This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.
In our Tuesday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South African
labour-related reports.
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Single register being set up of fired state officials and those who resigned before investigations IOL News reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government is seeking to overhaul laws governing the public service in a bid to fight corruption and, in one major initiative, a task team has been set up to track all public servants who have been fired or resigned. This information was contained in the report released by Ramaphosa on Monday on the implementation of the Zondo Commission’s recommendations. He wrote: “An inter-departmental task team has successfully developed a single register to track all dismissals and resignations (with disciplinary cases pending) from the national and provincial spheres as well as from a significant number of public entities. There are currently over 12,000 records on the register. The inclusion of local government data into this register is under way. A review of disciplinary codes and tracking of criminal cases against public servants is being implemented.” Political parties have in the past complained about public servants who resigned before they had to face disciplinary action. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has raised concern about officials who leave departments when being investigated for corruption and join other departments or municipalities in different provinces to avoid any action being taken against them. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Mkhwanazi at IOL News
Tshwane metro goes to court to challenge bargaining council ruling that last leg of 2021 wage deal must be honoured BL Premium reports that the City of Tshwane advised on Monday that it was going to the Labour Court to challenge a decision by the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC) that required the metro to abide by a multi-term wage deal which the city claimed was unaffordable. The city applied to the SALGBC to be exempted from implementing the last leg of a three-year pay deal reached in the council in 2021. In September, however, SALGBC dismissed the exemption application and directed Tshwane to comply with the wage deal with “immediate effect”. This despite the city having argued that the increases were unaffordable as the city’s financial position was “exceptionally fragile”. Tshwane employees, inlcuding members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu), had been on strike from 26 July, demanding that the metro implement a 5.4% wage increase, being the last leg of a three-year wage agreement. Tshwane chief of staff Jordan Griffiths advised on Monday that striking employees had been back on duty “for some weeks now”. He added that the wage increases “are not being paid”. “The city is going to the labour court to challenge the decision by the bargaining council,” said Griffiths. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Impala Platinum mine disaster: Death toll climbs to 13 EWN reports that the death toll in respect of the Impala Platinum (Implats) mine disaster in Rustenburg climbed to 13 after another miner died in hospital on Sunday. Implats said of the 50 employees in hospital, eight were in critical care. A week ago, 11 workers at the North West mine died when a cage carrying 86 mineworkers suffered a mechanical fault resulting in it plunging to the bottom of the shaft. Implats said it was working closely with the families of the miners who had lost their lives. The mine's spokesperson, Johan Theron advised that 23 miners have since been discharged from hospital and added: We are seeing more and more patients being discharged from hospital but eight remain in critical care. Our thoughts and prayers remain with everyone in hospital, their families and everyone impacted by this tragic event.” The mine is expected to host a day of remembrance and memorial service for the affected families. The names of the miners who died will only be released at the memorial. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at EWN
Numsa welcomes High Court decision on load shedding The Star reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has welcomed the ruling of the North Gauteng High Court ordering th Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa to take all reasonable steps to ensure that there was sufficient supply of electricity to prevent load shedding in critical sectors of the economy. It comes on the back of a case brought by various groups from the organised labour and civil society sector, as well as a number of political parties, with Numsa one of the applicants. On Friday, the court ruled that load shedding was an infringement of the constitutional rights of South Africans. It ordered that to be rectified within 60 days and ensure that sufficient electricity supply was guaranteed in public health facilities, schools and police stations during power interruptions. On Sunday in a statement, Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola commented: “Numsa has been vindicated for playing a central role in putting up this fight with other working-class formations and political parties. This victory belongs to the working class and the poor of our country.” She pointed out that schools, police stations, clinics and hospitals provided critical services to communities and thus should be exempt from power cuts. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyabonga Sithole at The Star. See too, Numsa welcomes judgment declaring load shedding unconstitutional, at EWN. And also, Trade unions welcome load-shedding judgment, at The Mercury
Call to aid the blind to enter workforce Cape Times writes that it is for commerce and industry to shift their focus from disability to how blind and visually impaired people can bring change to society and make a contribution to the economy. This was according to League of Friends of the Blind (Lofob) as the world observed the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Sunday. The organisation said about 97% of all blind and partially sighted people in SA were unemployed. Lofob’s Shahiemah Edwards said: “It has always been Lofob’s firm belief that blind and visually impaired people should be employed in the open economy. There is really no reason why they could not be considered for employment as Lofob would support the placement of a visually impaired person in the workplace and assist potential employers with identifying jobs in a business that blind people can effectively do. Our country needs to do more to ensure the economic empowerment of people who are blind and visually impaired.” Lofob’s orientation and mobility practitioner, Tsheko Tlou, who also lives with blindness, added: “The employment situation in our country is dire. Many blind and visually impaired people have the qualifications, yet they are not employed. There appears to be a misplaced distrust of competencies and capabilities.” Provincial director of DeafSA and TV presenter Jabaar Mohamed said there needed to be an “ongoing celebration of disability every day, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day”. Meanwhile, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) said it had allocated R164 million to support NPOs that provided therapeutic and support services. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicola Daniels at Cape Times
Outcry as land rights organisation Afra lays off fieldworkers, but management ‘untouched’ The Witness reports that an NGO at the forefront of land rights advocacy since 1979 is set to retrench all three of its fieldworkers at the end of the month due to budget constraints, yet top management has for the most part remained unaffected. The Association for Rural Advancement (Afra) supports marginalised black rural people, with a focus on farm dwellers and securing land rights for labour tenants. With part of its core mandate involving community liaison and education, staff at the NGO are questioning how the organisation will function without any fieldworkers. Earlier this year, the NGO started a series of restructuring discussions resulting in the decision to axe all three fieldworkers and to cut back on office costs such as telephone bills and tea and coffee. But, some staff have cried foul, saying that it was unfair to retrench all the fieldworkers but leave management “untouched”. A staff member commented: “It would make sense if managers were talking about salary cuts because of financial constraints, but that’s not the case. To maintain the status quo, the fieldworkers were sacrificed.” The retrenchment of the three fieldworkers will apparently cut Afra’s salary bill by R40,000 a month, whereas the top three managers earn R170,000 per month amongst them. Afra’s executive director Laurel Oettle said multiple factors led to the restructure, including the reduction in donor funding, the completion and termination of some major projects, and the change in strategic direction. Explaining why it was only the fieldworkers who were being retrenched, she said that Afra’s programmes had had a considerable impact in empowering farm dwellers, many of whom were now actively engaging with municipalities and other stakeholders on their own. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Chris Ndaliso at The Witness
SA Council for Educators warns about bogus agents offering to assist with application processes The Witness reports that the SA Council for Educators (Sace) has warned teachers of ongoing fraud perpetrated by bogus agents claiming to be Sace agents. All teachers in SA re required to apply for registration with Sace by completing the council’s application form and receiving a certificate. Sace said the bogus agents were offering to assist educators with the Sace application processes and charging them an extra fee with a promise of a quick turnaround period. “There is a person calling herself Pretty on Facebook claiming to assist applicants with the Sace registration. This person has created a fake Facebook page in the name of Sace. She has even gone to the extent of issuing applicants with fake Sace registration certificates and letters,” Sace warned. The council cautioned those who used the services of bogus agents to refrain from doing so, as any person caught with a fraudulent Sace certificate or letter would face consequences, including the council taking legal actions against them, blacklisting them removing them from the teaching roll. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at The Citizen Regulations on Gauteng school governing bodies fail test, says Solidarity Maroela Media reports that Solidarity is not just against proposed regulation changes regarding school governing bodies in Gauteng, but is also of the view that they are unlawful. The trade union has directed several urgent questions to Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane in its comments highlighting flaws in respect of the proposed regulatory changes. According to Johnell Prinsloo, education researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), the proposed changes indicate ongoing attempts to deprive communities and parents of their right to vote in schools. “It is not even necessary to read between the lines to see that the regulations strive to promote the centralisation of power in our school management. Many of these changes deviate further from democratic processes and strive to place more power in the hands of government officials,” Prinsloo observed. She went on to state: “Unfortunately, there is little reason to believe that they will show sound judgment or make decisions that have communities’ interests at heart.” The proposed changes were published in the provincial Government Gazette in November. This is also taking place at a time when the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (Bela) is specifically targeting the decision-making powers of school governing bodies. That bill is currently being processed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and Solidarity intends to submit comments on the bill. Read the full original of the report in the above regard in Afrikaans at Maroela Media
Two-pot retirement system: Treasury, MPs agree on new September 2024 implementation date Fin24 reports that Treasury and Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance have reached a compromise on the implementation of the so-called two-pot retirement system, with a new proposed starting date of 1 September 2024. The two-pot system will allow people to access a third of their pension savings before retirement. While a date of March 2024 was initially proposed, Treasury subsequently pushed it out to March 2025. However, MPs were unhappy and last month appealed to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and asked for the earlier date to be implemented. The new date was proposed in a letter by Godongwana that was read out to the committee on Monday. Godongwana highlighted several concerns about the March 2024 implementation date, including the tabling of key legislation and the amendment of retirement fund rules. "There are 1 324 retirement funds [that] will all be required to submit amended rules for registration and approval," he pointed out. South Africans are currently able to withdraw their full pension savings, subject to taxation, when they leave a job, though this means that many people enter retirement with little to no capital once they reach retirement age. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ahmed Areff & Na'ilah Ebrahim at Fin24 Read too, Finance committee agrees to September start for two-pot system, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Free State cop arrested for alleged rape of man who had been urinating in street Cape Times reports that a Free State policeman has been arrested for allegedly raping a 21-year-old man who was meant to have been detained. The police constable stationed at Park Road police station was expected to make his first appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Monday to face the rape charge. According to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), the 36-year-old officer and his colleague were patrolling on Sunday at about 3.15am when they saw the complainant allegedly urinating in the street. “The police officers arrested the man and took him to the police station. When they arrived at the police station, the female colleague stayed in the car when the police constable went inside the station with the man. After a few minutes, the officer came back with the complainant without detaining him, and they dropped him off at the taxi rank,” reported Ipid spokesperson Phaladi Shuping. He said the young man later went back to the police station to open a case of rape against the police officer, which led to the arrested by Ipid. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Okuhle Hlati at Cape Times Hundreds of female farm workers march to Paarl police station over handling of GBV cases GroundUp reports that about 200 women marched to the police station in Paarl on Saturday to hand a memorandum to the Cape Winelands district commissioner. They were demanding that the SA Police Service (SAPS) should implement ways of efficiently dealing with gender-based violence (GBV) cases. The march was part of the Women on Farms Project’s annual 16 days of activism. The memorandum made several demands, including increased visibility of law enforcement in farming areas, and that all officers be trained on how to properly handle GBV cases. “The march was successful but I don’t think [SAPS] are going to take us seriously,” said Women on Farms Project member Mateko Mohobo. She has seen very little change in the attitude of SAPS when dealing with GBV cases since she joined Women on Farms Project in 1996. “It’s a struggle to get the police to come out to the farms and assist the people who call them,” Mohobo complained. She once had to go to the station commander directly in order to get a police officer to assist in a sexual assault case involving a minor. Before the march, the farm women held a dialogue at the Van der Stel sports club in Stellenbosch, with a few guest speakers. Several women also spoke about their grievances directly to Stellenbosch station commander Sandile Sojani. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Joseph Bracken at GroundUp Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Commuter trains to return to Stellenbosch by year end, Metrorail promises GroundUp reports that more than three years after closure, train stations in Stellenbosch are expected to reopen by the end of this year. This was promised by Metrorail Western Cape spokesperson Zinobulali Mihi. The three main stations under the Stellenbosch Municipality – Du Toit, Stellenbosch, and Koelenhof Stations – along with halts in Vlottenburg and Lynedoch, have been closed since the beginning of the Covid lockdown in March 2020. Work is currently underway to get the train stations operational again. It includes repairs to the overhead traction equipment, rail tracks, substations and station facilities. Before the closure, these stations saw a combined average of more than 22,000 commuters monthly. The absence of working trains in and out of Stellenbosch has meant the thousands of people who relied on the service have had to find alternative and more costly means of transport. “A lot of people I know who worked in places like Cape Town [city centre] had to quit their jobs because they couldn’t afford the travel cost,” said Peter Booysen, a resident of Cloetesville. A taxi from Stellenbosch to Cape Town costs up to R35 for a one-way trip. Before the train service shut down, it cost R26 for a return ticket to Cape Town Station. The train stations in Stellenbosch are expected to reopen with a cohort of security guards on board the trains, as well as static security at the stations. Foot patrols will also be deployed to curb vandalism and theft on the infrastructure in between the stations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Joseph Bracken at GroundUp
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