Today's Labour News

newsThis 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.

news shutterstockIn our Thursday morning roundup, see
summaries of our selection of recent South
African labour-related reports.


TOP STORY – SOCIAL COMPACT

Ramaphosa announces national dialogue aimed at forming new social compact

BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced plans to convene a national convention, scheduled for 15 August, which will lay the groundwork for a national dialogue aimed at forming a new social compact. The national dialogue is expected to be modelled on the Codesa talks held as apartheid came to an end. It will bring together government, business, labour and civil society, seeking to address mounting political and economic pressure and to build consensus on a shared national vision. In an address on Tuesday, Ramaphosa said a steering committee would be established, comprising individuals from various sectors, to co-ordinate the implementation of the national dialogue process. The secretariat for day-to-day management of national dialogue activities will be housed at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). “It is anticipated that the national dialogue will drive progress towards our Vision 2030 and lay the foundation for the next phase of SA’s National Development Plan. The national dialogue itself is not an event. Rather, it will be a participatory process that unfolds in phases, from local consultations and sectoral engagements to provincial and national gatherings,” Ramaphosa explained. The views expressed at the first national convention in August will be brought together for a second convention early next year. An interministerial committee, chaired by the deputy president Paul Mashatile, will co-ordinate the government’s contribution to the convention.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • Nasionale dialog: Eerste gesprekke in Augustus, by Maroela Media
  • National Dialogue – Promising concept or an illusion of progress for SA? at Daily Maverick
  • ‘Nasionale dialoog ʼn klugspel vir die elite’ – MKP, by Maroela Media


OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY

Project manager working on Eastern Cape road upgrade kidnapped

The Herald reports that a project manager working on the multimillion-rand Sanral project to upgrade the R335 between Motherwell and Addo was abducted on Wednesday morning. Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the Swartkops police were notified of a kidnapping on Addo Road near Monument Crossing at about 10.30am. A case of kidnapping is being investigated. Gantana reported further: “It is alleged that a 37-year-old male was busy on a construction site on Addo Road when a white Mercedes sedan stopped next to him.   Two [men] got out and then forced him into the Mercedes and drove off with him. One of the [men] also took [the victim’s] white Toyota Hilux bakkie, which was found abandoned again in Ikamvelihle a short while later. No ransom demands have been made yet.” Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has previously spoken out about attacks on the construction project. During his state of the province address in 2024, he revealed that “construction mafias” had threatened to stop the upgrade, demanding R450,000 a month in protection fees.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andisa Bonani at The Herald

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • New healthcare service launched for taxi drivers in Orange Farm, at IOL News


SANDF DEPLOYMENT IN DRC

First group of SA soldiers deployed to DRC set to return home this week

News24 reports that the first group of SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who were deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is expected to arrive back on home soil this week. The SANDF announced on Wednesday that its troops were set to arrive at Air Force Base Bloemspruit in Bloemfontein around midday on Friday. “The troops will be welcomed by the minister of defence and military veterans, accompanied by members of the Military Command Council,” the SANDF said in a statement. Their homecoming marks the end of their participation in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), which aimed to help restore peace in the conflict-ridden eastern region of the country. In May, SA announced the withdrawal of its troops.   The mission was marred by tragedy as 14 soldiers lost their lives in a fight with the M23 rebels. Their remains were repatriated for burial in February.

Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Noxolo Sibiya at News24 (subscription / trial registration required). Read too, SANDF troops return from DRC mission on 13 June, at IOL News


EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ‘RACE QUOTAS’

Neasa and Sakeliga push back on ‘impossible race quotas’ contained in EE regulations

BL Premium reports that the National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) has lashed out at the government’s employment equity regulations, which it says imposes “impossible” race quotas. Neasa and business lobby group Sakeliga on Tuesday wrote to Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) Minister Nomakhosazana Meth threatening to initiate an urgent interdict application if she does not withdraw employment equity (EE) regulations implemented this year. The regulations were published after the Employment Equity Amendment Act came into effect in January. Employers have to report based on the new regulations in the reporting cycle starting 1 September.   “The minister is seeking to force employers to comply with her hiring quotas based on race, sex and disability from September 2025, on penalty of fines as high as 10% of turnover and eventual prosecution of executives,” the two organisations noted. Should the minister not withdraw the regulations by 18 June, Sakeliga and Neasa have threatened to take Meth to court to suspend the operation of the regulations and challenge the lawfulness of the Employment Equity Amendment Act. The organisations argue that the regulations are unlawful because the minister “failed to properly and meaningfully consult with the sectors prior to setting the targets”. Most strikingly, the hiring quotas, called ‘numerical sectoral targets’ in the regulations, are said to require companies to reduce their white male staff component to as little as 4% in many cases, and usually to under 20%. Meth previously described the legal battle against the Act as “anti-transformation”.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • New equity targets: Department of Labour tells workers to ‘relax and fear nothing’, at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)


BASIC EDUCATION / TEACHING

National disaster taking place in front of us’, says Fedsas as it slams 29,292 teacher vacancies

News24 reports that the Federation of Governing Bodies of SA Schools (Fedsas) has described the 29,292 vacancies at public schools as “a national disaster taking place right in front of us”. According to a document discussed at a meeting by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) on 6 June, there were 14,832 vacancies for teachers, 8,142 for heads of department, 2,872 for deputy principals and 3,446 for principals. Provinces with the highest vacancy rates were the Eastern Cape (5,527), KwaZulu-Natal (5,033) and Gauteng (4,099). According to the DBE’s School Realities report, 412,638 teachers were employed at the country’s 22,381 public schools in 2024. Fedsas CEO Jaco Deacon commented: “These posts were budgeted for, and the money was paid to provincial education departments a long time ago. Last month, Fedsas also pointed out that only three of the nine provinces made the compulsory payments to schools by the deadline of 15 May, which is a statutory requirement.” According to Deacon, provincial education departments received two amounts, including millions of rands for vacant posts and statutory payments. “This money may not be used for anything else, yet in most instances, neither appointments nor statutory payments were made. Any other use of this money would be considered unlawful,” Deacon explained. He added that the situation in KwaZulu-Natal was dire because the provincial education department had not made any statutory payments, and there were thousands of vacant posts.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Prega Govender at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)

Sadtu pickets in Pietermaritzburg over school budget cuts, teacher shortages

The Witness reports that more than 100 SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) members gathered in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday morning to demand that issues, including non-payment to schools by the provincial Department of Education, be addressed. Sadtu regional secretary Salas Mvelase said the non-payment issue had impacted the employment of teachers and support staff. “We are picketing against the austerity measures that have led to budget cuts and non-payment of funds to schools. This has resulted in the non-appointment of teachers, support staff and substitutes. There has been no payment to service providers which has also impacted pupils being unable to get education,” he explained. Mvelase said they were hoping that by picketing the Department of Education would timeously fix the issues as children continued to be deprived of their right to quality education. Sadtu had picketed last year calling for the same issues to be resolved. Sadtu said the picket would resume on Thursday and would be continued with until the issue was addressed.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Kayla Shaw at The Witness

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • 'It's phenomenal': Ramaphosa hails teacher assistant jobs for helping millions of young people, at TimesLIVE


SETAS

Higher education minister still stonewalling on details of independent panel which advised her on Seta chair appointments

TimesLIVE reports that Department of Higher Education and Training Minister Nobuhle Nkabane is still digging in her heels over the submission to parliament of the names on the “independent selection panel” she relied on to make controversial chair appointments to Sector Education and Training Authorities (Seta) boards last month. Nkabane had until the close of business on Wednesday to submit records and minutes of the meetings of the “independent panel” that she says advised on the appointments of the chairpersons of Setas that she was last month ordered to reverse by the Presidency. But at the eleventh-hour on Wednesday, it emerged that Nkabane had written to Tebego Letsie, chair of the portfolio committee on higher education, asking that the 11 June deadline be extended by a further 20 days, to June 20. The higher education committee had given her the deadline last week after she refused to disclose the names and full details of her “independent panel” at a heated meeting, with Nkabane citing the Protection of Personal Information Act.   Nkabane landed in hot water several weeks ago after it emerged that she had appointed controversial and politically connected people to chair the boards of the Setas. Some sources have cast doubt on the existence of the “independent selection panel”. The portfolio committee is expected to discuss its response to Nkabane’s deadline request in the coming days.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thabo Mokone at TimesLIVE

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • Kariega TVET college students to help resuscitate Nelson Mandela Bay’s ailing vehicle fleet, at The Herald
  • DA MP grills deputy principal of Ingwe TVET over lack of tech access at Eastern Cape college, at IOL News


WHISTLEBLOWING

CCMA ruling allows CETA to discipline employee who misused whistleblower status

IOL Business reports that the Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA) has been given the go-ahead to proceed with disciplinary action against a senior employee who had claimed whistleblower protection. The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) found in a recent decision that the employee, who was seeking protection as a whistleblower, did not make his or her disclosures “sincerely, honestly and in good faith and thus cannot be regarded as protected disclosures to be protected against occupational detriment”. According to CETA, the employee had attempted to halt disciplinary proceedings by invoking the Protected Disclosure Act of 2000, “disguising themselves as a whistleblower when they were not.” The employee is facing a raft of serious charges, including violation of supply chain management policies leading to irregular expenditure, breach of contract management policies, leaking of confidential information, misrepresentation, fraud, and forgery – including the alleged forging of the CEO’s signature. In a statement, CETA CEO Malusi Shezi said that the “ruling by CCMA confirms that there was never any whistleblower to start with. We welcome this ruling as very critical for applying consequences management against serious transgressions.”   CETA noted that the employee’s disclosures were only made in August 2019, three months after a forensic investigation report implicating the same official was issued to the CETA board.   The employee was suspended in June 2023.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nicola Mawson at IOL Business

Manhunt for ex-Transnet employee linked to hit on engineer mistakenly thought to be whistleblower

News24 reports that police are hunting for Lucky Molefe – a former Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) employee wanted for a brazen whistleblower hit in April last year – who has been on the run for more than six months.   He is sought for the murder of Vereeniging engineer Armand Swart, who was gunned down outside his workplace when alleged hitmen mistook him for another employee of Vaal-based engineering company.   Swart was shot 23 times. His slaying came two weeks after a 4,500% Transnet Freight Rail tender markup on springs was discovered. In a statement released on Wednesday, police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Mukhati said a warrant for Molefe’s arrest had been issued. When Swart’s employer reported the price surge, and he was questioned, Molefe allegedly had a hand in setting the murder plot in motion. On the day of Swart’s murder, police traced and arrested alleged hitmen Michael Pule Tau, Musa Kekana, and Tlego Floyd Mabusela. Tau was a career policeman and a detective stationed at the Johannesburg Central police station. Molefe’s uncle, Katiso “KT” Molefe, was then arrested in December.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jeff Wicks at News24 (subscription / trial registration required). Lees ook, Soektog verskerp na Vereeniging-fluitjieblasermoord, by Maroela Media


ALLEGED CORRUPTION

Former Lottery official’s pension frozen by Special Tribunal pending outcome of further proceedings

GroundUp reports that the Special Tribunal has ruled that a former National Lotteries Commission (NLC) official, who was found guilty in an internal disciplinary hearing of “gross misconduct”, will not be allowed to access his pension money.   Sanele Dlamini, formerly NLC acting chief operating officer, is accused of signing off a R3-million payment to the Motheo Sports and Entertainment Foundation, which had in total been granted R9-million by the NLC in 2021.   After the first R3-million was paid, Dlamini authorised the payment of a second tranche of R3-million without conducting the proper oversight. The final tranche was stopped when a monitoring and evaluation site visit revealed that nothing had been done on the property, which was being used as a dumping ground. The NLC is now attempting to get the money back from those it believes are responsible. In spite of strong objections by Dlamini, President of the Special Tribunal Judge Margaret Victor granted an order in favour of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). She froze Dlamini’s pension, held by Liberty’s Corporate Selection Suite of Umbrella Funds, pending the outcome of further proceedings. The SIU claimed that if Dlamini was allowed to access his pension monies, there would be nothing left should the NLC be successful in its bid to claim back its money from him.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp


ALLEGED COP CRIME

Corruption charges against George police detectives following intimidation of assault victim to change her statement

Cape Argus reports that the Hawks have arrested a police detective and his former colleague on charges of corruption for allegedly intimidating a female victim to influence her testimony in an assault case. The duo, aged 39 and 44, were arrested on Tuesday by the Hawks' George-based Serious Corruption Investigation team on charges of corruption. Hawks spokesperson, Siyabulela Vukubi, said the former detective constable at Thembalethu Police Station in George, who recently resigned, was investigating a case of an alleged assault.     Vukubi reported further: “He allegedly told the suspects to apologise to the complainant and pay an amount of R2,500 to make the case disappear.   It was alleged that the suspects paid the money to the detective for him to give the money to the complainant, but he never did. The detective, who is currently employed by SAPS, became aware of the complainant in the assault case and the complaint laid against his colleague with regards to the investigation of her case. The detective allegedly intimidated and improperly persuaded the complainant to influence her testimony against his colleague, who is an ex detective.” The duo was scheduled to appear in the George Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.   Siya Monakali of Ilitha Labantu said the allegation that a currently serving officer attempted to coerce the female complainant into changing her statement in order to shield his former colleague was disturbing and reflected a deeply troubling disregard for the rights of survivors.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Genevieve Serra at Cape Argus

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • Three White River Flying Squad police officers arrested for escorting vehicle loaded with dagga, at SABC News


ALLEGED SEXUAL HARASSMENT / ASSAULT

Female teacher accused of grooming Grade 7 pupil at Mitchells Plain school

News24 reports that a female teacher at Harvester Primary School in Westridge, Mitchells Plain, faces allegations of misconduct after reportedly grooming and sexually harassing a Grade 7 pupil. According to staff members, the school principal allegedly discovered explicit WhatsApp messages between the teacher and the pupil.   The communication seemingly began on TikTok before moving to WhatsApp, where the teacher reportedly sent text messages and videos of herself to the child. Western Cape Education Department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the department’s labour relations directorate was alerted on Friday and immediately launched an investigation. “It has since been established that the teacher is not in our employ but is an employee of the SGB (school governing body). We will, therefore, advise the SGB of the process to follow going forward. The teacher was informed to report to the district office, not the school. A suspension letter will be issued based on the evidence presented in the investigation,” Hammond explained. The department also arranged counselling for the pupil. Images, videos and voice notes exchanged between the teacher and pupil will form part of the investigation. The SGB will determine disciplinary steps based on the probe’s outcome.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Velani Ludidi at News24 (subscription / trial registration required). Read too, Harvester Primary School teacher faces investigation over sexual harassment claims, at Cape Argus

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

  • Court again postpones case of maintenance worker accused of raping grade 2 learner at Joburg primary school, at The Citizen


OTHER REPORTS OF INTEREST

  • KZN Department of Transport employs 300 interns in skills revolution drive, at The Mercury
  • Scandals, shortlists, showdowns: Battle for Joburg’s top municipal manager job heats up, at News24 (subscription / trial registration required)
  • South African law is failing gig workers, at GroundUp
  • Municipal police services to enforce immigration laws, regulate sale of second-hand goods, at IOL News
  • Mantashe pulls back on BEE proposals for mining exploration, at Daily Maverick

 


Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page