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 Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.
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Police union Popcru says 'worrying' mental health of cops requires 'urgent attention' City Press reports that the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) is demanding immediate reforms to address the pressing mental health challenges faced by police officers. The union’s call follows alarming numbers of police suicides and rising mental health concerns within the SA Police Service (SAPS). Last month two police unions revealed that more than 300 officers had committed suicide or had died in murder-suicide incidents since 2017. The SA Policing Union (SAPU) and Popcru accused the SAPS of not addressing the situation seriously. According to Popcru, the issue of police mental health was particularly pressing as crime rates were surging and officers faced unprecedented levels of violence, trauma and stress. Popcru’s Thulani Nsele warned on Thursday: “Crime and violence in South Africa is rampant, placing officers’ lives in constant threat – especially given the current levels of understaffing. The horrific situations they encounter and the dangers they face working at the frontlines every day are taking a very heavy toll on their mental well-being. Meanwhile, the psychological support they receive is completely inadequate and current policies and systems often work to undermine mental health rather than protect it.” The SAPS recently reported that it had only 621 health and wellness employees to support its workforce. Additionally, the majority of its members were not aware that the SAPS had a wellness programme, did not understand what services it provided, or did not know how to get in contact with support staff. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Abram Mashego at City Press (subscriber access only) Firefighters tackle hazardous lithium battery fire at Table Mountain Cableway Station as well as Signal Hill blaze IOL News reports that on Thursday, firefighters successfully contained a dangerous lithium battery fire that threatened the lower station at Cape Town's Table Mountain Cableway. They simultaneously battled a vegetation blaze near Signal Hill. Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse reported that the fire at the cableway station proved particularly challenging due to a “bank of lithium batteries” igniting, which resulted in the production of thick, acrid smoke. This situation necessitated a rapid and robust response from emergency services. “The emergency call was received at approximately 12.15pm of vegetation alight. By 1pm, firefighters managed to contain the fire,” Carelse indicated. According to reports, crews worked around the clock to control a separate vegetation fire located above the Quarry near Strand Street, which has become a hotspot for wildfires given the dry and windy conditions. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Wendy Dondolo at IOL News. Read too, Table Mountain’s lower cableway station fire leaves 400 stranded, at Cape Argus Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Numsa demands 15% wage hike from state-owned arms manufacturer Denel BL Premium reports that members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) protested outside the Centurion offices of state-owned arms manufacturer Denel on Thursday, demanding a 15% wage increase. According to the union, its members “have received only two salary increases in the last five years”. Denel is among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) hollowed out and repurposed to serve the interests of the governing elite during the state capture years. “Workers have suffered severely because of destructive cost-cutting [measures] by government and bosses,” Numsa noted. Deputy general secretary Mbuso Ngubane accused the late former public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan of collapsing Denel “so that at the end of the day the public shares the same sentiments to say, ‘indeed, the state is incapable of running these SOEs’”. Once public sympathy was received, the ground became fertile to “introduce private investors ... Gordhan, we are in this mess because of his legacy, Ngubane argued. Denel spokesperson Pam Malinda commented earlier about Thursday’s demonstration as follows: “Organised labour stated that they would like to express their unhappiness with the progress of the annual substantive wage negotiations process. Denel has granted permission for Numsa to demonstrate in terms of normal engagement protocols. This is a good-faith process between the parties with an expected duration of two hours, after which employees will revert to their workplaces.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Reserve Bank’s Kganyago says SA’s consumer inflation target should be lower Bloomberg reports that SA Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago says the nation’s 3% to 6% inflation target is overdue for review and it should be adjusted lower. “South Africa’s inflation target is out of sync. What is clear is that if we revise the target, the target can only be revised lower. It is now 24 years since we had the inflation target and we have to ask questions about how optimal the current inflation target is,” Kganyago commented on Thursday. He didn’t say how close the Bank was to a conclusion, but noted that other emerging market economies had lowered their inflation to around 3%. The central bank aims to anchor inflation expectations around the midpoint of its target range and recent data has been encouraging. South Africa’s annual inflation slowed to 3.8% in September and is forecast by policymakers to remain below 4% over the next three quarters. Still, in a nation distorted by massive income inequalities in which more than 33% of the workforce is unemployed, the central bank will face stiff political opposition to any changes viewed as leading to more hawkish monetary policy that sacrifices growth. The SARB has faced longstanding criticism from labor unions and some lawmakers, who claim it keeps rates too high in the pursuit of low inflation at the expense of jobs. But, Kganyago, rebutted the argument by saying: “There is no virtue in high inflation.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntando Thukwana & Lisa Abramowicz at Moneyweb Poultry industry seeking once again to have VAT on certain chicken products abolished Engineering News reports that the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) announced on Thursday that it would be submitting an application for certain chicken products to be zero-rated in terms of value added tax (VAT). If approved they will be exempt from VAT. The application will be submitted in the middle of next month. This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa saying that the government would be increasing the number of essential food items exempted from VAT. “The benefit of VAT-free chicken is enormous, we expect a meaningful increase in consumption, giving malnourished people access to nutritious chicken products they previously could not afford,” SAPA broiler organisation head Izaak Breitenbach pointed out. The aim is to zero-rate those chicken products which are most often bought by low-income household and SAPA is working with retailers to identify these particular products. Currently, the planned submission list includes fresh and frozen chicken offal and frozen bone-in chicken. Value-added products, such as crumbed or spiced chicken and marinated chicken cuts will be excluded. SAPA made similar proposals in 2018, which largely foundered on the issue of individually quick-frozen (IQF) chicken pieces. In particular, the Government had been concerned about possible abuses of the definition of IQF pieces. SAPA is now seeking to avoid this by aligning its submission with the regulations. Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read too, VAT-free chicken: Sapa applies for no tax on some poultry products in SA, at The Citizen. En ook, Vereniging vra weer vir BTW-vrye hoenderprodukte, by Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Standard Bank customers voice frustration over delayed payment of salaries into accounts on Friday The Citizen reports that the Standard Bank call centre experienced high call volumes on Friday as customers inquired why their salaries were not reflecting in their accounts. Apparently, some customers who typically receive their salaries on the 25th, did not see the funds in their Standard Bank accounts on Friday morning. Many took to social media platforms to vent their anger and frustration. “What in the world is happening with Standard Bank, people haven’t received their salaries, I’m one of those people. Being a standard bank customer is starting to be a huge risk,” complained Siphokazi Malinga on X. An enquiry to the Standard Bank call centre by The Citizen revealed it had been flooded with calls. Customers were advised of “high call volumes”. Standard Bank spokesperson Ross Linstrom said they were investigating the issue. “Standard Bank can confirm that there was a slight delay in processing salary transactions this morning. We can confirm that all payments scheduled for today were completed just after 6am. We apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused,” said the bank. Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen
Discovery increases its minimum pay rate to R16,600 per month BL Premium reports that financial services group Discovery has hiked its minimum pay to R200,000 per year with effect from October. This was disclosed in the company’s 2024 annual report published on Wednesday. The remuneration committee said this was to ensure “fair and responsible” pay, while addressing pay gaps. It added that it was continuing to review the vertical pay gap between its top 5% highest paid employees and the bottom 5%. The minimum pay policy applies to all Discovery’s employees, except those on commission-based pay structures whose on-target commissions are equal to, or exceed, the R200,000 per annum. Group CEO Adrian Gore also advised that the group was making strides in improving diversity at a management level. “Diversity levels improved with 45% and 39% of our senior managers being female and black, respectively. We have a 0% gender pay gap for roles of the same size and over the period we increased our minimum pay to R200,000 per annum, more than three times the prescribed minimum pay in SA,” Gore reported. He was paid R31.6m, inclusive of incentives, in the 2024 financial year, up from R27.9m in the prior year. The group’s CFO Deon Viljoen was paid R25.9m, while Barry Swartzberg, the former CEO of Vitality Global, earned R22.5m. One of the group’s best paid executives was the CEO of its bank, Hylton Kallner who was rewarded with R57.6m, coming second only to Vitality UK CEO Neville Koopowitz, who earned £2.8m (R64m). Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Discovery Bank CEO rakes in almost double Adrian Gore's pay in 2024, at Fin24 (subscription or trial registration required)
Performance bonus manipulation rocks Technology Innovation Agency BL Premium reports on performance bonus scandal at the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), which saw its top brass, including its acting CEO, award themselves bonuses to the exclusion of scores of workers who qualified for the scheme. Seemingly, about 60 workers who qualified for the scheme were intentionally excluded from the performance bonuses that were paid in December 2023. This was after TIA top brass decided to hike the qualification ratings for the bonus scheme to ensure a bigger pie for themselves and other employees, against the entity’s policy. The policy says that for employees to be considered for a performance bonus, their performance must be rated at least at three out of a score of five. But when the performance appraisals were completed, some of TIA’s executives and board members decided to increase the qualification rating to 3.6 – a decision that excluded more than 50 workers. The excluded workers approached the CCMA, which ruled in their favour. TIA then diverted money from the funding for innovation projects to pay the disgruntled workers their performance bonuses, to the tune of nearly R4m. But, the money paid to the workers after the CCMA award was not budgeted for, so rightly the people who were paid inflated bonuses in December should have been forced to return portions that were unduly paid to them. But, a TIA spokesperson stated: “No irregular expenditure occurred and no further corrective actions were necessary following the resolution. The performance bonuses were paid in line with the board-approved performance management policy.” Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kabelo Khumalo at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Hundreds of doctors and nurses are dumping SA for Canada –and it’s just the tip of the iceberg BusinessTech reports that hundreds of South African doctors and nurses are increasingly leaving the country due to concerns over poor working conditions, irregular pay, and the looming implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. More are expected to do the same in 2025. Recently-obtained data from Statistics Canada revealed that between January 2020 and July 2024, Canada alone issued 7,781 temporary work permits to South Africans, 600 of whom are healthcare professionals, with around 350 being specialists like cardiologists, neurologists, and emergency physicians. This trend is accelerating, with approximately 200 healthcare professionals expected to leave for Canada this year alone. According to immigration consultant Nicholas Avramis, the trickle of SA doctors moving to Canada became a steady flow from 2022 onwards, and he anticipates that the numbers will surge further in 2025 as more South African doctors explore options abroad. Several Canadian provinces have been targeting SA for mass recruitment, offering significant incentives, including higher pay and professional recognition. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, for example, recognises South African medical qualifications, meaning that doctors do not need to undergo extensive re-certification processes, making it an attractive destination. Canada, which is facing a shortage of 60,000 nurses and 10,000 family doctors, has become a particularly desirable option for SA healthcare workers. Avramis notes that salaries are estimated to range between R4 million and R10 million depending on qualifications and experience. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malcolm Libera at BusinessTech Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mpumalanga’s ‘ghost teachers’ score millions in pay BusibnessTech reports that a number of former employees at the Mpumalanga Department of Education have fraudulently been paid over R6 million – despite the fact that they no longer worked there or are deceased. The Public Servants Association (PSA) expressed outrage over these fraudulent payments, uncovered in a recent Auditor-General’s report. The Mpumalanga PSA’s Flip van der Walt told SABC News that this discovery was “very concerning”. The timing is especially troubling, since the country is in the midst of a teacher shortage crisis. Recent presentations on budget and projected spending for the 2024/25 financial year show that all provinces are under significant pressure as provincial education budgets struggle with rising wage bills. While teachers’ wages have increased, there are fewer funds available to hire additional teachers or maintain current staffing levels. As a result, fewer new teachers are being employed, which is creating an adverse environment for students. This is particularly problematic in Mpumalanga, which only had a 77% matric pass rate in 2023. While some have been chalking the wrongful payments up to human error, Van der Walt explained that this could not be the case. He said that if this were only an issue with a couple of employees, that might have been a good explanation, however, for about R6.5 million to be paid out to employees who were deceased or who no longer worked for these schools – it definitely “can’t be a human error”. This is a clear indication of corruption going on in the Department of Education, he alleged. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kirsten Minnaar at BusinessTech
Background checks are mandatory in any work environment, Cosatu points out after Joburg MMC Gwamada's arrest SowetanLive reports that labour federation Cosatu says the arrest of City of Johannesburg MMC for community development, Kabelo Gwamanda, raises questions about the vetting processes at the municipality. The 39-year-old former Johannesburg mayor was arrested on Friday in connection with an alleged funeral policy scam that he ran in Soweto in 2011 and 2012. He was later released on bail. Then on Tuesday, Joburg mayor Dada Morero put Gwamanda on special leave. Cosatu provincial chairperson Amos Monyela pointed out: “Background checks are mandatory in any work environment and essential in building a positive reputation of any organisation. Speculations that have emanated since the arrest have cast a shadow on the city.” He added that the arrest warranted immediate dismissal. “The cloud hanging over him concerning the alleged illegal funeral insurance scheme requires him to excuse himself and to resign as a public representative to allow law enforcement agencies to do their work. By removing himself, he would be demonstrating his respect for the office he occupies and honouring the rule of law,” Monyela said. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Herman Moloi at SowetanLive Police arrest eight licencing officials and agents across Free State and Northern Cape for driving licence fraud The Citizen reports that at least eight licencing officials and agents have been arrested during a crackdown operation on driving licence fraud and corruption in the Free State. The officials were nabbed during an operation by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) National Traffic Anti-Corruption unit in collaboration with Crime Intelligence and organised crime units of SA African Police Services (SAPS) on Thursday. RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said the bust was conducted simultaneously at three sites in Petrusburg (Free State), Barkley West and Kimberly (Northern Cape). “It is alleged that the agents were recruiting learner and driving licence applicants in the Free State province and liaising with departmental officials and licensing authorities in the Northern Cape to have licences issued with the applicants not undergoing the required process of testing,” Zwane explained. He went on to report: “This comes after an intelligence driven operation named ‘Commando’ uncovered entrenched fraud and corruption that extends to small rural towns on the countryside. A vehicle that the agents allegedly used to commit the crime was seized as part of evidence.” Last month at least 28 licensing officials and driving school operators were arrested in Mpumalanga and eleven in Limpopo on corruption and related charges. Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
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