Today's Labour News

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.

Details: Monday, 23 July 2018 03:09

Business Report writes that Tongaat Hulett chief executive Peter Staude’s total remuneration package declined by 39.46 percent in 2018 to R10.11 million as compared to the total package of R16.70m he received in 2017.

Staude was not paid a cash bonus in 2018, whereas in 2017 he received R6.63m in bonuses, according to the group’s annual report published on 6 July 2018.

“No bonuses were paid to the chief executive and chief financial officer in the 2017/18 year due to the headline earnings threshold of R800m not being met,” the group said in the annual report.

The 2018 remuneration packages for executive directors only consist of annual salaries and retirement and medical aid contributions while the 2017 packages included bonuses.

The group added that decisions relating to the remuneration policy and outcomes had been influenced by the various socio-economic dynamics in the countries in which the company operates.

Staude received the same salary of R8.80m in 2018, while chief financial officer Murray Munro’s annual salary was raised to R5.20m in 2018, up by 6.15 percent as compared to R4.88m he received in 2017. However, Munro’s total package also declined by 29.33 percent to R6m as there was no bonus for the year. This resulted in his total package declining from R8.49m he received in 2017. The 2017 package included a bonus of R2.88m.

Together both executive directors took home a total of R16.08m, down from R25.19m in 2017.

The group said the 2018 remuneration packages were approved by the remuneration committee and approved by the board. In the results for the year to end March, the JSE-listed agriculture and agri-processing group said its headline earnings declined by 37.2 percent to R617m, down from R982m reported a year ago.

The group said its headline earnings were negatively impacted by imports, low international sugar prices and a stronger rand.

“The objective of the remuneration philosophy is to align performance of company executives and fair reward with the company’s commercial success and sustainability, simultaneously taking into account various stakeholders’ perspectives and the affordability/cost to company,” the group said.

It has also nine non-executive directors and they collected R6.99m in fees for 2018. The figure was 6.39 percent higher than R6.57m in fees earned in 2017. The group is expecting better results in 2018/19. “Earnings and cash flows are expected to exceed those of the 2017/18 year,” Staude said.

The original of this report by Sandile Mchunu appeared on page 15 of Business Report of 9 July 2018

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Details: Saturday, 21 July 2018 19:06

Mail & Guardian reports that the battle for control of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has shifted to its members’ retirement savings. And Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa has appointed himself chairperson of the union’s new fund, the Igula Umbrella Provident Fund, despite the trustees electing his deputy, Sanele Myeza, to the position.

Amcu has 250,000 members and represents the majority of workers in the platinum and coal mining sectors. It is the second-biggest union in the gold sector, which is dominated by the National Union of Mineworkers.

But Amcu has been plagued by internal battles over transparency and the apparently dictatorial leadership style of the charismatic Mathunjwa.

Mathunjwa and Myeza have been at odds because of the deputy president’s increasing support in the union and calls for a national congress to elect new leaders.

Last week the Mail & Guardian reported on a purge of Myeza’s supporters from the union, allegedly for expressing their dissatisfaction with Mathunjwa. Since then, another Amcu official in Mpumalanga, Tlou Kwenait, has been dismissed for gross insubordination, which was conveyed in a letter.

At stake is not only the battle for control of the union members’ monthly subscriptions but also their retirement savings reportedly worth more than R7-billion which the union has demanded should be shifted to the Igula fund.

“Without going back to [the Amcu] NEC [national executive committee] for a fresh resolution, Mathunjwa has yet again used his bulldog tactics and appointed himself as chairperson,” one of the trustees of the Igula fund said. “This will not pass the test with the FSCA [Financial Sector Conduct Authority] and is against the rules of the fund.”

The rules state that the chairperson of the Igula fund must be elected from the trustees and Amcu’s submissions to the FSCA show that Mathunjwa is not a trustee — and appointed himself chairperson.

Myeza was elected chairperson of the fund after Amcu seconded its treasurer Jimmy Gama, Myeza and Amcu Limpopo secretary Neo Mangke to serve as the trustees, the records show.

According to the FSCA records, Igula is administered by financial services group Alexander Forbes while EOH is registered as its investment consultant, with EOH managing director of employee benefits Michael Woods listed as its principal officer.

“To date the [Igula] fund has not submitted annual financial statements although it received preliminary registration in 2016,” a former senior executive of the FSCA, who requested anonymity, said this week.

The FSCA requires statements to be submitted every six months.

Amcu’s submissions on the Igula fund to the FSCA also confirm that it has not submitted the statements.

In a 2015 newsletter, Gama explained that the Igula fund was created “as a result of the huge outcry from our members on unpaid benefits from their existing funds”.

“The Igula Umbrella Provident Fund will play a meaningful role in ensuring that members’ benefits are protected and claims paid timeously,” he wrote.

Woods and Mathunjwa share a long history; Woods helped to manage the employee benefits fund of BHP Billiton, now known as South32, when he was general manager of Amadwala group benefits in Witbank, where Mathunjwa was employed.

Amcu’s bid to have its members’ retirement savings moved from investment funds chosen by the mining companies to Igula has been described by gold mining insiders as “one of the most contested discussions” happening at the platinum and gold mines.

The latest gold wage negotiations with AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye-Stillwater and Village Main Reef started last week and are happening simultaneously under the guidance of the Minerals Council, formerly the Chamber of Mines, which represents all the companies.

The council’s spokesperson, Charmane Russell, confirmed that the companies had received a demand to transfer the retirement savings of Amcu members to the union’s new fund but she said this would be negotiated at a company level after the implementation of the wage deal.

The platinum companies received the same demand three years ago but refused to do it because of reservations about Igula’s compliance with the FSCA.

The Labour Court this month dismissed Amcu’s application to force Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) to transfer its members’ savings to Igula.

Judge Andre van Niekerk found that Amplats was duly empowered by its employment contracts to select its preferred retirement funds and Igula had failed to outperform Old Mutual.

Amplats spokesperson Mpumi Sithole said Igula was rated the lowest out of a range of different funds evaluated by external and independent auditors.

“We believe that our employees’ investments are best protected within the context of a well-established and managed umbrella fund.”

Impala Platinum is being equally cautious after the four trustees of its Implats Worker Provident Fund were arrested during a sting operation by the Hawks for soliciting bribes of more than R2-million from a life insurance company in 2016 “for protection”.

The case is continuing but all of Amcu’s shop stewards at the mine have been replaced, said Impala spokesperson Johan Theron.

“There’s been a change on the Amcu side and that has set those processes [to negotiate a transfer to Igula] back somewhat. So there hasn’t been any meaningful progress.

“We have got a worker pension fund we have created with the workers. It is managed by independent fund managers like Allan Gray and Old Mutual,” Theron said.

He said Impala had reservations about the Igula fund.

“As much as we are willing to listen to these good reasons, we are not going to put people’s retirement savings at risk.

“Whatever happens in future will have to follow the letter of the law,” he said.

Former managing director of the Alexander Forbes retirement funds division, Andrew Crawford, described the Igula fund as a case of bad governance.

“It doesn’t meet any standards of corporate governance. The two fundamentals of corporate governance is transparency and a balance of authority, which it doesn’t have,” Crawford said.

Amcu did not respond to questions about the Igula fund and its trustees or to questions about the leadership tussle between Mathunjwa and Myeza.

“We are not going to put people’s retirement savings at risk”

This report by Govan Whittles appeared on page 8 of Mail & Guardian of 20 July 2018

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Details: Thursday, 19 July 2018 13:42

BL Premium writes that the state of SA’s gold mining industry is worse than first thought, with fewer than 20% of gold mines making money at prevailing prices — while large job cuts are forecast in coming years, following decades of steeply falling employment.

Data from the Minerals Council SA (formerly the Chamber of Mines), released as wage talks in the sector have kicked off, show that 80% of SA’s gold mines, once the powerhouse of the country’s economy and global gold industry, are unprofitable at prevailing gold prices of about R520,000/kg.

"Looking at the ‘spot price of gold’ and the ‘spot all-in costs’ [cash costs, sustaining capital and new investment costs], we think that over 80% of companies are not covering their costs at today’s gold price," said Henk Langenhoven, the council’s chief economist, adding "very few companies sell [at] spot prices".

Gideon du Plessis, the general secretary of trade union Solidarity, pointed out that the Minerals Council had as usual opened wage talks by painting a gloomy picture of the industry to motivate for the lowest possible wage increase.

"In keeping with the tradition of the past few decades, mine houses involved in the gold sector negotiations presented a gloomy picture of the sector’s poor performance and weak prospects in their respective presentations," Du Plessis said.

Major crisis in the sector

However, it is not just the council flagging a major crisis in the sector. Analysts have warned that costs are simply too high for SA’s ageing deep-level, labour-intensive mines, where falling grades, mined volumes and productivity have contributed to employment dropping more than two-thirds to 111,800 from 392,000 in 1994.

The country’s gold output could halve within five years from the 140 tonnes it generated in 2017, said Nedbank gold analyst Leon Esterhuizen.

According to his calculations, just six out of SA’s 26 gold mines were making money, with the gold price so far in 2018 averaging R522,460/kg.

"Only four of those six are comfortable," he said.

"I think this industry is done. Some people will say that’s nonsense and a weak rand will save us. Not even a weaker rand will save us. Look at the gold rally in 2001 to 2011 when the rand weakened over much of that time, we produced a helluva lot less gold," he said. He said gold mines were targeting higher-grade areas to try to keep afloat, while wages and electricity costs kept increasing at above consumer price index numbers.

"The drop in productivity is a function of the companies cutting back volumes faster than people, which is an indication you will see significant numbers of people retrenched in the next couple of years."

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the dominant of the four unions representing nearly 80,000 workers in the talks, said the council’s offer of up to R550 per month for miners and up to 4.5% wage increases for artisans and others was "not even close to what our members are demanding".

Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony and Village Main Reef started wage talks a week ago to set a fresh two-year wage deal.

The opening demands from the two biggest unions — NUM, with 51% representation of the 79,517 employees at the four companies, and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), with 34% — did not reflect an awareness of the difficulties the companies said they faced. Among a long list of demands, NUM is demanding that basic entry-level wages be increased 33% to R10,500 a month from R7,785. Amcu, with its usual demand of R12,500 a month, put its demand at 58% above prevailing wages.

With labour costs making up 53% of gold mining costs, an increase of those proportions, combined with the costs of the other demands, would force marginal mines out of business and lead to large job losses.

This report by Allan Seccombe was originally published at BL Premium (paywall access)

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Details: Thursday, 19 July 2018 12:32

The Citizen reports that the ANC moved fast to axe an employee at its headquarters, Luthuli House in Johannesburg, after news broke on Wednesday of his arrest during a cash-in transit heist blitz on July 6 and 7.

“The allegations that led to Errol Velile Present’s arrest and the charges against him are of such a serious nature that the party had to exercise rules provided for in the ANC personnel manual, terminating his service with immediate effect,” ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said yesterday.

Present has worked for the ANC for more than 10 years. He has also been involved in a land scandal. It is alleged he was given a R97 million farm (Bekendvlei in Limpopo) after meeting then deputy director-general in the department of rural development and land reform, Vusi Mahlangu.

Mahlangu is now working for Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane after former minister of rural development Gugile Nkwinti fired him.

Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba yesterday said he had been informed of four arrests of people allegedly involved in a cash-intransit heist in Dobsonville.

“The raid was conducted by the [Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s] K9 Narcotics Unit and the SA Police Service. Four hijacked vehicles were recovered, two of which were used in the robbery,” Mashaba said. “News of this arrest comes as a shock, given the recent spate of cash-in-transit heists in Gauteng, that pose a threat to the lives of motorists and pedestrians.”

Mashaba said millions of rands had been stolen and only a small amount of that recovered. “The arrest of this individual does bring into question whether the ANC had been aware of it and, if so, why they remained silent about such an important matter. It also begs the question of how the ANC, while running government, can employ individuals who so brazenly undermine public safety and the rule of law.”

News of the arrest came as a shock to many, anticrime activist Yusuf Abramjee said yesterday. “I think the mayor needs to be complimented for making this fact public. Also, I see the ANC has issued Present with a summary dismissal, which also needs to be welcomed. That we have seen police officials, even soldiers, arrested before shows how widespread cash-in-transit robberies are. I know people are saying the ANC was probably protecting the guy, but I think that’s unfair. In the absence of any facts that should be condemned; you can’t blame the party if an individual in it was responsible for doing something to possibly make money,” Abramjee said.

The original of this report by Amanda Watson appeared on page 2 of The Citizen of 19 July 2018

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Details: Tuesday, 17 July 2018 14:51

The Sunday Independent reports that the community of GaMolekana in Limpopo has accused Mogalakwena Mine of holding back young people who matriculated with maths and physical sciences by not doing enough to empower them with skills. The community says the mine is taking promising students and making them drive trucks instead of training them to become engineers.

“People who obtained good marks are made to drive trucks while we expected to be engineers,” says Esrom Masenya.

The move has left others wondering what kind of jobs they will be able to do in the mine if those with such qualifications are drivers.

Sello Mashalla, who has been applying for a job for a number of years, says he was afraid that he would never get employed.

“Time is not on my side. I’m getting old and they are not hiring us. There are people with drivers licences but they are not hired to be drivers because we are told they want people who passed matric with maths and science. We always thought that such requirements are for engineering jobs,” he says.

Mine spokesperson Mpumi Sithole has defended the move, insisting that the minimum entry requirement for a truck driver at Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena Mine is matric, preferably with maths and science.

“To ensure the highest level of safety, our trucks are installed with electronic devices.

“However, these trucks still require an operator who is expected to interpret situations and act swiftly. With continued technological advancements our current operators will have to be reskilled and retrained,” she says.

Sithole adds that they are not only restricting them from driving but encouraging them to further their studies and acquire the skills required in the workplace.

“Our operators are encouraged to further advance their skills through a number of mining and engineering courses. These can be facilitated by our Training & Development department, through external institutions, or through our very own Engineering Skills Training Centre.”

Another issue of contention for the community is the lack of transformation in the mine. They claim the majority of managers are white and there is no one from the local villages in a managerial position.

In response, Sithole says employment equity at the mine is currently at 40% historically disadvantaged South Africans, with 23% women. She failed to answer the question relating to how many of those in management were locals.

The original of this report by Karabo Ngoepe appeared on page 7 of The Sunday Independent of 8 July 2018

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Details: Tuesday, 17 July 2018 14:31

The Sunday Independent reports that Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena platinum mine in Limpopo says most local residents are unemployable because of illiteracy.

Many young people in Ga-Molekana in Mokopane have complained about unemployment and lack of job opportunities at the mine. They have also alleged that it prefers outsiders to them.

The mine management, however, has denied this, stating that they give first preference to locals. They say local people’s illiteracy levels make it difficult to absorb them.

“Currently, 84% of Mogalakwena staff are locals while our contracting companies have 67% local employee representation. Despite the work being done, the scarcity of requisite skills and illiteracy levels remain a challenge,” spokesperson Mpumi Sithole said.

The mine is in the Mogalakwena Local Municipality.

In a bid to address the unemployment challenges, she said, local communities in 2004 established a labour desk to enable residents to apply for vacant positions at the mine or its contracting companies. Sithole said to date, the process has evolved, working in close collaboration with Mogalakwena mine.

“The labour desk is managed by members of the community from neighbouring villages to ensure transparency in the application process. The CVs that are received through the labour desk are first screened to ensure that applicants are from the local villages. They are then matched to the requirements of the vacant positions.

“Once both of these criteria have been satisfied, the Anglo-American Platinum HR processes are followed, that is interviewing, assessments etc,” she said.

Sithole said that the process has been put in place for the recruitment of locals for both Mogalakwena mine and the mine’s contractors.

She said all entry-level permanent positions are reserved for locals who meet the requirements of the vacant positions.

Sithole added that the mine was working to complement that by continuing to implement a number of skills training and development initiatives through their social and labour plans. “These include Engineering Learnerships (19 locals), Portable Skills (100), Diesel Mechanic (100) and Operator Academy (44),” she said.

Locals, however, tell a different tale. “The mine is not hiring us. We are always applying but we are not getting anywhere,” said Mpho Masingi.

Sello Mashalla echoed the sentiments, adding that people from the North West were recruited while they were available.

“I have been applying for four years but to this day nothing has happened. Permanent jobs are given to people from outside, while the locals that are lucky to be employed are given piece jobs that don’t last long,” he said.

The two are just a few of the youth that flock to the mine on a daily basis with the hope that their luck will change and they will be employed. Many of them are however not so lucky. They complain about being considered only for entry-level jobs and that many of them stand little chance, if any at all, to make it to senior management positions.

“They tell us about the criteria and skills required while they have never done anything for us. We want them to transfer skills. They say they train people but that is actually not the case. They take people to two week training programmes which are useless as when they come back they are still not employed,” said Esrom Masenya, one of the residents who played a role in the establishment of a community business forum.

According to Sithole, the employment equity at the mine is at present at 40% (Historically Disadvantaged South Africans), with 23% women.

“At Mogalakwena Mine four of our senior managers, seven engineers and one female engineer are black people. We currently have junior engineers and mining engineering graduates who have come through the company’s bursary programme in the pipeline.

“Additionally, in the first quarter of 2018, we held a Career Expo targeted at local schools to encourage interest and expose learners to careers within mining.”

Masenya said that does not change the fact that 90% of managers are still white.

With regard to dealing with unemployment, Sithole said, to support growth in mining-related areas, their supply chain department has conducted training of more than 1 200 entrepreneurs in host communities around Mogalakwena mine.

“A total of 38 direct contracts and 16 joint venture partnerships have been awarded to entrepreneurs in the communities around Mogalakwena mine. Creating sustainable communities is a core priority for Anglo-American Platinum and in 2018 alone a R40 million procurement spend has flowed into businesses at Ga-Molekana village.”

The original of this report by Karabo Ngoepe appeared on page 7 of The Sunday Independent of 8 July 2018

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Details: Tuesday, 17 July 2018 12:02

Sowetan reports that Nqobile Majola is one of 19 deaf students completing a gruelling coding course that will allow them to secure work after battling to find jobs.

The course – computer programming – is designed specifically to cater for the needs of deaf people by placing them in jobs after completion.

“When I apply for jobs I never receive call backs because employers think that I am incapable because I am deaf,” she said.

The 26-year-old from Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal is one of the top students in their first-ever coding class.

The class is provided by the Soweto-based Deaf Empowerment Firm (DEF) to teach the youth valuable computer programming skills that are in high demand in the IT industry.

“I’ve worked before as a waitress but it was tedious work. I was never given the opportunity to grow in the company and I think that this is because of my disability.” said Majola.

According to the South African Human Rights Commission, eight out of 10 people with disabilities are unemployed.

In a report titled Disability and Equality in South Africa that was published last year, it was found that black females with disabilities are the most disadvantaged when it comes to employment opportunities, while their white male counterparts find more opportunities.

Majola said the course has allowed her to enjoy work. “I wish that employers would give us opportunities,” she said.

Siyabonga Mathonzi, 23, said he was distraught when he had to resign from his IT job because the environment was not suitable for deaf people. “When there was a meeting I would not get any information, so I could not do my job,” he said.

Mathonzi said he dreamt of opening an IT company that would tailor its environment to the needs of deaf people.

DEF founder Sikelelwa Msitshana said she had also battled to find employment after becoming deaf and this had opened her eyes to the challenges deaf people faced.

“I had a thriving career in corporate development before I fell sick. No one would hire me after I became deaf. I knew that deaf people were just as capable of doing the work that hearing people can do,” Msitshana said.

The original of this report by Karabo Ledwaba appeared on page 10 of Sowetan of 17 July 2018

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Details: Tuesday, 17 July 2018 10:47

Sowetan reports that cash-strapped Eskom may have to shed jobs to afford the 7.5% salary increase offer it has tabled to its unions.

This is according to energy experts as unions are due to give feedback today on the latest offer. Negotiations are also expected to resume over the latest offer.

Energy expert Chris Yelland said Eskom was already having difficulties borrowing money because its debt levels and cost of debt were very high and there were no other options of raising money to cover the additional costs.

“Obviously it’s a very politically sensitive matter because it’s the middle of wage negotiations... it’s [job cuts] not something Eskom wants to speak about but it has already said that it’s significantly overstaffed and somehow it has to bring its cost items under control.

“It’s hard to understand where this money is going to come from… operations at Eskom are resulting in a loss.”

Another expert, Ted Blom, said: “I don’t think Eskom has any option ... ultimately it has to do something about its productivity, which is one of the worst in the world.”

Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe did not completely rule out job cuts but said they were not being considered at the moment.

“So far, and so far is a key word on this one, the issue of job cuts is not on the table.”

He said Blom and Yelland were “100% correct” to say Eskom did not have money to fund salary increases.

“That’s why we were offering no increases but because we are led by a responsive and responsible management, they have taken it upon themselves to see what else can be done to find this money from somewhere, even if we don’t have it at the moment.”

The salary increase offer will shoot up Eskom’s annual remuneration bill by more than R1.3-billion, Blom said.

The World Bank had already stated that Eskom employed over 27 500 more staff than it should have for the amount of energy it produces.

Eskom’s three unions – the National Union of Mineworkers, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity – turned down a 7% offer last week.

The unions’ revised demand was standing at 8% but they took the 7.5% offer back to their members for feedback today.

Phasiwe said they were hopeful an agreement would be reached today.

“We first met on May 10, before the soccer World Cup which has come and gone. We would like to start focusing on turning around this company.”

The original of this report by Isaac Mahlangu appeared on page 7 of Sowetan of 17 July 2018

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Details: Tuesday, 17 July 2018 10:20

ANA reports that the South African Local Government Association (Salga) has submitted the outstanding documents required to avoid deregistration, the department of labour said yesterday.

Salga The department issued a notice of intention to cancel Salga’s registration in the Government Gazette of June 15 after it failed to submit outstanding documents, including audited financial statements, names of office bearers, a business address and membership figures.

“In terms of section 106 (2A) of the Act, the office of the registrar may cancel the registration of an employers’ organisation by removing its name from the appropriate register if the organisation is not, or has ceased to function as a genuine organisation, or has failed to comply with sections 98, 99 and 100 of the Act,” spokesperson Teboho Thejane said.

According to law, a registered employers’ organisation must keep books and records of its income, assets and liabilities and must prepare financial statements within six months after the end of each financial year.

It must also arrange for an annual audit which must comply with generally accepted auditing standards and the auditor must report in writing to the organisation whether it has complied with its constitution in relation to financial matters.

The department said Salga had finally submitted financial statements from 2012 up to 2017, the names and business address of office bearers for the years 2011 to 2018 and membership figures per sector for the years 2012 to 2017, on June 16, and had apologised for the delay.

The association also said it had implemented measures to prevent delays in transmitting information recurring

The original of this report appeared on page 9 of The Citizen of 17 July 2018

Read the Department of Labour’s press statement in this regard at DOL News

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Details: Monday, 16 July 2018 19:58

Personal Finance reports that the Credit Ombud, Nicky Lala-Mohan, says it seems there is still widespread abuse of the garnishee order system to deduct debt repayments from employees, despite a far-reaching Constitutional Court ruling almost two years ago tightening up the issuing of these orders.

In September 2016, the Constitutional Court confirmed a High Court ruling by Judge Siraj Desai that aspects of the enforcement of emolument attachment orders (EAOs, commonly but incorrectly referred to as garnishee orders) were unconstitutional.

An EAO is a court order that forces an employer to deduct an amount from an employee’s wages or salary to pay a third party, such as a creditor.

EAOs can now be granted only by a judge or a magistrate and must be granted in the court with jurisdiction in the area where the debtor resides or works.

The debtor and the debtor’s employer must be given notice of the creditor’s intention to have the EAO issued, and the consumer has 10 days to oppose the order.

“When Judge Desai ruled that some EAOs were unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid, we all hoped that this could bring relief to the consumers who suffer from the abuse and exploitation of EAOs,” says Lala-Mohan.

“Concourt Judge Raymond Zondo also ruled that the amount to be deducted needed to be appropriate and fair.”

Before the ruling, many EAO applications from creditors were processed by court clerks, without the oversight of a judge or magistrate. “There had been abuse of consumers, with many unaware of the correct process to follow,” Lala-Mohan says.

CAP ON AMOUNT

Subsequent to the Constitutional Court ruling, the Courts of Law Amendment Act was promulgated, placing a cap on the amount that can be attached: not more than 25% of the consumers’ gross earnings. This, the ombud says, went a long way to ending situations where consumers have been left with almost no salary after EAO deductions.

The Credit Ombud, who often receives and investigates complaints relating to EAOs, recently met with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the National Credit Regulator (NCR) to discuss measures to address undesirable practices, which “appear to thrive despite the latest legislation”.

The ombud says it is important to establish the extent to which the new legislation has improved conditions for consumers.

Are the courts implementing the new requirements, and are employers fulfilling their role in scrutinising EAOs?

“The SAHRC, NCR and Credit Ombud are committed to continuing with discussions aimed at eradicating EAO abuse,” Lala-Mohan says.

The original of this report by Martin Hesse appeared on page 20 of Personal Finance of 14 July 2018

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Details: Monday, 16 July 2018 05:11

The Sunday Independent reports that SA Post Office (Sapo) workers have called on Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele, to urgently intervene in their wage negotiations deadlock with the post office management.

On Saturday, Aubrey Tshabalala, Communication Workers Union (CWU) general secretary, said they had reached a deadlock in negotiations on Friday after his members rejected Sapo’s 6.5% increase offer.

The unions also want Sapo to identify several staff members, among its workforce, throughout the country, who will be dedicated to assisting social grant recipients with their payments.

Tshabalala said it was necessary to identify those workers after Sapo experienced technical glitches in paying grants to recipients.

“We call on the post office to resolve the matter. In our endeavour not to affect payments, the union chose not to go on a strike action on June 27 and July 2 to allow for smooth payment of social grants to recipients,” Tshabalala said.

He, however, added if Sapo bosses continue dragging their feet on negotiations, social grant payments would be affected.

On Thursday, however, Cwele and Sapo chief executive Mark Barnes expressed their confidence that the wage dispute would be amicably resolved.

They made a commitment to this on the sidelines of a government briefing on progress made to transfer social grant recipients to the new Sassa/ Sapo card.

Tshabalala said wage negotiations began on Thursday and Sapo initially offered a 6% increase from August 1. He added Sapo also offered to increase the working hours of its part-time workers from 21 hours a week to 25.

The union, according to Tshabalala, had demanded that those workers should be converted into permanent staff, saying most of them had been in their jobs for more than three months.

“We could not reach an agreement and postponed the meeting until Friday. Yesterday, the post office management arrived at the negotiations and made a new 6.5% increase offer, backdated to April this year.

“We rejected the new offer. The view of the workers was that they had initially demanded a 12% increase which was later reduced to 8% following protracted negotiations,” Tshabalala added.

He said they wanted Cwele to be part of their negotiations in the future.

“In 2015, Minister Cwele directly addressed workers and told them about the post office’s financial difficulties. As a result of that meeting, the workers agreed on a two-year zero-percent increase. We are now going to our third year. We want Minister Cwele to intervene. He is aware of the workers’ plight,” Tshabalala said.

The original of this report by Baldwin Ndaba appeared on page 2 of The Sunday Independent of 15 July 2018

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Details: Monday, 16 July 2018 03:15

Business Times writes that trade unions are fleecing their members, and the government is making it difficult to hold them accountable, says former labour registrar Johan Crouse, who was fired by the labour minister for trying to do just that.

The National Council of Trade Unions recently called on the government to hold the council's organisations accountable amid claims and proof of rampant corruption and maladministration in unions.

Crouse, who was the labour registrar for 20 years, says he has "absolutely no doubt" about these claims. But he says the call by union leaders for their organisations to be held accountable is "just rhetoric. They don't want to be held accountable, that's the bottom line."

He says he also finds it difficult to take seriously Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini's recent remark about union investment companies being "a cancer ripping us all apart".

He agrees with him, but points out that it was Cosatu that got Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant to intervene when Crouse as labour regulator tried to enforce accountability on a Cosatu affiliate.

Cosatu, which was instrumental in setting up many of the union investment companies that union leaders have plundered, told the minister to reverse his court application to deregister the ANC-aligned Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union after it had failed to produce financial records for five years.

Regardless of Cosatu's public posturing, this demonstrates its real attitude to corruption, he says.

At stake was R6-billion worth of investments controlled by Ceppwawu. When Crouse refused Oliphant's instruction to suspend his court application to have it deregistered, she fired him in 2015.

After an almost two-year battle, the Labour Court found that her decision was "irrational and invalid" and ordered his reinstatement.

By then, he'd almost reached the official retirement age of 65 and didn't have time to reinstate the deregistration.

The result was that Ceppwawu was never deregistered, suspended or placed under administration, and still hasn't submitted proper financial statements.

When Crouse tried to deregister the union, it had been in contravention of the Labour Relations Act for five years.

Unions have constitutional checks and balances, but these are easily circumvented by strong leaders who run unions with a small clique of senior office bearers who are close to them, he says.

They are past masters at playing the system for their own ends, which rarely align with the interests of their members.

"You have these individuals who know the weaknesses of unions. They [prey] on these weaknesses and take over unions to get their hands on the bank accounts which they loot."

In addition to their "massive salaries", they usually have their eyes on what is considered to be the main prize, which is an investment company where there's a lot of money.

They will "usually do anything to be part of the decision-making in that investment company", he says.

As long as they've got a strong base, they can get away with anything. They don't have to worry about the branches.

"I can assure you members have got very little say in their unions," says Crouse.

Only the "right" shop stewards and other members are invited to meetings.

"They hear about decisions at meetings to which they weren't invited."

Members from branches would complain to him in strict confidence that meetings were held without them even knowing.

"They are usually so scared of the consequences if they tackle the legitimacy of decisions that they'd rather just join another union."

It is extremely difficult for the registrar to check that decisions made are valid, he says.

It was Ceppwawu's inability to prove that it held the meetings required of a registered union that, along with its failure to produce financial records, made him seek to put it under administration, and cost him his job.

"It's a minefield. The system is ripe to be taken by anyone who knows the system."

The registrar is supposed to see that there is proper financial control, "but you are hamstrung".

All he has to go on are the financial statements, where these exist. Many unions don't submit financials as they are obliged to do by law.

Where financial statements are available, they're often entirely inadequate.

"The auditors just sign off on a lot of things. They do the basic checks and balances but don't ask the questions."

In effect, they facilitate corruption because they're not doing a proper job, he says.

The now-disgraced audit firm KPMG looked after Ceppwawu's books.

Crouse said he saw comments by Ceppwawu investment company's lawyers where they said auditors had signed off on things they were not supposed to sign off on.

When he brought his urgent application, Labour Court judges were scathing about what they saw and said the matter needed to go to court.

But after he was pushed out by the minister, the acting registrar withdrew the application, and it never went to court.

Political interference in the work of the labour regulator has become "the standard, the norm", says Crouse.

"It can happen that you put a union under administration or cancel its registration, which makes big problems in the alliance."

Deregistering Ceppwawu would have weakened Cosatu and the governing alliance politically and financially.

"Unions pay massive affiliation fees to Cosatu, which is one of the machines of the government and ANC in elections.

"So the registrar now first has to check with the minister."

What came out in his Labour Court case was that the registrar is empowered by the Labour Relations Act to act independently of the minister or Department of Labour.

But he says the department has been restructured "so that the link of the registrar to the minister and director-general is more direct than in the past".

"The registrar now reports to the DG or minister."

The oversight and monitoring role of the registrar has been blunted, making it easier for corruption in the unions to flourish, says Crouse.

Read the original of this Business Times report by Chris Barron at BL Premium

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Details: Saturday, 14 July 2018 08:15

Mail & Guardian reports that Associated Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) president Joseph Mathunjwa has executed another big purge within his union and is intent on ousting his deputy, Sanele Myeza, as the battle for control of the union heats up, and regions in Gauteng and Mpumalanga prepare to take him on.

Amcu currently has 250000 members and represents the majority of workers in the platinum and coal mining sectors. In the gold sector, it is the second-biggest union behind the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). But Amcu has been plagued by internal squabbles about transparency and an apparently dictatorial style of leadership by the charismatic Mathunjwa.

The union has failed to hold an elective congress since it rose to prominence in the wake of the sixweek long strike at Lonmin platinum and the Marikana massacre in 2012, during which 44 people were killed.

Myeza last week told the Mail & Guardian that his status within Amcu is a “very sensitive matter ,” but wouldn’t comment further on the dismissal of his allies within the union.

The former Amcu deputy had started gaining support among Amcu regions to challenge Mathunjwa for the leadership of the union and now faces the axe, according to Amcu insiders. By this week, his picture and details had been removed from the official Amcu website.

The union’s general secretary, Jeff Mphahlele, was sent detailed questions about the dismissals, but only said that the claims were “erroneous and false”. Instead, Mphahlele laid a complaint with the M&G about the writer’s apparent personal vendetta against Mathunjwa.

Mathunjwa was supposed to convene a national congress that would hold leadership elections in May but postponed it to September. Now that gathering has also been scrapped and union officials who oppose the Amcu leader have been purged.

These include Mpumalanga’s regional organiser, John Tlou, and head office organiser Thomas Nkosi. In Gauteng, Mathunjwa sacked Desmond Jeza and Ernest Mohale, regional organisers in Carletonville, and Sibongile Tshisa, the chairperson of the union’s West Rand region.

The reasons for the officials’ dismissals put forward by Amcu range from not servicing members correctly and their poor management of work stoppages to officials losing their jobs, making them ineligible to be worker representatives.

Tshisa described Mathunjwa as paranoid, and said he would protect his control over Amcu at any cost. “The real problem was that we wanted a national conference. There was a conference which was not completed in 2012, and a promise was made that a special congress was to be called, but it hasn’t been,” he said.

“The president himself felt threatened that we wanted to unseat him, Myeza and I, because we know each other. He felt insecure and was paranoid because he doesn’t want anyone who opposes him,” Tshisa added.

According to Jeza, Mathunjwa started targeting his opponents in the union late last year, when it became evident the officials in the regions were unhappy with what they saw as his unilateral decisionmaking and his lack of transparency.

Jeza was dismissed for rendering poor service to members in 2013 and 2014, but the charges were only brought in December 2017.

“These people have cooked up stories against [me] such as misconduct. They said I never served the workers,” he said. Jeza was furious about his dismissal and decided to take Amcu to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

“We settled at the CCMA for three months’ salary, because they could see they didn’t have a case against me,” he said.

Then, in January, Mohale and Amcu paralegal officer Vusi Shonge resigned — they said it was constructive dismissal — after they were accused of inadequately managing a work stoppage in Carletonville. At the end of January, Tshisa was sacked after he lost his job at Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu mine.

His departure from Harmony Gold left the workers at Kusasalethu confused, Tshisa said.

At least three Amcu members at the mine confirmed that Mathunjwa had visited the shaft twice since dismissing Tshisa, but said he did not properly explain why the decision was made.

“The president came here twice to assassinate Tshisa’s character, and said he was sleeping with Amcu leaders and his wife is recruiting for Numsa [the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa],” a rock drill operator at Kusasalethu said anonymously, fearing victimisation for speaking out against Mathunjwa.

“A number of our comrades have now left Amcu for Numsa and NUM,” he said.

Tshisa’s dismissal letter from the Amcu head office states that he was sacked because the union’s constitution requires that, for a member to be eligible for an elected position, he or she must be an employee of a mining or construction company and contribute a monthly subscription from his or her salary.

But this clause would mean that Mathunjwa himself would be ineligible to serve as president, former registrar of labour Johan Crouse told the M&G.

Mathunjwa and Amcu treasurer Jimmy Gama accepted retrenchment packages from BHP Billiton in 2014, and are currently serving as full-time paid officials of the union.

Crouse said he wrote to Mathunjwa in 2016, seeking clarity on why he continued to occupy the position of president despite the provisions of the Amcu constitution, but was ignored.

“This guy has, at least for the past five years, been ignoring us straight,” Crouse said.

“It is an illegitimate union and it is not operating constitutionally. It has been established and is being run by people who cannot call themselves legitimate office bearers.”

He explained that, technically, Amcu is not a worker-controlled union, because its top leadership was not elected by any of its members.

“They all wanted to be office bearers but I said that they can’t, because the provisions of the constitution say, once you become elected to the committee as an office bearer, you immediately become a paid official of the union,” Crouse explained.

Before he was ousted in a controversial public spat with the minister of labour, Crouse intended to confront Mathunjwa about his failure to convene a conference and submit the names of elected officials.

“They don’t submit the names of the committees or elected positions. You hear there was an election [in 2012] but they say we didn’t have that election; it was abandoned,” he said.

This week the department of labour confirmed that Mathunjwa had still not responded to the letter and remains solely employed by the union.

The original of this report by Govan Whittles appeared on page 8 of Mail & Guardian of 13 July 2018

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Details: Wednesday, 11 July 2018 07:54

BL Premium reports that the last thing investors in SA’s troubled gold mining shares need are protracted, uncertain wage talks, culminating in a strike or a settlement that squeezes narrow profit margins at a time when the rand gold price is subdued.

Analysts speaking about the mining sector point to a series of above-inflation wage increases and cripplingly high electricity price increases as the two major factors inhibiting the industry.

For SA’s gold mines these two issues are most heavily felt. The mines are labour intensive, requiring large numbers of people in narrow working areas using brute force to drill and extract ore. They are also among the world’s deepest, needing high levels of refrigeration and ventilation, both of which use large amounts of electricity.

SA’s mines are, by and large, old, with working areas drifting further and further away from the shafts that lower employees into the earth. Over the years, combined with falling grades of gold, this has meant productivity has fallen.

The gold sector is not attractive for investors anymore.

So far in 2018, the JSE gold index has fallen a chunky 18%, with the big faller being Sibanye-Stillwater, which is by far the most dangerous gold company to work for in 2018, with 21 people killed at its operations, making up nearly half of the 46 people who have died on South African mines in 2018.

AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest gold producer, has cut its exposure to SA to a single underground mine and a tailings retreatment business, drawing a firm line under its historical base as it looks for growth abroad in shallower, cheaper, safer mines.

There is a reality at play that the well-intentioned demands from four unions may well run up against in this round of wage talks. The gold sector is in deep trouble and unrealistic demands, if implemented, could bring its demise forward.

Read the original of this report at BL Premium (paywall access)

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Details: Thursday, 05 July 2018 12:13

Business Report writes that Naspers chief executive Bob van Dijk has been given an option to buy R196 million in shares at a fixed price of R3 207 a share, the closing price on June 25, over a period of four years.

The move is seen as an incentive to keep Van Dijk as the chief executive of the group, which has a market capitalisation of about R1.5 trillion.

Van Dijk can buy the stock in four instalments from June 2019 to June 2022, regardless of the share price on those dates.

Naspers shares closed 0.2 percent lower on the JSE yesterday, at R3 408 a share, compared with Tuesday’s closing price of R3 415 a share.

In the results for the year to the end of March, the group reported a 38 percent increase year-on-year in revenues, measured on an economic interest basis, including the proportionate contribution from associates and joint ventures, to $20.1 billion (R275.98bn).

Core headline earnings grew 72 percent to $2.5bn.

The group said businesses outside South Africa contributed 84 percent of revenue, compared with 80 percent last year.

Naspers chairperson Koos Bekker said during the results presentation that the group had made good progress during the year.

“Financial performance was strong. Growth in both revenue and trading profit accelerated. We benefited from scale effects in e-commerce and a positive contribution from Tencent. Video entertainment’s results were steady,” Bekker said.

In the year ahead, the group said it would use its strong balance sheet to accelerate the growth of its classifieds, food delivery and financial technology businesses globally.

Naspers operates in more than 120 countries and markets, resulting in significant exposure to foreign exchange volatility.

The group is also the owner of Africa’s biggest pay-TV provider, and it has a number of investments in internet and technology stocks around the world.

The original of this report by Sandile Mchunu appeared on page 19 of Business Report of 5 July 2018

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Details: Wednesday, 04 July 2018 11:44

Sowetan reports that the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane on Tuesday interdicted illegal strikers in Giyani from polluting and closing water pumps.

Judge Ephraim Makgoba said the illegal strikers were restrained from closing water reticulation sources to Giyani communities.

Makgoba also ordered the police to patrol the Giyani area and protect the assets of the local municipality.

“The police should take all necessary steps to arrest and take into lawful custody any person who contravenes the order,” he said.

This was after angry community members from Khakhala, Gawula, Mahlathi and Hlomela villages blockaded roads with sand and disrupted services in Giyani for the past three weeks. They were demanding roads and water services.

The municipality said the matter was brought on an urgent basis because of the implications it had on service delivery.

In his affidavit, municipal manager Maxwell Chauke said: “The water services have been disrupted by the strikers in circumstances we cannot explain.

“It is likely that the water pumps in the reticulation facility have been blocked and the water is now not fit for human consumption.”

He said there were reported incidents of intimidation of staff and the illegal closure of the main water supply to Giyani communities.

“The strikers forced their way through the gates of the Giyani dam and water treatment plant and dumped sand in the reticulation system.

“What was conspicuously absent was the presence of the police, despite the unrest that reigned around Giyani municipality,” he said.

Chauke said he was told by the municipality’s security officials that there was an illegal strike as well as vandalism in Giyani.

“Upon investigation I established there had been three strikes reported at villages which fall under our jurisdiction.

“I was also informed the strikers went to the Giyani CBD and their demonstration culminated in vandalism.

“On June 25 I was informed that the strikers attempted to enter the municipal offices by force, and blocked the public and municipal staff from gaining access.”

Chauke said he did not receive a memorandum of demands as there had been no written communication from the ward councillor or community representative.

The original of this report by Peter Ramothwala appeared on page 7 of Sowetan of 4 July 2018

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Details: Monday, 02 July 2018 12:47

Sowetan writes that embattled power utility Eskom enters a make or break week as its unions reported back to their members with their latest offer of 6.2% at the weekend.

Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said they were hoping an agreement would be reached and signed on Friday when the parties reconvene in Woodmead.

“We are hopeful that an agreement can be signed on Friday so that we can focus on keeping the lights on,” Phasiwe said on Sunday.

He said with the cold front fast approaching, it was important for Eskom to focus on its mandate of ensuring that there was constant power supply in the country.

Eskom unions went into this leg of negotiations, initiated by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, with a mandate that included a demand for housing allowances and double-digit increases among others

However, unions have nothing else but a 6.2% “take it or leave it” offer from the cash strapped power utility to report back on.

National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said the shop stewards’ council which was initially planned for today would now happen on Thursday to allow for more consultation with members.

“All shop stewards will give us feedback on the Eskom offer before we go back to the negotiations on Friday,” Mammburu said.

An Eskom employee who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “We are not happy that Eskom is not entertaining the housing allowance issue, which is a matter that’s very close to our hearts.

“Eskom is seemingly now coming with a take it or leave it kind of attitude.”

This week will see NUM, the biggest union at Eskom, convening its national shop stewards’ council in Midrand on Thursday, where workers will respond to Eskom’s final offer.

Eskom did not commit on any of the other demands, including the finalisation of the minimum service agreement, housing allowance and the discontinuation of the independent power producers.

NUM and other recognised unions at Eskom, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity presented a joint 9% salary increase demand after meeting ahead of the negotiations and consolidated their mandates.

The original of this report by Isaac Mahlangu appeared on page 5 of Sowetan of 2 July 2018

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Details: Monday, 25 June 2018 10:42

Sowetan reports that more than 500 employees in the Gauteng department of roads and transport are on the verge of losing their jobs due to a new proposed organisational structure.

This is contained in an internal memo signed in August to freeze 513 vacant posts against the current “approved” structure and some which have been filled. The 75-page document states that MEC Ismael Vadi and head of department Ronald Swartz, working with a team comprising the sub-directorate in organisational development of the department and the provincial treasury, should “assess the current vacancies against the newly proposed structure”.

These retrenchments, which have not come into effect, will reduce the current vacancy rate from 29% to 15%, costing the department about R172-million.

But with the proposed structure, 120 posts will be advertised, which will cost the department over R80-million. “However, there are no approved posts on the current structure for these positions, but there are vacant posts that are recommended for abolishment which are no longer required by the department and can be used for these appointments until new structure is concurred,” the memo states.

The report, which Sowetan has obtained, was supported by Vadi, Swartz and the department’s chief financial officer, Sanele Zondo, who all signed it between October and November.

Department spokeswoman Melitah Madiba insisted there would be no job losses as a result of the new structure. “There will be no job losses for staff currently employed in the department,” she said.

She confirmed 507 vacant and unfunded posts had been abolished as they were in excess of requirements, and said the posts had not been filled in the last five years.

The original of this report by Neo Goba appeared on page 2 of Sowetan of 25 June 2018

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Details: Monday, 25 June 2018 07:18

The Sunday Times reports that, while some have welcomed new details of the government’s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) legislation, legal and medical experts said many doctors would reject the planned cap on what they can charge for consultations and surgeries.

Some analysts warned that state-regulated fees would drive doctors to emigrate, leaving the health sector worse off than it is now.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Thursday released the National Health Insurance and Medical Schemes Amendment bills for comment.

Under the NHI Bill, the health insurance fund would be the biggest purchaser of health services in South Africa and consumers would have to contribute to it.

The bill proposes price controls in the private sector: “The fund may withdraw the accreditation of a service provider if the service provider . . . fails to adhere to the national pricing regimen for services delivered.”

Medical lawyer Neil Kirby of Werksmans said that in view of the scarcity of doctors, it would not be a good strategy to freeze out those who did not stick to NHI rates.

“The prudence of excluding healthcare providers, in an already strained system starving from a lack of available expertise, is highly questionable if not irrational,” he said.

Norton Rose Fulbright director Michelle David said doctors would not want to be told what to charge. “It is not likely to be accepted by all stakeholders [doctors and hospitals] that the largest purchaser of services will also be able to set tariffs.”

David said doctors were likely to challenge NHI in the courts, as they had challenged price control before.

Johann Serfontein of HealthMan, a consultancy that represents doctors in private practice, said: “I think there is an underlying assumption that specialists will be employed by private hospitals.”

This is currently not the case as the law ensures doctors work for themselves but are based at private hospitals.

“A survey done by the South African Private Practitioners Forum showed that 55% of specialists do not want to be employed by hospitals. So one can safely assume those will be the ones considering emigration,” said Serfontein.

Graham Anderson, principal officer of Profmed medical scheme, also warned that if doctors were not happy with the tariffs they had to charge they would emigrate. He said emigration was the main cause of members leaving Profmed, which caters to people in the professions.

“Private healthcare is an essential service. If they are going to trash the private sector in order to get the public sector up and running, doctors are going to go. If the doctors emigrate then other professionals, who can afford to leave, will go because they want healthcare for their children.”

But Brian Ruff, a former medical aid executive and founder of private health group PPO Serve, was positive about the focus of NHI. “Private healthcare is unaffordable. It was developed without adequate planning and regulation of how many hospitals and doctors are needed for the [private] population. Nobody is held accountable for the management of the cost or the quality of outcomes of the patients,” he said.

“South Africa has a very hospital-centred system. So much care happens unnecessarily in a hospital bed that could be done outside hospitals, such as at a GP’s office or day clinics.”

The Board of Healthcare Funders of Southern Africa, an industry body that represents 45 medical aids, also supported the NHI proposals. “We are committed to the NHI as a vehicle that will enable the country to achieve universal health coverage, not just for the 8.9 million lives covered in private healthcare but the 56 million of our entire population,” chairman Ali Hamdulay said.

The original of this report by Katharine Child appeared on page 6 of The Sunday Times of 24 June 2018

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Details: Monday, 25 June 2018 05:11

BL Premium writes that, on the surface, with a leadership team of only 55 people overseeing more than six operations in South Africa, Sibanye-Stillwater's management seems stretched to an alarming degree.

That could be one of the factors contributing to its steep rise in fatalities this year. Of the 45 mineworkers who have died in South Africa this year, 20 worked at Sibanye-Stillwater operations. Since the company was founded six years ago, it has had 73 fatalities.

This week, Sibanye appointed a new safety manager to deal with the problem, which has fed into a weakening share price, down 39% this year.

The rise in fatalities comes as the miner is in a battle to rein in debt of R23-billion - more than its market capitalisation - caused by rapid expansion over its short history.

In that time, Sibanye has bought the labour-intensive operation of Gold Fields, the Kloof-Driefontein Complex, as well as Beatrix, a couple of Anglo American Platinum mines and a US miner, Stillwater.

Sibanye's industry peer, AngloGold Ashanti, has 400 employees at its Johannesburg headquarters, including skilled technical staff, overseeing 14 operations in Africa and globally.

Anglo American, the most diversified of the country's mining houses, has a corporate global headcount of 1000 workers. It has 36 assets in South Africa and internationally.

Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman has focused much of his attention on removing hierarchies and making management more centralised, leaving the general managers and vice-presidents of the company's individual mines to focus on operations.

If one adds middle management based at its mining operations, the miner has a South African leadership team of about 137 people.

Asked whether management was stretched, Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said: "No, absolutely not.

"We took over in 2013 and removed hierarchies. We took the responsibility of unions and DMR [Department of Mineral Resources] and mayors away from them and they only focus on operations, and head office deals with those," he said.

Some analysts have argued that the need to reduce debt came with a lot of cost-cutting, which probably meant that staff in its headquarters and its operations were hard-pressed to meet production targets and management was stretched too thin.

Safety standards may have been compromised by management, say analysts. The fact that there is no new strategy on how fatalities can be avoided in future does not bode well for the miner as the market has more questions than answers.

Leon Esterhuizen, an analyst at Nedbank, said there were just too many questions about how Sibanye approached safety. "But these questions always point back to management. There is always something behind something, and that's really the problem here. Unfortunately, there is going to be a massive focus on Sibanye and its management," Esterhuizen said.

On its worrying fatality numbers, Wellsted said the company had to wait for the investigation to know what to do differently.

"We rolled out a fully revised strategy in 2017, which was successful.

"To say what we are going to do differently now, we don't know. Our systems work quite well; where they don't work we need to understand why."

Analysts said that when assessing fatalities, one had to look at each case on its merits - such as the area where the miners were during the seismic event, and if it was in the mine's "white areas". White areas are parts of the mine that have not been mined out, where there is leftover gold.

Makwe Masilela, chief investment officer at Makwe Fund Managers, said the question was whether Sibanye had enough safety personnel.

"If you had four people in charge of safety before you went too deep, and now because you are much deeper, should you not maybe consider having 50% more safety people or doubling it up?" Masilela said.

The previous owner of Sibanye's gold mines, Gold Fields, had experienced 176 deaths between 2006 and 2012 in the KDC mines, including South Deep.

Shut down

This poses a question about the risk of the operations. They have been historically problematic to mine because of their depths, reaching some 4km, and their labour-intensive nature.

Masilela said he was waiting for the day when a South African mining company would shut down for safety reasons instead of having the government do it.

"If they [mining companies] would say something like, 'We know that there is ore there and we can make money, but our worry is safety, so we need to stop mining', that would be a good change of mentality towards safety," Masilela said.

Wellsted said Froneman and the rest of management were taking the rise in fatalities hard. "It takes its toll on everyone."

By the end of the year, Sibanye is expected to acquire troubled platinum miner Lonmin, which will add a further 20000 employees at Marikana to its roster, bringing the total number of its workers to 85000.

The original of this report by Lutho Mtongana appeared on page 8 of Business Times of 24 June 2018

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Details: Thursday, 21 June 2018 14:53

Sowetan reports that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has blamed the Marikana massacre for its decline in membership.

Although the massacre happened in 2012, the once powerful union has lost huge membership in the past eight years.

Between 1992 and 2000, the NUM boasted a membership of over 300 000. It now has a mere 185 287 members, with the PWV region, which is the biggest in terms of numbers, having 33 797 members.

This is contained in the secretariat report which was due to be presented by the union’s general secretary David Sipunzi at the elective national congress which kicked off in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, yesterday.

The report indicates that the union’s failure to keep members is also due to internal leadership squabbles that often result in expulsions.

“Intolerance of one by another has become fashionable. The differences are not ideological or about serving union members. They are rather a result of individual egos.

“As leaders focus their energies on trying to annihilate one another, service to members becomes the biggest casualty and members get demoralised. In some instances, members get expelled from the union at the drop of a hat,” the secretariat report said.

NUM, which has lost its dom- inance in the platinum sector, blames the Marikana massacre – where striking mineworkers were killed by police – for loss in membership.

“The year 2012 marked the worst killing season in forcing our members to turn their backs on us. It became worse when workers were led into being massacred by the police.

“This strategy has so far coerced about 70 000 of our members to leave NUM involuntarily and join [another] association so that they cannot be killed.”

North East region chairman Philip Vilakazi warned that the NUM would cease to exist in the future. “The likelihood is that if retrenchments in the mining and energy sector continue, it will leave us with no option but to close shop. The time people become union members is when they are employed,” he said.

The report suggests that the NUM has to adapt to the political and socioeconomic climate changes to avoid suffering the dinosaur’s fate.

“History alone cannot help the NUM reclaim the respect it once commanded in society. At the inception, the NUM organised among the most illiterate mineworkers.

“Today’s mineworkers are more enlightened and more educated. We must be prepared to invest heavily in our youth if we hope for the future,” the report indicates.

NUM former leaders include President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe.

The original of this report by Ngwako Modjadji appeared on page 4 of Sowetan of 21 June 2018

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Details: Thursday, 21 June 2018 13:52

Sowetan reports that factional battles over leadership choices at the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spilled out into the open at its hotly contested elective national congress that got under way yesterday.

There were chaotic scenes as delegates fought over who should attend the congress.

A call by NUM president Piet Matosa for delegates at the congress in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni to stop howling fell on deaf ears as they shouted “voetsek” when NUM deputy president Joseph Montisetsi tried to clarify the issue of credentials.

“We are appealing to all the NUM members who are here as delegates to ensure that there is no howling and each and every delegate be allowed to express themselves. This shows the problem that we are having,” Matosa said.

The disbandment of the Rustenburg regional executive committee also appeared to be at the centre of divisions and infighting within the NUM.

Matosa supporters accused NUM general secretary David Sipunzi of “antagonising” the Rustenburg region because it was backing Matosa to retain his position as the union’s president.

Sipunzi said the decision to disband the Rustenburg region was taken by the national executive committee.

“What is happening is amazing and worrying. I did not communicate my own decision,” he said.

Carletonville regional secretary Mbuyiseni Hibana said the congress faced the risk of collapsing.

NUM Highveld regional secretary Tshilidzi Mathava said the congress was likely to be interdicted by Rustenburg leaders.

This happened as several ANC provincial conferences are failing to sit either because of court interdicts or disputes.

Yesterday, unhappy ANC members from Peter Mokaba and Waterberg regions in Limpopo threatened to interdict the provincial conference scheduled to take place this weekend. They want it to be postponed.

They argue that premier Stan Mathabatha’s provincial executive committee is holding office on unconstitutional and illegitimate grounds as its term expired in February.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said the divisions in the ANC under former president Jacob Zuma were being displayed at all ANC alliance partners.

“These skirmishes are not about credentials. There are those within the NUM who want the union, which has lost a lot of members in the mining sector, to be independent. There is a contest on how the NUM should relate to the new ANC leadership,” he said.

The original of this report by Ngwako Modjadji appeared on page 4 of Sowetan of 21 June 2018

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Details: Thursday, 21 June 2018 13:23

HeraldLive reports that the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro has finally tabled an offer to the two municipal unions in an effort to break the back of the crippling strike in the city.

However, a report to the municipality’s mayoral committee – which was subsequently withdrawn – details how this is likely to add further strain to the massive deficit the Bay is facing just days before the financial year end.

It already projects a budget deficit of R239-million for the financial year ending on June 30 – which excludes the money the metro would have to fork out for the long-service backpay demand from the striking workers.

This is compounded by the fact that 460 private security guards were insourced by the municipality halfway through the financial year, as well as the city’s poor revenue collection rate of 92% – which falls short of its 94% target.

The offer on the table is for employees with between 12 and 17 years’ service to be paid a once-off R8 000 in backpay, those with between 18 and 23 years’ service to be given R12 000 and those with 24 years’ service and more to receive R16 000.

Imatu regional manager Churchill Mothapo and Samwu regional manager Mqondisi Nodongwe confirmed they had received the offer and would consult their members before heading back to the bargaining table with their employer at 9am today.

The unions have been demanding that 2,689 municipal workers each be paid a R30 000 settlement for outstanding long-service bonuses.

The municipality is, meanwhile, seeking an urgent court interdict to compel workers to stick to the picketing rules – which were agreed to by all union representatives – and to ensure that essential services are not disrupted.

The week-long municipal strike has paralysed services, with pockets of protests flaring up yesterday because of power outages.

The dispute over backpay for long-service bonuses was the bone of contention in the council yesterday, and ultimately caused the meeting to collapse.

Opposition parties had demanded that the strike, which entered its seventh day yesterday, be debated, and this was supported by mayor Athol Trollip and the rest of the DAled coalition.

However, speaker Jonathan Lawack ruled that the matter be debated after the council agenda was concluded, angering the ANC, EFF, UDM, AIC and United Front councillors, who stormed out of the Woolboard Exchange building.

They walked over to the City Hall, where ANC councillor Andile Lungisa said they would petition for a special council meeting to push for the strikers’ demands.

“We will force the employer to come to our terms,” he said to the cheers of the workers.

UDM councillor Mongameli Bobani said he had left the meeting because the strike had not been discussed first.

“Our townships are burning. Services have actually collapsed. It is like we are in the midst of a flood,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the mayor and some of the DA councillors live in affluent areas and are not bothered with the plight of the poor.”

Trollip said the municipality could not afford the union’s demands. “The unions are demanding R30 000 across the board per member – that is simply not affordable,” he said. “We don’t have that kind of money, we can’t pay it. “It would be irregular and irresponsible.” He said officials had put an offer on the table that they believed the metro could afford. “We will continue to deliberate with the two trade unions until we find each other on an amicable resolution that is affordable to council. This council does not have limitless money – you have seen how difficult it is to pass our budget, and how difficult it is to deal with the impact of the drought. These are difficult negotiations and we will continue to negotiate with the representative of the workers with or without a council meeting.”

Meanwhile, protests flared in Motherwell and New Brighton over power outages that have occurred since Friday. Four municipal vehicles were damaged at a municipal depot in Motherwell.

Police spokesman Captain Andre Beetge said about 100 residents had barricaded the R335, or the Addo Road, as it is often called. “The motive is the electricity problems since last Friday. At about 9.30am, four municipal vehicles, including a truck, a VW Caddy and two bakkies, were damaged at the municipal depot,” Beetge said.

In New Brighton, residents blocked Sheya Kulati and Ferguson streets.

Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said the electricity outage was related to the industrial action by the municipal workers. “We are trying our best to provide services to the community,” he said. “But we have a backlog and a number of services can’t be offered.” Baron added that contingency plans were in place to collect refuse in some areas.

On Thursday, refuse will be collected in Sherwood, Ben Kamma, Kragga Kamma, Weybridge Park, Lorraine, Woodlands, Kamma Park, Kamma Heights, Framesby, Sunridge Park, Framesby Gardens, Framesby Extension, Vergelegen, Fernglen, Cotsworld Extension, Beverley Gardens and Beverley Grove. Workers relax in a rubbish-strewn city centre, waiting for news on the ongoing municipal strike is affordable to council.

“This council does not have limitless money – you have seen how difficult it is to pass our budget, and how difficult it is to deal with the impact of the drought.

“These are difficult negotiations and we will continue to negotiate with the representative of the workers with or without a council meeting.”

The original of this report by Siyamtanda Capa, Nomazima Nkosi & Hendrick Mphande appeared at HeraldLive (paywall access)

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Details: Thursday, 21 June 2018 12:13

The Star reports that some officers at the Pretoria Central police station, who filed various internal and criminal complaints against Captain James Henrico, said they were frustrated about having to bump into him at work every day.

Henrico has been accused of racially abusing black police officials, using the k-word and verbally harassing them. They claim they had asked for his suspension, but he was merely moved to another department.

The officers were speaking outside the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court after Henrico appeared briefly. The matter was postponed for the third time to July 20, for presentations.

An officer said they had been trying to fight racism at the police station for years. “There is no way you’d want to wake up in the morning and want to serve the people while being called derogatory names; it is very painful.”

According to Lawyers for Human Rights, complaints lodged against Henrico dated back to 2016 and related to racial abuse.

Attorney and head of the strategic litigation programme Wayne Ncube said: “It’s problematic to have a high-ranking officer who has a criminal case against them not being suspended. The people who laid a complaint have to work with him.

“That is not normal, and we are concerned because it’s irregular as it makes it look like basic protocol was not followed.”

Ncube said he did not understand why Henrico was not on suspension. He rubbished claims by police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters that a criminal case was opened after the departmental process had been concluded.

Another officer said: “I’m appealing to the security cluster portfolio committee to go to the database and see cases relating to police officers who opened cases against others, and check their grievances. They will find a lot of cases for racism, but nothing was done.”

The original of this report by Matlhatsi Dibakwane appeared on page 11 of The Star of 21 June 2018

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Details: Thursday, 21 June 2018 11:36

Business Report writes that SA Express employees would get their June salaries, the Department of Public Enterprises said on Wednesday night.

“SA Express employees were informed (on Wednesday) that they don’t need to worry about their salaries not being paid for June 2018,” the Department said in a statement.

An intervention team from the Department had been working with SA Express to address its liquidity and operational problems prior to the airline’s operating licenses being withdrawn by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa).

“The Minister has been engaging various financial institutions for finance arrangements to alleviate SA Express immediate liquidity constraints,” the Department said.

The state-owned carrier faces a bleak future amid liquidity and operational problems.

Sacaa) last month suspended the carrier’s operating permits, citing serious safety concerns. At the time, Sacca said SA Express’s safety management system was deficient.

Fedusa, whose members include the airline’s pilots, this week said the carrier was scrambling to pay this month’s salaries and called for Gordhan to provide emergency funding for this.

SA Express yesterday said since the temporary suspension of its air operators certificate (AOC) and the certification for an approved maintenance organisation (AMO), it had been unable to fly passengers and therefore could not generate revenue.

“The airline can confirm continuous engagements between labour and employees, where management sensitised the concerned parties to the challenges facing the airline as well as the potential risks pertaining to the payment of salaries for the month of June,” SA Express said in a statement.

“Both labour and employees were reassured that SA Express’s management and its board of directors are tirelessly exploring various alternatives to ensure the payment of staff salaries on June 25,” it added.

Gordhan said the suspension of SA Express’s permits was a “classic example” of the impact of corruption of the country’s national assets. “The grounding of the airline comes as a result of consistent deterioration of the airline’s performance over the years that compromised the safety operation of the airline.

“This impact is informed by actions of the previous executive management that resulted in looting of resources without being held accountable during their tenure in the airline,” Gordhan said at the time.

Last month, he announced government’s intention to merge SA Airways, SA Express and Mango.

“Bringing the airlines together and rationalising their routes are important. Rationalising the kind of aircraft needed at a particular time and day – that’s the experience we’re beginning to learn from airlines around the world,” he said.

The original of this report by Siseko Njobeni appeared on page 20 of Business Report of 21 June 2018

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Details: Thursday, 21 June 2018 11:10

Afro Voice reports that the Mpumalanga provincial department of health has promised to strengthen its security measures at hospitals and clinics in the entire province after a nurse was stabbed in the neck by a patient who is suspected to be mentally disturbed.

The latest incident happened at a clinic in Glenmore near Carolina on Monday where a nurse was apparently providing treatment to a patient who then produced a sharp object and stabbed her.

Health MEC, Gillion Mashego’s spokesperson Dumisani Malamule said they were shocked by the attack on their medical personnel and said such behaviour would not be tolerated as it put the lives of staff at risk and hindered the provision of viable healthcare to the community. Malamule said the nurse was taken to the nearby Embhuleni Hospital where she was treated and discharged.

He said the initial investigation revealed the patient was well known to the clinic personnel as a regular and the exact circumstances which caused him to turn on the nurse remained unclear.

Almost a month ago, a doctor was also attacked and killed at Tinstwalo Hospital in Acornhoek near Bushbuckridge.

A few years ago, another young medical doctor who was originally from KwaZulu-Natal, was also stabbed to death by a patient at Middelburg Hospital.

“We are indeed concerned about the attacks on our staff members at clinics and hospitals and this puts their lives at stake. The mentally-ill patient had regularly been taking treatment from the same clinic. The incident happened after armed guards were placed at our institutions and we are planning to intensify security as this is a matter of serious concern,” Malamule said. He said the suspect had been arrested. The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa’s (Denosa’s) provincial secretary, Mzwandile Shongwe, said the incident was disturbing because Denosa had always said security guards must do their work and now it had been proven their members were unsafe.

“As Denosa, we call on the provincial government to allow the department of health to manage the safety of facilities.

“We call on the department of health to stop outsourcing security as most of these are always found wanting and not well resourced, let alone efficient.”

The original of this report by France Nyaka appeared on page 16 of Afro Voice of 21 June 2018

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Details: Wednesday, 20 June 2018 12:14

Afro Voice reports that the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) has warned violence in schools was a ticking time bomb.

General secretary Henry Hendericks said the spike in the incidents of violence against both pupils and teachers was of serious concern.

Hendericks said Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga should address the pressing issue.

Provinces such as Gauteng, Limpopo, KZN, Northern Cape, Free State and North West have witnessed violence in schools.

“Naptosa calls on the MECs of education in those provinces where these incidents have occurred to act decisively against the perpetrators.”

The union said it had noted some MECs tend not to act with the same amount of fervour when teachers are on the receiving end of violence by pupils as they do when teachers are violent with pupils. It is time that the employer values and protect their employees and pupils.

Northern Cape education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merwe said the department condemned any acts of misbehaviour in schools.

“Many pupils in our communities are exposed to unwanted interferences which pose a negative impact on their education,” he said.

The original of this report by Tiisetso Manoko appeared on page 5 of Afro Voice of 20 June 2018

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Details: Wednesday, 20 June 2018 11:19

HeraldLive reports that striking municipal workers torched dustbins, littered streets in the city centre with rubbish and barred those who were at work from leaving the municipal buildings in Port Elizabeth yesterday as the protest entered its sixth day.

Union leaders stepped in as some workers stuffed papers under a vehicle belonging to the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and tried to set it alight. A worker then decided to deflate the wheels of the vehicle instead.

The police had their hands full trying to prevent any further destruction to property, but the frustration of the workers was palpable.

Shops in the city closed as the workers walked from the Lillian Diedericks Building to City Hall. Street vendors quickly packed their produce away as the passing workers helped themselves to the fruit. Non-striking workers’ vehicles were stoned and a Herald reporter was robbed of her cellphone.

Police spokeswoman Priscilla Naidu said public order police and Humewood police had been sent there only to monitor the situation. No arrests had been made.

Members of Samwu and Imatu are striking over backpay for long-service bonuses, demanding that 2,689 municipal workers each be paid a R30,000 settlement. The demand stems from money owed to them after the former Uitenhage, Despatch and Port Elizabeth municipalities merged to form Nelson Mandela Bay in 2000.

In Samwu’s list of grievances to management, the workers allege that staff in the infrastructure and engineering department are sidelined on training. It also complained that the municipality was wasting taxpayers’ money on highly paid legal practitioners when it had its own legal department.

Leaders of both unions say they have not been involved in any talks with the municipality’s political and administrative bosses since the strike started. They plan to protest outside the council chambers today because the council is set to meet from 1pm. The leaders say they hope the council will decide to give workers what they want and ultimately put an end to the strike.

Addressing the striking workers, Samwu regional chairwoman Nomvula Hadi said its members would continue with the strike until the municipality responded positively to its demands. “What we were lobbying for is that our matter be part of the agenda and that it becomes top of the agenda,” she said. “Immediately after our meeting with the ANC chief whip, they agreed that it must be added to the agenda.” Hadi urged the workers to conduct their strike in a peaceful manner and to allow councillors to enter the chamber. “In all that we do, we will picket and allow the councillors to [go] inside so they can help us. We have agreed [with the ANC chief whip] that council must tell [city manager Johann] Mettler to leave the council meeting to speak to striking unions and resolve the matter,” she said.

Both the ANC and EFF have come out in support of the striking workers. Services have been in disarray since the strike started on Thursday.

Refuse has not been collected in all areas around the Bay while customer care centres have been closed.

The traffic and licensing centres in Korsten and Uitenhage are also not operational.

Early yesterday, the workers started picketing at their designated picket area in front of the Lillian Diedericks Building in Govan Mbeki Avenue and then made their way to City Hall, leaving a trail of burning rubbish bins and rubble behind them. Two IPTS bus stops were also unhinged and thrown into the road.

Imatu and Samwu distanced themselves from the destruction and violent incidents.

Meanwhile, the municipality urged residents to keep their refuse bags inside their yards or to drop them off at the various drop-off centres or landfill sites.

The Mfanasekhaya Gqoboshe Customer Care Centre (former Eric Tindale Building), Uitenhage, Walmer, Despatch and KwaNobuhle customer care centres are still closed. Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said: “Our customer care centres that are operational are Korsten, Cleary Park, KwaMagxaki, Motherwell Thusong Centre and the New Brighton Customer Care Centre. “Even though these centres are open, we caution residents to use their own discretion when approaching them as our Joint Operations Centre received reports of intimidation at some of our municipal buildings,” Baron said.

Residents whose electricity meters have been blocked can contact the budget and treasury customer care centre department on (041) 506-5555.

The original of this report by Naziziphiwo Buso appeared at HeraldLive

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Details: Wednesday, 20 June 2018 10:48

Afro Voice reports that the mining charter and escalating fatalities will come under focus during the three-day NUM congress starting today in Boksburg.

More than 800 delegates are expected to engage on the mining sector’s pressing issues. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to address the congress tomorrow. Media officer Luphert Chilwane said it was all systems go for the congress and that today the president of the union, Piet Matosa, and general-secretary David Sipunzi are going to unpack their reports.

Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the confederation took note of the fact that the sector is faced with many challenges such as fatalities and job losses. He called on the congress to robustly discuss how jobs could be saved in the ailing industry. “The number of mine accidents and fatalities have been steadily going up in the last couple of years and we still have situations like Lily Mine, where the remains of the workers are yet to be found,” he said.

Pamla said there was a need for the congress to come up with tangible solutions how to tackle the challenges.

“Coming out of this congress, we expect to work with a united NUM to intensify our living wage campaign through intensifying our struggle to combat unfairness in the workplace.”

He said they expect NUM to come up with plans to stop the recently signed Independent Power Producers (IPP) programme. The recent draft of the mining charter is expected to top the agenda as the union has called for the workers to benefit from mining activities as shareholders.

Popcru spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the congress needed to deal with “greedy” mining bosses.

He said the development of workers was lacking with a lack of focus on the workers’ health and safety. He said the mining industry was still the most critical sector in the country, which needed cooperation from all stakeholders.

Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe and Energy Minister Jeff Radebe are also expected to address the delegates.

Sipunzi said they were going to take stock and reflect on the progress they had made since the previous congress.

The original of this report by Tiisetso Manoko appeared on page 5 of Afro Voice of 20 June 2018

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Details: Wednesday, 20 June 2018 10:25

Sowetan reports that the country’s largest mining trade union goes into its national congress divided today over who should lead it.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will start its national elective congress in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, on Wednesday with the infighting threatening to rip the union apart.

Relations between NUM president Piet Matosa and NUM general secretary David Sipunzi have deteriorated so much that they are apparently not on speaking terms.

At the centre of the disagreements between the pair was their preferred leadership slates for the congress.

Sipunzi, who wants to retain his position, will square up against Carletonville regional secretary Mbuyiseni Hibana. Sipunzi supports Joseph Montisetsi to be president of the union, while Matosa supports Hibana to be replace Sipunzi.

Sowetan spoke to NUM leaders and officials who confirmed tensions between Sipunzi and Matosa.

Matosa has threatened to expose members who used money to influence the leadership outcome of the congress. He’s being challenged by NUM deputy president Montisetsi.

Matosa told Sowetan on Tuesday that the use of money in NUM’s leadership campaigns was the highest order of ill-discipline. “This type of campaign is not sustainable. There should be no money that is in circulation at the congress of NUM. “We are going to expose these people. “We have exposed them before,” Matosa said.

He said the danger of having a leadership sponsored through money was that the union would end up with a leadership which was not capable to lead.

“It is foreign in the NUM to have individuals giving union members money in dark corners.”

Matosa confirmed that he was standing for re-election. “I have been approached by the regions. I have signed the acceptance [of] nomination.”

A source close to the elections said out of 11 NUM regions, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Matlosana, Carletonville and Rustenburg – the biggest NUM region in terms of numbers – have nominated Matosa.

Montisetsi has the support of four regions – PWV, North East, Free State and Highveld.

The original of this report by Ngwako Modjadji appeared on page 4 of Sowetan of 20 June 2018

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Page 5 of 12

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