In our Wednesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Job cuts at ArcelorMittal SA may hit 3,500 workers as dysfunction at Transnet rail freight bites BL Premium reports that the inefficiencies at Transnet have increased costs exponentially for the steel industry and have brought the sector to its knees, according to ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa), which is on the verge of shedding 3,500 jobs. Amsa relies heavily on rail monopoly Transnet to transport 91% of the iron ore and 100% of the coking coal consumed at its Newcastle and Vanderbijlpark plants. CEO Kobus Verster pointed out that between 2019 and 2022, the company’s use of road transport to bring raw materials to its plants grew 210%, while production fell 20%. “The situation has worsened in the current financial year. The impact of this is that we have to use road transport, which comes at a premium. And internally, we have to incur additional costs because our plants are designed with equipment to tip into conveyor systems to take to the ovens,” Verster indicated. He went on to say: “In October we had to stop a blast furnace in Newcastle for five weeks because we ran out of iron ore because Transnet could not deliver it. And to stop a blast furnace comes at an enormous cost.” The net result of Transnet’s underperformance was that Amsa had to idle its blast furnaces for 33 days at Vanderbijlpark, the first time that had happened for unplanned reasons. Amsa said on Tuesday that it would embark on a retrenchment process and the number of jobs affected would depend on the alternatives identified through the consultation process. “However, at this time it is estimated that approximately 3,500 people (own and contract employees) may be affected. The company will continue to engage directly with government throughout this process,” Amsa said in a statement. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Thousands of jobs at risk as ArcelorMittal shuts Newcastle, Vereeniging operations, at Fin24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Activists want government to do more to register domestic workers so that they are eligible for COIDA compensation GroundUp reports that in November 2020, the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) made a landmark ruling that domestic workers should be covered by the provisions of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) and that damages could be claimed for work-related injuries, illnesses and death. Three years later, domestic workers are still struggling to access the compensation and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). “For many years we have been struggling to get employers to register us for UIF and COIDA. Domestic workers are still being mistreated,” said Manyunyu Florence Sosiba of the SA Domestic Service and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU). She was speaking at an event to mark the three-year anniversary of the Mary Mahlangu ConCourt judgment held at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Last week’s dialogue – organised by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of SA (SERI) – aimed to bring together government officials, civil society, domestic workers and employers to find solutions to issues in the domestic work sector. SERI said they were concerned that fewer than 20 claims have been submitted with COIDA since 2020, despite a relatively larger number of cases reported to the organisation and others representing domestic workers. Maggie Mthombeni from Izwi Domestic Workers indicated particular concern with the working conditions of mostly immigrant domestic workers and said they were aware of cases where employers deliberately employed domestic workers who were undocumented to bypass labour laws. The dialogue ended with activists making a call for the government to ensure that employers complied by registering their workers. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kimberly Mutandiro at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Eleven miners killed on Monday in ‘darkest day’ of Implats’ history BL Premium reports that a tragic accident at Impala Platinum’s (Implats’) Rustenburg mine on Monday claimed the lives of 11 workers and injured 75 others. Implats CEO Nico Muller described it as the “darkest day” in the company’s history. Implats said it would investigate what led to the breakage of a winder rope connected to the personnel conveyance — which hoists employees up and down the shaft. The conveyance was bringing staff members to the surface after their shift, when it suddenly fell down the shaft, minutes before 5pm on Monday. Its rapid descent was stopped by the counterweight – a heavy mass that balances the weight of the conveyance and the rope and which prevents a conveyance from falling further down the shaft in a case where a rope snaps. “It is important to reflect that this conveyance system is used worldwide and extensively in SA and they are notoriously safe for many decades. It is important for us to thoroughly investigate, not just for ourselves but to share with the entire industry why this occurred and how a similar incident can be prevented in future,” spokesperson Johan Theron indicated. “This was a very serious, rare and so far unexplained accident. There’s going to be a lot of serious investigation, along with the usual grandstanding, witch-hunts, finger pointing, politicising and similar,” commented mining analyst Peter Major. The accident drew sharp criticism from trade union federation Cosatu, which said it believed negligence was involved in the accident. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by by Nico Gous & Andries Mahlangu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Impala Mine to remain closed after cage with miners plunges, at The Citizen Amcu leader Joseph Mathunjwa accuses Implats of negligence after 11 killed at Rustenburg mine TimesLIVE reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) accused Impala Platinum of negligence after 11 workers died and 75 were injured at its mine in Rustenburg on Monday. Joseph Mathunjwa, president of Amcu, claimed the disaster could have been avoided. He stated: “We have been calling for the amendment of the mine safety act. We want these company bosses to be accountable and be charged with culpable homicide. This accident could have been avoided, these lifts need to be serviced regularly and the safety measures should be checked. For a lift of this magnitude to have all safety measures failing and crashing – who’s going to charge them because the politicians have interests in these mines.” The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has called for an investigation into the incident at Implats. But according to Mathunjwa, owners have no interest in achieving zero harm at mines. “Two weeks ago two workers died at Sibanye, and nothing has happened. These inquiries are becoming a new normal like load-shedding and water-shedding. Our tolerance level is very high – we tolerate all rubbish that happens to us because that’s how we are. In Lily Mine [in Barberton] we still have three workers trapped. They can’t go and retrieve just a container with three people inside. What happened in the Marikana Commission? This will be one of those inquiries where no one will be held accountable,” said Mathunjwa. Investigations into the cause of the incident have commenced,” said Implats CEO Nico Muller. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kgaugelo Masweneng at TimesLIVE. Read too, 'We want answers': Families gather at Rustenburg mine where 11 were killed in accident, at News24 Impala mine deaths bring total mining accident fatalities for 2023 to 52 EWN reports that the deaths of 11 workers at an Impala Platinum (Implats) mine bring the number of fatalities from mining accidents this year to 52, surpassing last year’s total of 49. On Monday, a cage carrying 86 mineworkers suffered a mechanical fault in its conveyance system, resulting in it plunging to the bottom of the shaft. Rescue operations recorded 11 deaths and ten people in critical condition, while the rest sustained minor injuries. This latest mining disaster has once again brought into the spotlight the issue of safety for workers underground. Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said this was a setback in the government’s effort to move towards zero harm in the mining industry and commented further: "The mining industry is a difficult sector, it's a dangerous sector, it's a dirty sector and it’s a diseased sector. When we get into mining, you understand that.” Meanwhile, Joseph Mathunjwa of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which is the only recognised trade union at the Implats mine, said the government did not take seriously the deaths of mineworkers. "Forty-one breadwinners have been killed by these mines. Tell me who has been charged to date? No one, so these inquiries are becoming a new normal, like load shedding," he noted. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Thabiso Goba at EWN
Nxesi defends R15bn employment scheme to create 2-million jobs, but concedes department has failed to meet targets BusinessLive reports that Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi has defended plans by his department to use more than R15bn to create 2-million jobs before March 2024, while conceding his department has failed to meet targets on that front. Nxesi’s admission came in comments to the National Council of Provinces where he was on updating a select committee on the first and second quarter reports for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), the Compensation Fund and Supported Employee Enterprise for the 2023/24 financial year. The Minister’s acknowledgment followed a report that some officials and UIF advisory board members were concerned that the jobs drive would result only in waste. The Labour Activation Programme (LAP) is a departmental programme funded by the UIF aimed at skilling unemployed youth and unemployed UIF beneficiaries to get jobs or establish their own enterprises. Nxesi told the committee: “We are ready to give a full report like we have done to other structures that have requested them, including processes followed in the LAP programme. These billions [of rand] people are talking about, I called the officials who are running LAP ... I said I’ve done a performance assessment with the presidency ... I have not been able to meet my targets in terms of job creation.” During the select committee meeting on Tuesday, Nxesi and DA committee member Sonja Boshoff butted heads over the R15bn job creation plan, which Boshoff said “very concerning”. She wanted to know how the 2-million work opportunities would be created. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Philanthropist and businessperson Collen Mashawana accused of not paying employees for three months City Press reports that philanthropist and businessperson Collen Mashawana is said to be giving his employees the run-around when it comes to paying their salaries. Apparently, it has been three months since some of his employees were last paid. Mashawana is the founder of Afribiz Invest, which has portfolios in property, construction, mining and security. A source revealed that although the workers have not been paid for months, they were afraid to speak out “because he’s powerful and they are afraid he might do something to them.” The source added: “They are not getting paid and they are afraid to confront him. They are not comfortable speaking about this with the media, but they cannot resign either because they are afraid that something might happen to them.” In a WhatsApp voice note, one of Mashawana’s employees claimed that they had not been paid because he said the company did not have money, but he hired two new bodyguards and “he has paid them but the rest of the staff is not paid.” The employee said the Limpopo-born businessperson promised that everyone would be paid by 10 November, but that did not happened. Efforts to get a comment from Mashawana were unsuccessful. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nompumelelo Magagula at City Press (subscriber access only)
Leading candidate for PetroSA CEO job lied, spied, and bullied his way to the top Fin24 reports that the leading candidate to become the CEO of state-owned oil company PetroSA, Nkululeko Poya, has accumulated a string of misconduct findings and charges during his public service career. These relate to spying on staff, bullying and victimisation of whistleblowers, abuse of power, manipulation of tenders and fabricating a fake court order in an attempt to clear his name. PetroSA is a subsidiary of the CEF. Poya is the interim chairperson of PetroSA and a non-executive director of the Central Energy Fund (CEF). He has never worked in the petrochemicals industry but beat eminently more qualified candidates for the job, which comes with an R5 million-a-year salary and a five-year contract. The board of PetroSA and CEF downgraded the requirements for the CEO job and petrochemicals experience is no longer considered necessary. Poya’s name was number one on a list of three put forward for confirmation to Cabinet two weeks ago by Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe. However, due to concerns over his security clearance raised by some Cabinet ministers, the decision on his appointment was deferred to a later meeting. Mantashe indicated on Monday that the Cabinet had requested that Poya be vetted and he was waiting for that process to unfold before bringing the matter back to Cabinet. The story of Poya's rise in PetroSA runs parallel to a series of events in which competent people were pushed out of the company's board and executive management. Mantashe is expected to return to Cabinet for a decision before the end of the year. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
Joburg mayor to petition SCA to challenge high court ruling on “invalid” city manager appointment The Star reports that Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has confirmed that he will be petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in a bid to challenge Monday’s High Court ruling over the invalid and unlawful appointment of city manager Floyd Brink. The mayor, in a statement, accused Acting Judge Steven Budlender of enjoying a close relationship with the DA after he upheld the court’s initial ruling on Brink’s appointment. On Monday, Budlender dismissed the application for leave to appeal in what the city said was “a grave error in judging the legal arguments and facts before the court and inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the legal arguments before court in both the initial matter and subsequently in the application for leave to appeal.” Gwamanda said the city remained of a strongly held view that a higher court might come to a different and independent conclusion on the matter “and as such the city has decided to consider the judgment, and to exercise its legal rights and to petition the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to directly hear and adjudicate the matter.” Brink was appointed in February this year under the administration of former mayor Thapelo Amad, but the DA challenged his appointment in May. The party claimed Brink did not meet the minimum requirements of the job specifications, which mandated 10 years of senior management experience. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Sithole at The Star
Cross-Border Road Transport Agency CEO spends R10m on failed attempt to fire 'delinquent' management rebels City Press reports that a state-owned enterprise has allegedly spent R10 million in a futile exercise to get rid of employee management members perceived as rebels. The Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) CEO, Lwazi Mboyi, has taken five cases that the agency lost in the CCMA for review by the Labour Court, after failing to get the employees dismissed. Insiders allege that, since Mboyi took the reins at C-BRTA in April 2022, he has been targeting certain executives, especially those who have been accused of questioning his qualifications and levelling allegations of corruption against him and board members. They allege that Mboyi has shown no scruples about the expenditure and has allegedly been saying: “I want to deplete their resources and bleed them dry.” City Press has seen three CCMA awards in which the commission has found the dismissal of employees to be procedurally and substantively unfair. The CCMA ordered the payment of R1.5 million, R961,702 and R1.3 million to the individual employees. C-BRTA spokesperson Kago Ramoroka said his management needed more time to respond to questions sent to him on Friday. Ramoroka had, last month, said that the R10 million figure was “grossly exaggerated” and denied that all cases had been lost. He said that only R1.6 million was spent at the CCMA, as only two matters went to the agency. According to insiders, the main issue was that the board did not bring the CEO to account for public fund wastage. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sizwe sama Yende at City Press (subscriber access only)
Gauteng health employee and company owner charged for allegedly siphoning money meant for PPE during Covid The Citizen reports that a Gauteng Health Department (GDoH) employee and a company director charged for allegedly siphoning money meant for personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic have been released on bail of R10,000 each. Dr Obakeng Stephen Mookeletsi and Jabu Mahlangu, the sole director of Triakon Engineering, appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday facing charges of fraud, theft, and money laundering. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probed the matter following a proclamation by President Cyril Ramaphosa authorising the unit to look into allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of the GDoH. The case relates to an amount of R621,000 that was paid by the GDoH to Mahlangu’s company account. The National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane indicated that both Mookeletsi and Jabu Mahlangu would be back in court on 6 February 2024 as the case was postponed for further investigation. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen Former Sedibeng Water CEO, former CFO, and a company director in court for fraud, money laundering IOL News reports that two former executives of Sedibeng Water and a company director appeared in the Bothaville Magistrate’s Court in the Free State on Monday on multiple charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). The former CEO of Sedibeng Water, Rumbuluwani Takalani, the former CFO Mpinane Shasha, and the director of Global Water Treatment Solution, Jappi Madigage, were arrested on 27 November. Takalani and Shasha were each granted bail of R60,000, while Madigage was granted bail of R10,000. The matter was postponed until 9 February. During 2019, a case was registered at the Bothaville police station after a member of the Sedibeng Water Board received an anonymous tip-off about activities of fraud, corruption, irregular appointments of service providers and the demand of a 10% benefit from service providers by some of the officials of Sedibeng Water. One of the service providers was Global Water Treatment Solution, which supplied water purification chemicals to Sedibeng Water on a rotational basis with other service providers. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Global Water was irregularly appointed and awarded the tender. Takalani and the former manager of Shared Services at Sedibeng Water, who is now deceased, allegedly had a corrupt relationship with Madigage and his company. Because of the fraudulent activities, Sedibeng Water was prejudiced and suffered a loss of R129 million. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Robin-Lee Francke at IOL News
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