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.
In our weekend roundup, see summaries of our
selection of South African labour-related stories
that appeared since Friday, 8 December 2017.
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Gigaba calls for report on exposure of government employee pension fund to Steinhoff Fin24 reports that Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba has asked for a report detailing the extent of the exposure of government pension fund to Steinhoff International, in the wake of the global retailer’s precipitous share price’s decline. The Minister indicated that he was gravely concerned by the “accounting irregularities” that the Steinhoff board had red-flagged on Tuesday. He has requested the retirement funds regulator at the Financial Services Board (FSB), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which is the government’s pension fund asset manager, and the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) to provide him with details of how many Steinhoff shares they own. The PIC previously said it owned about 10% of Steinhoff's shares. "At this stage the PIC is awaiting further information from investigations by domestic and international regulators and/or law enforcement agencies to decide on an appropriate course of action,” the asset manager said. Gigaba also said he would be having “discussions” with the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors to assess “any likely lapses in financial and auditing reporting”. The exact nature of the irregularities has not been made public by Steinhoff. Read this report by Jan Cronje in full at Fin24 Despite crash in Steinhoff stock, public servants’ pensions ‘are safe’, says GEPF BusinessLive reports that according to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), public servants need not fear that their pensions would be negatively affected by the spectacular crash of the Steinhoff share price last week. In a statement released on Friday, the GEPF said that as at 31 March 2017, the GEPF — through the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) — owned about R28bn in Steinhoff‚ about 10% of the shares of the company but 1% of the total assets of the fund. Following a massive decline in Steinhoff’s share price‚ the GEPF’s investment was worth a little over R2bn by mid-morning on Friday. The GEPF is valued at R1.8-trillion. "The impact of … movement in the share price on the GEPF is significant but manageable. As a defined benefit fund‚ the movement in the value of individual investments does not affect the benefits to members and pensioners. Therefore, benefits to members and pensioners are safe," the statement indicated. The GEPF added that, through the PIC, it was monitoring the situation. A short report by Kyle Cowan is at BusinessLive. Read a short statement by the PIC at Moneyweb We want the criminals arrested, says Cosatu on Steinhoff saga TimesLive reports that trade union federation Cosatu has expressed its anger over the reported accounting irregularities at Steinhoff, which led to a collapse of the retailer’s share price. "The federation demands swift and decisive action to ascertain what transpired and for all the implicated parties to be held accountable. All those implicated in corruption and unethical behaviour should be prosecuted and sent to prison‚" Cosatu said in a statement. It went on to state: "The federation is worried because many of the workers' retirement savings are invested in this company‚ including PIC (Public Investment Corporation) as one of the biggest investors. PIC has already lost billions of workers' retirement savings through this corruption and we want the criminals responsible to be prosecuted and their assets seized." Cosatu added that the so-called 'irregularities' were nothing but naked corruption and were proof that the South African private sector was rotten to the core. Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said he welcomed a decision by the Financial Services Board to launch an investigation into the affairs of Steinhoff. Read this report in full at TimesLive. Read Cosatu’s press statement in this regard at Cosatu Today. See too, Steinhoff executives may face jail time: Financial Services Board, at eNCA Sactwu fears job losses in wake of Steinhoff implosion EWN reports that the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu) says that it’s concerned that Steinhoff won't be around in the near future and that many of its members will lose their jobs. After Steinhoff International CEO Markus Jooste stepped down amid allegations of accounting irregularities, the global retailer suffered a share price collapse. The Cosatu-affiliated union advised that it has requested an urgent meeting with Steinhoff to determine the way forward. Sactwu’s Etienne Vlok said: “We would like for them to brief us on the problems, so that we understand whether the company is still strong enough and whether it will around in a few months’ time. We are concerned that it’s not and we are concerned that the problems we’ve read about means our members will lose their jobs.” A short report by Gia Nicolaides is at EWN. See too, Pepkor-werkers bekommerd ná Steinhoff-bom, at Netwerk24 (limit on access) PSA calls for boycott of The Sun Met should ex Steinhoff CEO’s horses compete eNCA reports that the Public Servants Association (PSA), whose members' pension fund lost more than R12-billion in investments in the alleged Steinhoff accounting irregularities, has called for a boycott of The Sun Met race should the horses of former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste compete. Jooste resigned as the company's chief earlier this week in the wake of the revelations. In a statement released on Friday, the PSA said: "According to the PSA’s information, Mr Jooste owns the favourites for the race. For upcoming races Mr Jooste could be collecting stake monies of as much as R5-million, while under his management Steinhoff has lost billions in investments. The PSA calls on the horseracing organisers to prevent Mr Jooste’s horses from participating in future horseraces and for Southern Sun to withdraw its sponsorship of [The Sun Met] should Jooste’s horses take part in the event.” The Sun Met Race takes place on 28 January. The trade union also revealed that it would meet with its lawyers at the weekend to discuss a course of action for Steinhoff directors and auditors to be declared delinquent. Read this report in full at eNCA Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Hundreds of sick and dying workers in Eastern Cape launch class action against Scaw Metals DispatchLive reports that lawyers representing hundreds of sick and dying Eastern Cape workers who were former employees of the now-defunct Dimbaza Foundries have lodged a compensation claim at the Gauteng High Court against the Scaw Metals Group. A court date for the class action is expected to be decided on next month. Workers say 191 of their colleagues at the foundry have died since it closed, while more than 200 are seriously ill with diseases caused by manganism as a result of chronic exposure to manganese. In a further allegation, the workers claim that since they started agitating for compensation, Scaw has returned to the defunct Dimbaza Foundries building and has stripped the site of metal. Workers accused the company of trying to remove evidence. But Scaw spokeswoman Dudu Ndlovu said last week that they were not aware of the class action “We will make further enquiries and determine the nature of the action before we can respond,” she indicated. She added that the site demolition was being undertaken in terms of the decommissioning authorisation issued by the Eastern Cape department of economic development, environment affairs and tourism and was in compliance with the law. The Dimbaza plant, which manufactured steel for mining and other projects, mostly employed workers from Dimbaza township and areas surrounding King William’s Town. Read this report by Bongani Fuzile in full at DispatchLive JMPD officer killed in Soweto roadblock on Friday night TimesLive reports that a metro officer was run over and killed by a motorist during a roadblock in Soweto on Friday night‚ the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) said on Sunday. Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said: "JMPD officer Zanele Nelani‚ 38 years of age‚ …. was outside his vehicle when he was bumped at a roadside check operation on Impala Road, Soweto. The driver of the other car was seriously injured and will have to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court soon to face charges of reckless driving as well as for culpable homicide." Minnaar said Nelani was the fourth officer to be killed in this manner this year. A short report by Naledi Shange is at TimesLive Durban taxi driver shot, killed by passenger on Saturday News24 reports that police said on Saturday that a Durban taxi driver had been shot and killed by his own passenger. Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said that the driver was on the corner of Selborne and Derick Uys Road in Umbilo, Durban, on Saturday morning when he was shot multiple times in his vehicle. "He was allegedly shot by one of the passengers who was in the taxi. He died at the scene and the suspect fled the scene on foot," Zwane indicated. It is still unclear what the motive behind the shooting was. A murder docket has been opened and will be investigated, Zwane confirmed. A short report by Kaveel Singh is at News24. See too, Taxi driver gunned down in Durban, at IOL News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mine fatalities in SA rise for first time in almost a decade Bloomberg News reports that for the first time in almost a decade, more people are dying in South African mines, the world’s deepest and among the most dangerous. There were 81 fatalities from January through November, according to data from the Chamber of Mines of SA (COM), while Harmony Gold reported a death at its Tshepong mine on Thursday, bringing the total to 82. That is the first increase in nine years, and compares with 73 in 2016, the lowest on record. Charmane Russell, a spokesperson for the COM, said the increase in deaths in 2017 was “particularly disappointing given the improvements we have seen over the past two decades. However, as will be noted, there have been a couple of periods where the improving trend plateaued. In each case further thinking has led to new initiatives.” Tougher sanctions, including holding management personally liable for deaths, would compel the companies to spend more money to protect employees, said Peter Bailey, chair for health and safety at the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). Companies were maximising profits while violating safety procedures, he claimed. Read this report in full at Fin24 Miner dies at Harmony's Tshepong mine Mining Weekly reports that gold mining major Harmony Gold confirmed on Thursday that one of its employees was fatally injured in a fall-of-ground incident at its Tshepong mine, near Welkom, in the Free State on Tuesday afternoon. According to the miner, challenging conditions continued to impact the recovery of the deceased. An investigation into the accident is under way. This short report is at Mining Weekly Business rescue at Barbrook mine plagued by fraud concerns City Press reports that on 28 November creditors of Vantage Goldfields’ Barbrook Mine reported business rescue practitioner Rob Devereux to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), citing concerns over fraud and reckless trading. Barbrook is a sister operation of Lily Mine, outside Barberton, which is also owned by Vantage and which suffered a catastrophic collapse in February 2016. Barbrook, the smaller operation, depended on Lily Mine to share costs. Barbrook was placed under business rescue in December 2016, nine months after Lily Mine. Operations at the two mines have been halted as they require a R300 million bailout. Dwaine Koch, chairperson of the Barbrook creditors’ committee, said the creditors rejected Devereux’s optimistic business rescue plan, which he released early last year, as they found that it contained “flaws and uncertainties”. One critical issue was that the social and labour plans were not captured in the rescue scheme. Creditors for Barbrook and Lily mines have, meanwhile, also applied for provisional liquidation of the mines following Devereux’s failure to get new investors involved. The liquidation application is scheduled to take place on 29 January. Read this report by Sizwe sama Yende in full at City Press World Bank watchdog to probe International Finance Corporation’s (IFC’s) stake in Lonmin BusinessLive reports that the World Bank’s Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) has recommended an investigation of a $50m cash injection of the bank’s investment arm into platinum producer Lonmin. This came after it became aware of complaints that the miner had received community support for a project it was working on with the money, but had failed to comply with a social and labour plan. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, invested $50m in Lonmin by buying shares in the miner in 2007. It subsequently sold the stake eight years later. Lonmin sought the investment for a cash injection into its mining operations, where a mechanisation programme was under way, as well as for a community and local economic development programme. The mechanisation programme was a failure and, by all accounts, its social and labour investment programme has been ineffective. A number of complaints about Lonmin, mostly from women living in Enkaneng, near Marikana, were brought to the ombud, which is an independent body that reports directly to the president of the World Bank Group. Lonmin said it was committed to providing any clarity whenever it was required to do so by the CAO. Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive NUM calls for an end to gender-based violence eNCA reports that the National Union of Metalworkers (NUM) has added its voice to calls for an end to gender-based violence. The union said efforts to eradicate abuse against women and children should not stop with the end of the 16 Days campaign and it called for ongoing discussions in the fight against gender-based violence. Abubakar Sebeela, HIV Prevention and Research Coordinator, said: "This is a call to us as men to do three things that are very important. One we need to reflect about our actions. Two we need to allow woman to champion the struggle of gender-based violence and we as men need to sit back and learn from women. Three is also to understand that the first step to solving a problem is admission." A short report is at eNCA Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining
Other general posting(s) relating to mining
Government rejects unions’ wage demands, put inflation-based offer on table Fin24 reports that government negotiators on Thursday rejected demands from public sector trade unions for wage increases of between 10% and 12% and a one-year deal, and instead offered Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) linked hikes for junior and mid-level employees. Government representatives spelt out their opening offer at the Public Service Bargaining Council (PSCBC) after having twice postponed deadlines as they didn’t have a mandate from Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA). Their position document specified that the employer “agrees with the sliding scale increase, but not with the percentage increase.” In line with that, the government was willing to offer CPI increases for junior and mid-level government employees on levels 1-10 and a hike of CPI-1 for senior government employees on levels 11-12. CPI is forecast by Treasury to be 5.2% year-on-year in 2018. Trade unions in October tabled demands of a 12% increase for levels 4-7, an 11% increase for levels 8-10 and a 10% increase for levels 11-12. Labour’s demand for the children of public servants to receive subsidies or bursaries for higher education was rejected by government. Read this report by Tehillah Niselow in full at Fin24 Municipal union Samwu rejects Salga’s proposal of a five-year salary agreement ANA reports that the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) would not rush into signing an agreement which does not have any substantive increments for workers, general secretary Simon Mathe said on Thursday. He indicated that the union had rejected the opening proposal of a five-year agreement that the employer body, the SA Local Government Association (Salga), tabled at the local government bargaining council during the first round of salary negotiations. "We are in no position to entertain a five year collective agreement which does not have any substantive increments for our members and municipal workers in general,” Mathe advised. Samwu and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) previously tabled joint demands of a single year agreement encompassing an across-the-board 15% salary increase or R3,155 (whichever is greater), a R10,000 minimum wage and a R2,000 housing allowance for all employees. All benefits and conditions of service linked to salaries to increase by the same percentage as the across-the-board salary increase. Salga has proposed a five-year agreement, with 4.6% in the first year and CPI plus 0.25% in each of the remaining years. The housing allowance and the minimum wage to increase in line with the salary increases. Read this report by Molaole Montsho in full at IOL News. Read Samwu’s press statement at Samwu online
Solidarity report paints a bleak picture about career prospects in police force Maroela Media reports that in a report released last week on the career prospects that the SA Police Service (SAPS) offers to its non-commissioned officers, trade union Solidarity painted a bleak picture. Schalk de Bruin, head of Special Projects at Solidarity, expressed his concern that SAPS appointments were not being dealt with in a transparent, fair and rational manner. He stated that ill-considered appointments offered very limited to no career prospects for SAPS members and were self-destructive. “The SAPS also lacks processes to develop and retain institutional knowledge. While we will not see the consequences of this lack straight away, it does have a direct impact on service delivery. The deterioration of the SAPS is becoming more visible by the day,” De Bruin stated. He went on to indicate that the union would place continued pressure on both the SAPS and the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) to address the lack of proper career paths for police officials. According to De Bruin, in some instances positions were being sold unlawfully to members who did not have the necessary competence and experience. Read this report in full in Afrikaans at Maroela Media. See too, Solidariteit waarsku polisie oor aanstellings, at Netwerk24 (limit on access). Read Solidarity’s press statement on this matter at Solidarity online Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Prolonged absences on sick leave cost the state R412 million Saturday Star reports that the government has forked out a massive R412 million to 7,830 public servants who have been on long periods of sick leave between January last year and August of this year. This was revealed by Public Service Administration Minister Faith Muthambi last week in response to a parliamentary question. Muthambi said 1,171 civil servants in national departments were paid for sick leave between July last year and August this year at a cost of R73,584,892. A further total of R338,992,685 was paid out to 6,759 employees in the provinces during the same period. KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape had the most civil servants on long periods of sick leave, while North West had the fewest. Muthambi also revealed that taxpayers had coughed up a whopping R38,627,159 in salaries to 174 civil servants who had been suspended pending disciplinary hearings since April this year. Read this report in full at Saturday Star
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet from Friday, 8 December to Sunday, 10 December 2017 at SA Labour News
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Thursday, 7 December 2017 at SA Labour News
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