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TODAY'S LABOUR NEWS

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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. The postings for the current month are below, while those from previous months can be accessed in the Archives section.

Last Update -Saturday 25 May 2013, 09:36

Union rivalry is root of mining unrest: Ramaphosa

ramaphosaUnion rivalry is the main source of instability at SA mines and labour groups should work with companies to resolve disputes, said Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president of the ruling ANC. The “situation is quite volatile,” he said. Ramaphosa indicated on Talk Radio 702 that he had “full confidence” in the departments of mineral resources and labour, which are acting “behind the scenes” to resolve the current disputes. Meantime, at Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) Tumela mine in Limpopo province, workers who had refused to come up from underground returned to the surface by last night and were checked by medical staff.

Unprotected strike at Lanxess chrome mine in Rustenburg

strike thumb medium85 85Mineworkers at Lanxess chrome mine, some 14km from Rustenburg, were on an unprotected strike, which started on Thursday, the National of Union of Mineworkers said on Friday. "Workers are demanding performance bonuses," regional co-ordinator Mxhasi Sithethi said. Workers claim the bonuses were approved by the company's head office in London in 2011, but a substantial amount of money was never paid. “We are trying to get them back to work and [have] engaged the company on the issue. Our people went there this morning [Friday], but the gates were locked," Sithethi said. The company was not available for comment.

SA doctors urged by SA Medical Association not to work in the UAE

samalogoThe South African Medical Association (Sama) has again discouraged its members from working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This comes as Professor Cyril Karabus arrived in home in SA after being held in the UAE for nine months fighting a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of a young cancer patient he treated years ago. Sama said it was delighted that Professor Karabus was finally back home, but Sama chairperson, Dr Mzukisi Grootboom, said: “We are perturbed by the goings on in that country particularly to criminalise a were ecstatic that he was finally home after his nine month ordeal in the UAE.

PIC gets back to fighting high executive pay

earnings thumb medium120 80Ann Crotty writes that executive remuneration and the poor quality of disclosure relating to performance measurements justifying high pay continues to be the Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC’s) major concern in its shareholder engagements with company boards. After an unexplained hiatus of five months, this week the PIC resumed providing details of its record of voting at AGMs on its website. In the six months to March, it voted against remuneration-related resolutions at 33 of the 60 annual general meetings (AGMs) it attended. Other issues incurring the ire of the PIC were the questionable independence of so-called “independent” directors and requests to repurchase shares. The PIC manages just over R1 trillion on behalf of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF) and is the largest investor on the JSE.

Roundup of labour news – Friday, 17 May 2013

news shutterstockIn our Friday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of South
African labour stories that have
appeared since mid-morning on
Thursday, 16 May 2013.

Amplats miners report for work on Friday

angloamericanMineworkers at Anglo American Platinum reported for work on Friday, a company spokesperson said, despite earlier calls for a strike by some union leaders. Spokesperson Mpumi Sithole said all workers had reported for the morning shift and there had been no trouble. On Thursday plans for a strike over retrenchments at Amplats were suspended, the workers' committee said. "We decided to wait until Friday to see how the company responds to the issue," said the committee’s Evans Ramokga. He pointed out that the company was not backing down on retrenchments, and workers had taken it upon themselves to fight.

  • This report is at Fin24

‘Shades of Marikana’ haunt platinum sector

implatsheadgear smlMail & Guardian writes that the country is holding its breath as tensions in the platinum sector continue to add up to what many see as a toxic cocktail for the struggling industry. A volatile market, delays in the Farlam Commission and new union recognition agreements, accusations of political favour-finding, union in-fighting, a perceived lack of government intervention and looming wage negotiations are dogging the industry. Against this backdrop, suspicion between rivals unions Amcu and the NUM is growing, as violent deaths continue to stack up on both sides. The factors have combined to create a situation that some view as strikingly similar to the one that ushered in the violent deaths of 44 people at Lonmin nine months ago. Meantime, the DA was called on the Minister of Labour, Mildred Oliphant, to mediate for calm earlier than she did last year. “The earlier she steps up to the plate the better. The DA will support any reasonable intervention she makes to cool the temperature and calm tempers between the unions," said a spokesperson.

Davies must scrap business licensing bill, not redraft it, says Solidarity

solidariteit thumb medium100 77Business Day reports that trade union Solidarity is opposed to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies’ suggestion that the draft Licensing of Businesses Bill needs to be redrafted, insisting instead that it must be scrapped in its entirety. Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) senior researcher Piet le Roux said the bill would be detrimental to everyone involved in business as it paved the way for serious abuse of state power.

  • This short report is on page 2 of Friday’s Business Day
  • Read Solidarity’s press statement at SA Labour News

Glencore wields axe on former Xstrata directors

xstrataBusiness Day reports that Glencore bosses tightened their grip on the miner and trader on Thursday as shareholders voted out all former Xstrata directors, including the outgoing chairman, replacing him with former BP boss Tony Hayward. The clean-up at the top on Thursday was abrupt and fast — handing Glencore a freer hand to restructure the combined company as it begins a three-month evaluation period since the merger closed this month. Shareholders also voted against three other Xstrata directors — Con Fauconnier, Peter Hooley and Ian Strachan.

Amcu plans march to Union Buildings that will bring economy to standstill

City Press reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will stage a march to the Union Buildings that will bring the economy of South Africa to a “standstill”, union leader Joseph Mathunjwa has said. Addressing over 4,000 mineworkers at the Karee Hostel Stadium where a memorial service for regional Amcu organiser Mawethu Steven was held on Thursday, Mathunjwa said they wanted to tell President Jacob Zuma to act against killings that have threatened to reignite violence in the volatile Rustenburg mines. Steven was gunned down in a tavern last Saturday. Mathunjwa did not indicate when the march would take place.

'Cosatu will defend its independence' vis-à-vis ANC: Vavi

vavi1Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Friday said the trade union federation would fight for its independence and would not be used as a conveyor belt for the ANC. Vavi's comments came in the wake of President Jacob Zuma’s call for members of the tripartite alliance to be disciplined and accept decisions made by the ANC. Vavi made the comments while speaking to National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) members in Johannesburg as that union marked its 26th birthday. Vavi called on the ANC and the SA Communist Party (SACP) to provide the labour federation with room to criticise.

  • This report is at EWN

Greenpeace concern about SA’s radioactive waste management after factory incident

Following a report on Thursday that a Boksburg scrap metal-factory was cordoned off after a bin containing radioactive material was discovered, Greenpeace Africa issued a statement expressing concern about the management of radioactive waste in SA, which it said needed to be overhauled. The organisation stated that the mining sector produced radioactive waste as a by-product, which has reportedly been polluting rivers close to the mines. It called on the National Nuclear Regulator to ensure that companies complied with the highest standard of disposing of radioactive waste and to provide a list of all licensed companies who transport radioactive material and metals.

  • Greenpeace’s press statement is at Link2Media
  • A short report on the factory incident is at EWN

Marikana unrest was known as 'Amcu unrest' amongst police

Police officials had labelled last year's Marikana unrest as an "Amcu unrest", the Farlam Commission heard on Friday. Cross-examining Maj-Gen Charl Annandale, who headed the police tactical response team during the unrest, Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) lawyer Heidi Barnes said police documents spoke of "clashes between Amcu and security guards" and "clashes between Amcu and police." Annandale agreed that the Marikana unrest was not just wage-related, but also based on clashes between members of Amcu and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Barnes pointed out that during a meeting with police on 13 August, Lonmin said the strikers were faceless people and was not even sure they were its employees. Annandale said he learnt from police intelligence officers and Lonmin officials that those involved in the unrest and those injured were Amcu members.

All Lonmin miners back at work, with discussions ongoing

lonminlogo thumb medium90 90Workers at Lonmin's platinum mine in Rustenburg were back at work following a wildcat strike, the company said on Friday. "Employees are back at work this morning [Friday] and discussions are ongoing," said a spokeswoman. Workers affiliated to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) went on an unprotected strike on Tuesday, demanding that the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM’s) offices at Lonmin be shut down. They suspended the strike after Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa ordered them to return to work with immediate effect on Wednesday. Lonmin said 83% of workers returned to work for the night shift on Wednesday and 86% on Thursday morning. Sowetan reported on Friday that Mathunjwa, when he addressed union members on Wednesday, failed to tell them the Labour Court had declared the strike illegal.

Ministers misreading mining crisis because they’re blind to new dynamics

Business Report writes that economists have put the government’s relative inertia over the bubbling mining troubles in the platinum belt down to a lack of leadership skill and a failure to understand the new political dynamics operating in the mining sector. The government’s dilly-dallying over how to handle the crisis – including issuing a statement only yesterday calling for “unions to resolve their dispute amicably”, days after violence flared and most workers had gone back to work – has been ascribed to political paralysis because it is unable to understand the new dynamics of an angry, anti-ANC and anti-Cosatu union which has turned platinum mining into a political minefield. Pan African Capital economist Iraj Abedian said the government had underestimated “the order of magnitude that is involved”, while Meganomics economist Colen Garrow said that in the run-up to national elections due to be held next year, the governing party was wary of putting the wrong foot forward.

Call centre for soldiers’ grievances planned by military ombudsman

sandf thumb medium90 89The New Age reports that the SA Military Ombudsman is planning to establish a call centre to make his unit more accessible. Ombudsman, retired Lt-General, Themba Matanzima, said this would make communication easier for people on the ground to report wrongdoing by military staff and would help reduce walk-in complaints. The year-old ombudsman’s office has already registered more than 300 grievances from SA National Defence Force members since its establishment. The office has 11 staff members with a start-up budget of R10m, which has grown to R20m. Matanzima said his office was not replacing existing structures, but was creating room for amicable solutions to all grievances brought forward without favour or victimization of junior staff.

  • Read this report on page 6 of Friday’s The New Age

NUM rejects striking at Amplats over job cuts

numEWN reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Thursday it doesn't expect the strike committee at Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) operations in Rustenburg to get any support from the miners as it plans an illegal strike. The committee threatened to stop work to oppose a restructuring proposal which could see 6,000 workers lose their jobs. The committee said it would wait for an announcement by the company's CEO on Friday to determine whether the wildcat strike would go ahead. But the NUM’s Lesiba Seshoka said the move was bound to fail. “The so-called strike committee will not be supported by workers because we as a union rejected their proposal for a strike because it is illegal.” But the strike committee’s Godfrey Lindani insists miners have already been mobilised and are ready to strike.

  • Read this report at EWN

Man arrested for Marikana sangoma murder

handcuffsA man has been arrested near Durban for the murder of the sangoma believed to have masterminded rituals performed on Marikana mineworkers, police consultant Makhosini Nkosi said on Thursday. The Hawks arrested the 28-year-old man from KwaMaphumulo, outside Pietermaritzburg, at KwaMashu Hostel on Tuesday night. He was linked to the murder of sangoma Alton Zikhuthele Joja, 69, also known as Ndzabe, and will appear in the Bizana Magistrate's Court on Friday. "The SA Police Service had wanted [Joja] to testify at the Marikana Commission regarding his alleged role in the rituals that made protesters believe they would be invisible and invincible in the face of gunfire," said Nkosi. The commission is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 44 people in strike-related violence at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana in August last year.

Factions emerge amongst Amplats workers over how to challenge job cuts

angloamericanBusiness Day reports that fractures are starting to show within the labour force at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), with rival claims by factions about whether a strike would take place today. Mixed messages from an array of spokesmen claiming to represent workers at Amplats have created a distorted picture, reinforcing the view that self-seeking factions are vying with each other to capture workers’ loyalties. The demands from various worker representatives have ranged from calling on Amplats to halt plans to retrench up to 6,000 employees to increasing wages. Amplats is in talks with all recognised unions about restructuring as part of a formal process under the Labour Relations Act. The company has recognised the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) as the majority worker representative at its mines. Some of the demands have been made by members of "workers’ committees", unaffiliated structures that do not operate within formal channels.

Demands on SANDF 'scary', says army boss

sandf thumb medium90 89The Times writes that, as President Jacob Zuma orders more deployments of military personnel on deadly peacekeeping missions across Africa, the army is battling to deliver the manpower. With critical equipment the worse for wear and the infantry severely overstretched, the army is being asked to deliver well beyond its capabilities on its present budget. The army's commanders are hoping next week's defence budget review will give them some breathing space. Army chief Lieutenant-General Vusumuzi Masondo described the military's financial situation as "scary" in Pretoria yesterday, saying the army's R10bn budget was nowhere near enough. "You would be frightened to death to know what we really need to operate optimally and to fulfil our increasing mandates,” he stated.