Today's Labour News

Details

Monday, 31 October 2016 10:49

Sowetan reports that drunken driving and speeding are suspected in the fatal crash involving a rubbish truck in which two municipal employees died and four others were injured when the vehicle overturned on Saturday.

The four sustained injuries when the back part of the heavy­duty vehicle fell on them.  The crash happened around 3pm on Soutpansberg Road in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni.  The road had to be closed for three hours.

Two people died and two others were found trapped under the truck.  One of them had his leg severed by the truck's heavy steel bin after paramedics could not move him, said ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak on Sunday.  "A large towing vehicle was called to the scene to partially lift the truck to free him. Once freed paramedics found that he had sustained severe traumatic injuries.  "He was placed on life support and airlifted to hospital.  Rescue workers struggled for an hour to free him," Vermaak said confirming that two people died.  Two more were found near the truck with moderate injuries and were taken to Tembisa Hospital.

Ekurhuleni metro police spokesman Wilfred Kgasago said the driver lost control of the vehicle.  He said the cause of the accident was being investigated.

However, witnesses said alcohol and speeding could have been the cause of the accident.  Maria Jones, who lives at Oppimeer complex near the crash site, said they saw lots of beer bottles at the scene.  "They were not carrying a big load of rubbish because those beer bottles looked like they had just been used.  It was a horrific scene.  One of them lay flat and dead under that truck.  I was very upset," Jones said.

Elizabeth Moore said:  "It was so terrible.  I've never seen anything like that before.  Had those guys not been drinking and adhered to the rules of the road, this wouldn't have happened.  I feel sorry for their families."

Another resident, Emilly Tshabalala, said that stretch of road was known for accidents and reckless driving despite having a 60km/h speed limit.

Sergeant Barbara Ferreira, sector manager attached to Norkempark police station, said they did not suspect drinking and driving but speeding.  "Judging by the impact, we think the accident could have been caused by speeding.  Our guys are investigating," Ferreira said.

This report by Lindile Sifile is on page 2 of Sowetan of 31 October 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Friday, 28 October 2016 11:43

Business Report writes that the retail motor industry has accused the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) of undermining the centralised bargaining process for a new three-year agreement for the industry by engaging in "back door" negotiations with individual employers.

Jakkie Olivier, chief executive of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), which represents 19,000 businesses that collectively employ 300,000 people, claimed Numsa was negotiating at a centralised bargaining level, while at the same time trying to engage with employers at plant level, which could not be allowed.

Olivier said the RMI had conveyed the message to Numsa to stop this two-tier bargaining and let the RMI know in which forum the union wanted to negotiate.

"These back door negotiations are not helping anyone and undermining the centralised bargaining process.  It is delaying and frustrating the process and results in unnecessary delays so workers can't get their increases," he said.

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim countered by stressing the RMI did not represent Numsa members and could not tell the union whom it could speak to.  "We do what is in the interests of workers," he said.

Jim declined to comment on the reaction Numsa received from its interaction with individual companies.  "It's at a very sensitive stage of the process and anything can happen, even a strike," he said.  Jim confirmed Numsa had not given the RMI any notice of strike action and was still consulting its members and meeting employers.

A certificate of non-resolution of a dispute was issued to Numsa earlier this month during a negotiation session with the RMI, which allows the union to give the industry 48 hours’ notice of a strike by its members.  The certificate of non-resolution was issued to Numsa following several dispute meetings with the RMI.

Numsa had declared a dispute and a deadlock in its negotiations with the RMI at the motor industry bargaining council in July.

Numsa's final demand is a wage increase of 9% in the first year of a three-year agreement, with wage hikes of 8% in each of the following two years.  The RMI has offered a wage increase of 7% in each year of the agreement.

The automotive component manufacturing sector has offered a wage increase of 8.5% in the first year, 7.5% in the second and 7% in the third year.

Olivier said no progress had been made in resolving the dispute during a negotiation session with Numsa on Monday.  He said a fixed date had not been set on when the parties would meet again.  "But we have got to meet again if we are to resolve the dispute.  The process started in April," he said.

The previous three-year agreement between the RMI and Numsa expired at the end of August.  Any new agreement reached between the parties cannot be backdated.

The Automotive Manufacturers Employers' Organisation (Ameo) and Numsa last month agreed on a 10% wage increase in the first year of a three-year agreement, with an 8% wage hike in each of the following two years.

The settlement between the SA Tyre Manufacturing Organisation and Numsa was for an 8.5% wage increase in the first year and wage hikes of 8% in each of the following two years.

The original of this report by Roy Cokayne is on page 20 of Business Report of 28 October 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Tuesday, 25 October 2016 12:21

The Citizen reports that outsourcing has fallen at the University of South Africa (Unisa) after 10 months of deliberations.  Unisa's Multi-stakeholder Task Team (MSTT) has announced that the university would appoint 910 new members of staff in previously outsourced areas, including cleaning, security, gardening and waste-removal.  The MSTT was established by a resolution of the Unisa Council at a special meeting in December, with a mandate to insource identified services in response to the nationwide call, largely by students, for academic institutions to end outsourcing.  

Sakhi Simelane, chair of the Unisa Council, said the agreement bore testimony to the "commitment, unwavering determination and resolution of all parties involved" to find amicable solutions to difficult problems.  Simelane added that this was done through courageous and open-minded discussion, as well as facing-up to the deep-seated systemic challenges confronting Unisa.

Following discussion on the submission by the MSTT, the executive committee of the Unisa Council resolved the following:

• To approve the insourcing of services from 1 December.  This would affect the security, cleaning, waste removal, recycling, gardening and estate services at Unisa centres;
• The stakeholders agreed insourcing would be capped at the current outsourced contract value of R112 million and be based on a shared model that applied a 70/30 principle, with 70% allocated to salaries and 30% to operational costs, administered by reputable service providers;
• The stakeholders agreed 910 of the 1,413 affected employees would benefit from insourcing, based on a fair selection process that took into account South African citizenship, a matric qualification, Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority verification for security personnel, and at least a year's service at Unisa, as well as no criminal record;
• All affected contracts for insourced employment be terminated and be completed as soon as possible, and that the procurement of new service providers for the shared-services model commence immediately;
• The same benefits that had been extended to the cleaning staff also be given to new insourced workers;
• The stakeholders agreed that an ex gratia salary payment of R3,500 for three months (totalling R10,500) be made to all members of staff who were not selected for insourced employment; and
• The Exco of Council approved and directed that a minimum wage for vulnerable workers in the sectors not yet identified be determined and, when implemented, be backdated to 1 March.

Based on a report by Virginia Keppler on page 8 of The Citizen of 25 October 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Monday, 24 October 2016 14:27

Sunday Independent reports that National Treasury's decision to withdraw R64 million allocated for additional inspectors as requested by the Department of Labour has angered unions.  Cosatu and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) told Independent Media last week the decision would not bode well for improving labour relations and could be detrimental for workers.  The Treasury had allocated the funds to the department to employ an additional 124 inspectors for the 206/17 financial year.  

The about-turn was revealed in the department's annual 2016 report presented recently to Parliament.  The department said the Treasury's decision may mean it won't reach its target of increasing its inspector capacity by 30 percent for the 2014/15 to 2019/20 financial years, as stated in the department's medium term strategic framework.  The cost-cutting is part of the Treasury's efforts to tighten the government's purse strings and also prevent unnecessary expenditure.

Fawu deputy president Raymond Mnguni said he was concerned about those workers who desperately needed inspectors to ensure they are not abused, especially farm workers.  "Workers are injured every day on farms and they have given up on the government doing something to assist them.  That's an area that's going explode one day," he warned.

Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla stressed that many of the inspectors were poorly trained.  "The department just offers lip service with every year, releasing sectoral determination pay increases, but they don't make sure that there is compliance," he said.

Cosatu has presented numerous submissions to Parliament and the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on the need for additional inspectors.  "There are thousands of labour brokers that are violating workers' rights," said Pamla.

Cosatu researcher Neil Coleman said he was concerned the government's cost-cutting measures would affect crucial services.  "Without those extra inspectors, all the efforts of implementing legislation and the national minimum wage can never be addressed," said Coleman.  Enforcement is compromised by lack of proper inspection."

The national minimum wage is expected to be implemented by the end of the year, and both Fawu and Cosatu expressed concern about the department's ability to oversee compliance.

However, the department's Sithembele Tshwete said there were plans to allocate inspectors specifically to oversee the minimum wage implementation in the 2017/18 financial year and that the department would continue to request funds for more inspectors.

Report by Zintle Mahlati on page 8 of Sunday Independent of 23 October 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Monday, 24 October 2016 12:58

The New Age reports that according to the labour constituency at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), things are edging closer towards the realisation of a national minimum wage (NMW).  Nedlac’s Committee of Principals (COP), representing government, business, labour and the community, met at the weekend to iron out their differences regarding the NMW.  It emerged that the advisory panel tasked with determining an appropriate level at which to set the NMW would give a report on its work within the next two weeks.  

Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) general secretary Dennis George indicated:  "We'll hear a progress report within two weeks on the motivation and argument for the wage.  The matter is quite important."  He said that agreeing to a level at which the wage must be set would not be an easy undertaking.  "The work is complex, if you set the wage too high, business must have a problem of affordability and they might not be able to pass the cost on to the consumer."  

Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said earlier that the labour federation would express its exasperation at the COP meeting over the snail's pace the government had taken to introduce the wage.  "We’re are now well over a year beyond the July 2015 deadline set by the 2014 Ekurhuleni Summit for the finalisation of this matter," Pamla stated.  He said that the labour federation feared that the advisory panel’s delay in completing its work, would render the finalisation of the NMW a pipe dream.

The original of this report by Bonolo Selebano is on page 4 of The New Age of 24 October 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Friday, 14 October 2016 13:45

The New Age writes that tensions between organised labour and Sibanye Gold management are on a knife edge at the gold producer’s Cooke operations in Westonaria.  

National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) deputy president Joseph Montisetse told The New Age that the union would be taking legal action against Sibanye.  

He accused the company of providing “lax security” during an illegal gathering that led to the death of NUM member Ranthimo Nkosi.  

“It is clear that the company will not put a stop to the bloodshed.  We will sue them, we want the company to pay for the member who died and others who were assaulted,” Montisetse said.  

He accused the company of transporting members associated with Amcu to the company’s Cooke 2 shaft for an illegal gathering.  NUM claims the dead man was killed by Amcu members.  

“We have instructed the company to give us footage of the incident.  We want clear information about the people who assaulted and killed our member.  If Amcu members were involved, we’ll take action.”

Montisetse’s comments come against the background of a mass meeting at Sibanye Gold’s Cooke 3 mine on Wednesday.

The union met to chart a way forward after various attacks on its members across Sibanye’s Cooke operations.  The attacks have now renewed hostilities between the NUM and its long-standing rival Amcu.

“If the company allows illegal gatherings, our members must gather together and defend themselves.  If they provoke us, we’ll gather illegally,” Montisetse said.

Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted rejected the NUM allegations that the company created an environment for the union’s members to be susceptible to attacks at the company’s operations.

While he confirmed that there was an illegal gathering at the Cooke 2 mine by “Amcu supporters”, he rejected the NUM allegations that the company was complicit in the acts.

“Why would we assist in protest action that affects our company operations?  It’s not sensible.  We did have our security there and we called the police to assist,” Wellsted said.

He said that the company was investigating the matter and would take appropriate action to bring those responsible to book.

“We’re busy investigating and if we are able to identify the perpetrators, we’ll take appropriate action and it could include murder charges.”

Wellsted, making reference to the protection of workers at the company’s various hostels, said that the company was overwhelmed by providing security for workers.

“A lot of the assaults happened at a long distance from work areas from 12am to 3am so our ability to ensure safety is difficult under those circumstances.”

Wellsted said that Sibanye would take disciplinary action against workers who participated in the illegal gathering.

Amcu spokesperson Manzini Zungu said recently in response to the NUM’s allegations that Amcu members were responsible for meting out violence against NUM members:  “It doesn’t matter who did the crime, the law should take its course.”

Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Wednesday that he would convene a high-level meeting with industry stakeholders to tackle labour instability over health and safety issues, among others.

This report by Bonolo Selebano is on page 4 of The New Age of 14 October 2016

Details

Monday, 03 October 2016 15:14

Sunday Independent writes that it has become abundantly clear that Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is not a man who can be taken at his word.  The monetary windfall he promised the disaster victims at Lily Mine on 5 February has now become the responsibility of the mine, as the minister will clearly not make good on it.  

In the heat of the moment, Zwane promised the families of the three trapped mineworkers – Solomon Nyirenda, Yvonne Mnisi and Pretty Nkambule – R200,000 each, while the 75 rescued mineworkers were told they stood to make R50,000.  But not a cent has been paid so far as the minister seems to have dumped the hot potato in the lap of Lily Mine.  

Having applied for business rescue, Lily does not have that kind of money.  But said Rob Devereux, of business rescue firm Sturns, they will, as a sign of goodwill, honour the promise.  This can only happen after Lily receives the R200 million it seeks to restart operations at the mine.  “As part of the business rescue process, we will honour the payments.”  But top of the list after getting the money is to drill a new decline shaft to Level 4, which would lead to reopening the mine.  

Saying that Lily had not budgeted for the payouts, Devereux indicated that the money for them amounted to R4.3 million.  The money had now been built into the R200 million sought to reopen the mine.  He said the three families of the miners trapped underground continued to receive their salaries of R16,000 a month.  They also get food parcels from Social Development.  Yet the payments to be made to the affected mineworkers “are not to be misconstrued as an admission of guilt on the part of the company.”  Devereux warned that if this was not explained, it could set a precedent for future disasters.  “Every trapped miner in South Africa would demand this.”  But how far is Sturns from getting the money?  “I’m pretty close,” said Devereux.  

Playing his cards close to his chest regarding the prospective rescuer, Devereux said every stakeholder, including the unions, had been appraised of developments.  The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the majority union at 80%, was followed by trade union Solidarity.  The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which had been at pains to organise a march to Lily Mine, was not a recognised union.

Read this report by Don Makatile in full on page 6 of Sunday Independent of 2 October 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Friday, 30 September 2016 11:36

Sowetan reports that a facility in Limpopo that provides treatment for extreme cases of drug resistant Tuberculosis (TB) has been temporarily shut down after the provincial health department suspended over 30 nurses working there.  On Wednesday patients were transported away from the Modimolle MDR TB Unit.  The specialised unit, which has not been gazetted as a hospital, is the only facility of its kind in the province.  Nurses were apparently served with suspension letters after they refused to work while wearing protective masks they viewed as sub-standard.  Patients at the facility are usually kept in secluded wards with a strict requirement for medical staff and visitors to wear protective masks to avoid infections.  

Thobile Ntola of the South African Public Service Union (SAPSU) said it was unfair for the provincial department to expect staff to work without proper protective gear.  On Wednesday he was helping to secure legal representation for affected workers.  The nurses had complained that the masks had failed an infection-proof test on numerous occasions.  An occupational health and safety report leaked to the Sowetan reflects that tests were conducted on masks and only four passed.  

Derrick Kganyago, spokesperson at provincial health department, denied that there was a problem with the masks, saying that the tender had been approved nationally.  Kganyago said the department was forced to temporarily close down the facility due to a number of problems, including the fact that staff members were instigating illegal strikes and refusing to perform their duties as expected.  e said the department had made preparations for patients to be accommodated at other hospitals while the situation was being resolved.  One of the suspension letters seen by Sowetan states that the nurses have been placed on precautionary suspension for “instigating an unlawful, wild cat strike at the MDR TB Unit”.  The letter states that the nurses will be placed on paid suspension for 60 days while investigations continue, adding that nurses will be barred from entering the premises without permission from the department.  “You are further prohibited from making any form of contact with any fellow staff member or the media to discuss this matter without the permission of the Head of Department,” the letter states.  Nurses were also instructed to vacate the premises with immediate effect.  

One nurse said the suspension came as a surprise because they never went on strike, but had only refused to use deficient masks.  Another nurse said: “We don’t understand why we are being suspended because those masks have a lot of defects.  This situation is distressing.”  

Information from the SA National Association for Tuberculosis reflects that the disease remains the leading cause of death in country.

Read this report by Zoë Mahopo in full on page 10 of Sowetan of 29 September 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Wednesday, 28 September 2016 16:05

The New Age reports that scores of teachers from across Mpumalanga who are affiliated to the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) will be temporarily downing tools and taking to the streets of Mbombela on Thursday.  They will be picketing at the headquarters of the provincial department of education to hand over a memorandum of grievances to education MEC Reginah Mhaule.  Build-up activities for the march have been held at various education districts and circuit offices since last week.  In their memo, the union accuses the department of abolishing vacant teaching posts and planning to retrench about 1,400 teachers.  

Sadtu provincial secretary Walter Hlaise said the union was worried because the number of pupils admitted to schools every year was increasing but the department still prioritised firing teachers instead of increasing the number of teachers as per the growing number of pupils.  Hlaise said the department “notified stakeholders that it was intending to cut the number of teaching posts in the province from the current 32,637 to 31,206 thereby butchering more than 1,400 needed teaching posts.  This diabolic and vicious declaration happens in the face of increasing pupil enrolment figures and demand for more teaching posts to be created.  Scores of temporary teachers are going to be jobless in January 2017.”  

Provincial education spokesperson Gerald Sambo said they were aware of the march by the teachers to hand over their memorandum of grievances.  He stated:  “We cannot deny the union an opportunity to voice concerns since it has the right to do so.  However, we are worried about pupils who are supposed to be receiving lessons from those union members.  We will study the contents of the petition and then take it from there to avoid the disturbance of teaching and learning when the schools reopen in the last quarter.”

Read this report by France Nyaka in full on page 23 of The New Age of 28 September 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Monday, 26 September 2016 09:56

City Press reports that fathers are moving closer to getting 10 days’ paid leave to bond with their newborn babies or adopted children.  This will be a marked improvement on the three days of family responsibility leave they are currently allowed.  In SA, no statutory provision for paternity or adoption leave is made.  There was all-round support for the draft Labour Laws Amendment Bill in Parliament last week during public hearings on the proposed parental leave.  The bill was tabled by African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) MP Cheryl Dudley in 2015 as a private member’s bill.  It proposes that “an employee, who is a parent of a child, be entitled to at least 10 consecutive days’ parental leave from the day the child is born.”  The bill also proposes parental leave for employees who have adopted children, effective from the day that the adoption order is granted.  The bill proposes that an adoptive parent of a child below the age of two be entitled to adoption leave of at least 10 consecutive days.  Being a bill proposed by an opposition MP, the progress of the bill in Parliament so far is itself noteworthy.  Dudley proposed parental leave instead of “paternity” leave because she wanted to ensure that it did not discriminate and that the leave issue was not side-tracked because of LGBTIQ issues.  The ACDP has suggested that the Unemployment Insurance Act be amended to cater for the new parental benefits.  Trade union federation Cosatu’s parliamentary officer Matthew Parks described the bill as progressive, critical and long overdue in Parliament.  Cosatu also called for the 10 days’ paid parental leave to be separate from the three days’ family responsibility leave.

• Read this report by Andisiwe Makinana in full on page 4 of City Press of 25 September 2016

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page

Details

Tuesday, 03 May 2011 15:09

This post confirms Michael Spowart's ownership of the site and that this site adheres to Google AdSense program policies and Terms and Conditions: ca-pub-7483143520562507

Details

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 10:42