9%.

GeorgeThe Citizen reports that the death toll in the George building collapse tragedy in the Western Cape rose to 33 as of 3pm on Tuesday.

prasaNews24 reports that recovery of Cape Town’s central line is well underway, according to the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa). It is intended to have trains back up and running between Nyanga and Philippi by the end of May.

news shutterstockIn our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South African
labour-related reports.

labourcourtsBL Premium reports that precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater’s decision to fire 59 employees at its Rustenburg platinum operations after finding them guilty of forging sick notes set the company up against the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which claimed the employees had been unfairly dismissed.

nehawu80EWN reports that the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) in Parliament said that it was opposed to the suspension of Secretary to Parliament Xolile George.

numGroundUp reports that hundreds of mine workers took to the streets on the West Rand of Johannesburg on Saturday to protest looming retrenchments at gold producer Sibanye-Stillwater.

GeorgeTimesLIVE reports that the death toll following the collapse of a partially built building in George a week ago rose to 30 at 6pm on Monday, with 22 workers still unaccounted for.

presidencyBL Premium reports that in the face of growing pressure from within the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa will sign the contentious National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law on Wednesday, setting the stage for a protracted fight with business, healthcare professionals and opposition parties.