In our weekend roundup, see summaries of our
selection of South African labour-related stories
that appeared since Friday, 17 November 2017.
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KZN cops promise swift action after four officers were shot in less than three days TimesLive reports that in the space of just three days last week‚ four police officers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) came under fire from criminals in two separate incidents. One of them is dead‚ the other three are recovering in hospital. Acting KZN commissioner Major General Bheki Langa said the attacks were "totally unacceptable". "We will not rest until the perpetrators are brought to book. I have tasked the Provincial Organised Crime Unit to investigate this and ensure that those involved will be arrested‚" he indicated. His comments come after two officers were ambushed in an attack in northern KZN on Wednesday. One of the officers in the attack died. While still reeling from the mid-week attack‚ provincial cops received word that two other officers had been shot on Friday morning. They were on patrol in Inanda‚ Durban‚ when they came across a suspicious vehicle. They were taken to hospital for treatment. Read this report in full at TimesLive. See too, Police officer killed, two others wounded in Inanda, KZN, at News24 Two arrested for murder of cop near Eshowe on Wednesday The Mercury reports that two suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of a police officer near Eshowe on Wednesday in an ambush. Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said in a statement that the SAPS detective team had made the breakthrough on Sunday morning when the suspects had been traced to Esikhaleni Township where they had been in hiding. “They were found in possession of two firearms, a pistol and an R5 rifle, suspected to be taken from Constable Mavundla (the murdered policeman) during the attack. Both suspects, aged 21 and 22, will be charged for murder, attempted murder and robbery. They will appear in the Eshowe Magistrate’s Court soon,” Zwane indicated. Read this report in full at The Mercury Yet another Cape Town ambulance crew attacked EWN reports that yet another ambulance crew has been targeted by criminals in Cape Town. The Western Cape Health Department confirmed that armed men tried to hijack an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew at the Mfuleni Day Hospital on Thursday. The attackers fled empty handed after they were confronted by community members. Robert Daniels of Western Cape EMS said police later assisted the paramedics by escorting them out of the area. Mfuleni was declared a red zone until 1pm on Friday, meaning all EMS crews required police escorts into the area. Recently, paramedics were robbed on the N2, which led to a critical delay in getting a seven-year-old boy to hospital, where he later died. A short report by Shamiela Fisher is at EWN. See too, 'Red Zone' declared after attempted robbery of Cape Town ambulance crew, at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Coal strike averted, for now, while NUM studies new wage offer from producers Miningmx reports that a coal sector wage strike affecting as much as half of SA’s production, which was due to commence on Sunday (19 November), seems to have been averted for the time being after producers submitted new proposals. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) confirmed that fresh proposals had been received from the coal mining companies, which are represented by the Chamber of Mines. “There will be a plenary session on Monday (20 November). Depending on what the offer is, there’s a chance the NUM would accept it,” said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu. No details of the new offer were available, but Mammburu said they could be “tempting”. The union has demanded a R1,100 once off payment for the 2017 year and an 8% salary improvement for 2018 for certain job grades. A 9.5% lift has been demanded for the third year of the proposed three-year wage deal. The Chamber’s previous offer for ‘larger’ companies such as Glencore and Anglo American Coal had been a staggered increase of R1,100 for the first year of the deal for lower-paid employees and an increase of 7.5% for the higher categories. The smaller companies had offered increases ranging from 5% to 7.5%. Read this report by David McKay in full at Miningmx NUM to serve another 48-hour strike notice in coal sector if further wage talks fail EWN reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says it will serve another 48-hour notice to go on strike in the coal sector if it cannot reach a wage agreement with employers on Monday. The union postponed the strike, which was due to officially begin on Sunday, as some of the coal producers had put forward a revised wage offer. The NUM is demanding a R1,100 once-off increase for this year, as well as 8% and 9.5% wage increases for 2018 and 2019 respectively. The NUM’s Livhuwani Mammburu said: “Our members are the ones who were given as a mandate to say don’t file the notice now, let us see what these companies are going to offer on Monday. And then, if they offer something good, they will accept but if they don’t offer something good, our members will immediately give us a mandate to go on strike.” A short report by Koketšo Motau is at EWN Eskom’s proposed 19.9% tariff hike a threat to mining jobs, Chamber of Mines warns Nersa Mining Weekly reports that the Chamber of Mines of SA (CoM) on Friday opposed State-owned power utility Eskom’s proposed 19.9% tariff increase application. It warned that the increase would send SA into a vicious downward spiral of higher electricity prices, lower growth and lower electricity consumption. Presenting at the National Energy Regulator of SA’s (Nersa’s) hearings, CoM chief economist Henk Langenhoven said Eskom would be a key contributor to a no growth economy and credit downgrades – and the mining industry would take a significant knock. “The impact on loss-making mines will be disastrous, putting tens of thousands of jobs in jeopardy. The Chamber estimates that the proposed increase would result in a R3.21-billion increase in costs, which would mean that the operations of around 66% of all gold and platinum mines would be unsustainable, and could result in around 48,000 additional job losses,” Langenhoven said. The CoM suggested Nersa should pursue “the least damaging solution” to deal with Eskom’s impending cash crunch. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly. Read too, SA mining will lose 48,000 jobs if ‘dire’ Eskom tariff granted, at Miningmx Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Postings on Mining Charter
Strike at Coca-Cola Beverages SA partially resolved Nelspruit Post reports that over 30% of striking workers at Coca-Cola Beverages SA (CCBSA) are back at work, according to spokesperson Nathalie Hendricks. The strike has applied only to workers in bargaining units at the former Coca-Cola Fortune, which, together with five other subsidiaries, has been consolidated into CCBSA. Workers from the Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Northern Cape and some parts of Mpumalanga have been at loggerheads with the company for over a month. An agreement was apparently reached with the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), but some of the workers were not satisfied with the terms thereof and the matter was referred to the CCMA last month. “The company is optimistic that the remainder of its employees will return to work soon, especially as its offer of a 7 per cent across the board annual wage increase remains on the table,” said Hendricks. She added that productivity changes implemented at Coca-Cola have all been made in an effort to mitigate the effects of a particularly difficult operating environment. “Where we have introduced changes to the shift system, we have consulted with the affected parties in advance and offered reasonable alternative positions to those who wished not to work a different shift.” With this, the company has apparently been able to retain jobs. Read this report in full at Nelspruit Post Fed-up Takealot.com delivery staff in Port Elizabeth down tools HeraldLive reported on Friday that vulgar language, salaries not paid on time and threats of job losses prompted the delivery staff of an online retailer to down tools in Newton Park on Thursday. The strike by 14 employees has prompted Takealot.com to look into their claims against their manager as a matter of urgency. The retailer operates its own delivery and logistics network by working with independently owned franchise partners across the country who run and manage local delivery team branches. Newton Park is one such branch, serving the Port Elizabeth region. The 14 employees said they had been scheduled to receive their salaries on Thursday, but when the money did not reflect in their bank accounts, they had approached branch manager Lee-Anne Johnson. In a heated voice clip recorded by the employees, a person alleged to be Johnson could be heard shouting and using foul language in a heated exchange with one of the employees. Takealot chief marketing officer Julie-Anne Walsh said they took the matter very seriously and did not condone the type of behaviour displayed by the franchisee involved. Read an extended summary of this HeraldLive report at SA Labour News
Big jobs boost for rural communities, with launch of new scheme on Friday by Ramaphosa The Citizen reports that a total of 26 million people in rural communities under the control of traditional leaders nationwide stand to benefit in terms of jobs and economic empowerment in a first of-its-kind rural development scheme. The scheme, undertaken in conjunction with the National Council of Traditional Leaders, is aimed at bringing the rural masses into the mainstream of the economy, in line with the government’s rural development policy. The ambitious project will be driven by a new investment entity, United Royal Kingship Holdings (URK), which was launched by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on Friday. A total of 829 traditional leaders attended on behalf of their subjects. The new entity is wholly owned by the seven official kingdoms of SA. According to URK CEO Groovin Nchabeleng, the initiative was born out of the need to create a vehicle for rural people to participate in the mainstream economy. URK’s investment portfolio will include financial services, agriculture, agro-processing, mining, infrastructure development, tourism, health, manufacturing and retail. Read this report by Eric Naki in full at The Citizen. See too, Traditional leaders and private sector set up company to boost jobs in rural areas, at TimesLive Drought in the three Cape provinces could see 50,000 jobs lost City Press reports that the drought gripping the three Cape provinces could see up to 50,000 farm workers lose their jobs amid rising inflation. The lay-offs affecting permanent and seasonal workers in the Western Cape alone will have an “astronomical impact” on rural areas, the province’s local government department chief Graham Paulse told Parliament recently. Some vegetable crops in the Western Cape have been cut by as much as 80%; fruit farms are taking desperate measures to keep production losses at 20%; and the purée factory in Lutzville will not open this season. Seasonal workers employed during harvest time were hit particularly hard by the drop in production, said Women on Farms director Colette Solomon, as they relied on the work to supplement social grant income. Solomon added: “Seasonal workers who would have started in October have not been called to work and are just hoping they will be called over December and January.” Agri SA chief economist Hamlet Hlomendlini said 25,000 jobs had already been lost in the agricultural sector during the third quarter (from July to September). Read this report by Steve Kretzmann in full at Fin24 Cosatu concerned that SAA cost-cutting will lead to jobs bloodbath Fin24 reports that trade union federation Cosatu on Friday expressed concern that cost-cutting measures at national carrier South African Airways (SAA) could lead to job losses. Matthew Parks, Cosatu’s parliamentary co-ordinator, made a submission to the standing committee on appropriations on SAA’s debt restructuring and recapitalization. This was in response to statements by Thabang Motsohi, aviation strategy consultant, who had spoken about cost-cutting measures such as restructuring positions. “This could lead to thousands of jobs at SAA being at risk. It’s easy to say costs are too high and jobs must be cut, but we’re talking about people with families here,” Parks pointed out. He also took issue with utterances that Telkom was a good example of how a state-owned enterprise has come out of the woods and improved its balance sheet. “Yes, Telkom’s books look good, but that comes at a cost,” Parks stated. According to him, a further 2,000 to 3,000 job losses at Telkom could be on the cards in the near future. Cosatu called for a comprehensive forensic investigation, not only into SAA, but also into Mango, SA Express and SAA Technical. Read this report by Liesl Peyper in full at Fin24. See too, SAL moet sy personeel sny: kommissie, at Netwerk24 (limit on access)
Brian Molefe called up by the army with rank of colonel and monthly salary of R57,000 City Press reports that former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has been called up to serve as a colonel in the army, earning R57,000 a month. Molefe, who has no military experience, started in August. He had, however, been appointed in 2009 as an honorary colonel of the SA Irish regiment, a part-time unit, and performed a wreath laying in that capacity in 2014. According to internal defence force documents, Molefe was called up indefinitely in August for active service, even though reserve force members are usually only used for active service for three months at a time. He was registered on this system on 23 August and his call up was backdated to 17 August so that he could receive his first salary by the end of August. Defence Act regulations from 2009 explicitly stipulate that honorary members are not entitled to benefits or compensation. Also, an honorary member must have “appropriate qualifications and training” for the post. Defence Force spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini denied that Molefe was currently called up and said he was part of a pool of “specialists” who helped the army with “auditing queries” from the Auditor-General. Read this report by Erika Gibson in full at News24. See too, Molefe-aanstelling in weermag is ‘korrupsie’, at Netwerk24 (limit on access) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Court likens Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate’s 'repressive' domestic worker rules to apartheid News24 reports that a full bench of the Pietermaritzburg High Court has found that rules for domestic workers at Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate were repressive and reminiscent of the position the apartheid regime took. The court delivered a judgment in favour of Niemesh Singh, a resident at the KwaZulu-Natal estate, who challenged its domestic worker and road rules. In terms of the estate’s rules, domestic workers are only allowed access to the estate between 08:00 and 18:00. The rules also effectively state that domestic workers may not walk on roads in the estate and are only allowed to walk to designated bus stop points to be transported. "Domestic workers are simply not free to traverse the public roads in the estate save in the limited manner provided by the rules. From a constitutional point of view, their rights in this regard are severely restricted," the judgment indicated. The court considered the rules to be unreasonable and unlawful, saying: "The restrictive nature of these rules is… an affront to their (the employees’) fundamental rights to human dignity, equality, freedom of association, freedom of movement, freedom of occupation and fair labour practices." Read this report by Alex Mitchley in full at News24. See too, Gated communities can’t enforce traffic laws‚ rules for domestic workers, at TimesLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
No way, says Cosatu on using PIC funds to bail out SAA The Independent on Saturday reports that Cosatu has strongly objected to workers’ money in the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) being used to bail out SA Airways (SAA), saying it would be like throwing money into a bottomless pit. The trade union’s tough stance in Parliament on Friday came after a strategic expert in state-owned entities called on the government to put SAA into business rescue. Matthew Parks of Cosatu told members of the standing committee on appropriations that the airline needed to be salvaged. However, he warned that there was a tendency by government to use the PIC to bail out ailing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Cosatu members were angry at the use of the PIC as a piggy bank. Parks said the problem was the looting of SOEs, including Eskom and SAA. He said they supported the idea of the PIC investing in SOEs, but there must be clean governance. Strategic expert in SOEs, Thabang Motsohi of Lenomo Advisory, told Parliament that SAA needed to be put into business rescue to survive. Read this report by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi in full at The Independent on Saturday. See too, Pension funds are not slush funds for SOEs, says Cosatu, at IOL News. And also, Cosatu warns against using workers’ funds as a ‘blank cheque bail-out’ for SAA, at BusinessLive
Racism row at Old Mutual unit AIIM City Press reports that a number of workers at an Old Mutual subsidiary have accused their colleagues of rampant racism. Black employees at African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) have allegedly been subjected to extreme cruelty and victimisation by their white senior colleagues, according to a series of letters an anonymous source sent to City Press. Efforts to address the matter were allegedly met with more cruelty. Asked about the allegations, Old Mutual said: "Old Mutual does not tolerate any form of racism or unfair discrimination in the workplace. We are dealing with this matter urgently through our internal processes.” The company did not respond to further questions about the racial composition of the AIIM’s organogram or the number of times the company had been notified of the alleged racism at the AIIM. Another accusation levelled against the company was that blacks served no purpose other than to meet BEE requirements. According to another letter, a culture of fear was prevalent at the AIIM offices and executives did not take complaints seriously. Read this report by Lesetja Malope in full at Fin24
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet from Friday, 17 November to Sunday, 19 November 2017 at SA Labour News
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