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 roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Wednesday, 12 June 2017.
|
Struggle icon and veteran trade unionist Emma Mashinini memorialised eNCA reports that a memorial service was due to be held on Thursday afternoon for trade union pioneer and liberation struggle icon Emma Mashinini. The 87-year-old died on Monday in Johannesburg. She was the first general secretary of the Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) in 1975. Mashinini also served on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The trade unionist received the Order of the Baobab and the Order of Luthuli for her contribution to democracy. This short report is at eNCA. Read too, Cosatu, ANC praise late trade unionist Emma Mashinini, at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Sanef welcomes BLF compliance with court order to denounce violence against journalists News24 reports that the SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has welcomed Black First Land First’s (BLF’s) compliance with a High Court order that they should denounce violence against journalists. BLF said at a press briefing on Sunday that it was in full compliance with a court order relating to the intimidation and harassment of journalists. Sanef had given BLF until 10:00 on Sunday to send out a revised statement after it had said that it had failed to comply with the court order in at least two aspects. On Friday, Judge Corrie van der Westhuizen interdicted the BLF and its leader Andile Mngxitama from intimidating and assaulting journalists and going to their homes. Additionally, this covered conduct on social media. In a statement issued on 11 July, the BLF stated that it was in agreement with the court order and that it did not condone the intimidation, harassment, assault on and threats made to any journalists by BLF members. Read this report by Iavan Pijoos in full at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Vavi urges Rustenburg mineworkers to join Numsa ANA reports that SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi on Sunday urged mineworkers in Rustenburg to join the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa). “Workers resigning from [the] National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) resigned into nothing. Every mineworker in Rustenburg must join Numsa,” Vavi told a Saftu rally in Rustenburg. He said they had learnt from previous mistakes made by Cosatu and added that they were starting on a new journey based on certain principles. Vavi also said shop stewards should be well trained to be able to represent workers. He furthermore announced that Saftu would be marching to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in November to demand that government “take control of the mines”. This would be “with or without Amcu”. Read this report in full at Mining Weekly
Nehawu members embark on strike at Agricultural Research Centre EWN reports that at least 1,500 members of the National Education Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) have embarked on a strike after wage talks deadlocked with management at the Agricultural Research Centre. The negotiations started in April, but have failed to settle a wage increase dispute. The union is demanding a 7.3% wage increase, while management is offering 5%. Nehawu's Khaya Xaba stated: “Negotiations have been ongoing since April this year and it’s failed dismally. We are always open and available for negotiations. The ball is in their court. We’ve done everything possible to find an amicable solution.” This short report by Ilze-Marie Le Roux is at EWN. Read Nehawu’s press statement from 8 July 2017 on this matter at Cosatu Today. See too, Nehawu to strike at Agricultural Research Council, at HTSyndication (The New Age) Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Samwu faction distances itself from members who took Joburg city executive hostage BusinessLive reports that a faction of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) has distanced itself from members who held a Joburg council executive hostage on Wednesday. A Samwu statement said the incident was sparked after city officials encouraged union members to withhold their subscriptions until a court had ruled on who the rightful Samwu leadership was. The statement, bearing the names of Samwu’s Esther Mtatyana‚ Lindiwe Mazibuko and Phaneul Chikovha, indicated: "Yesterday afternoon‚ a group of criminal elements purporting to be representatives of Samwu members in Joburg held hostage (an executive) of GED Corporate Services demanding payment of members’ subscriptions to their bank account.” It went on to claim that the faction was “imposed by the faction of Pule Molalenyane to be regional leaders in Joburg without following Samwu constitution hence the court case.” It was reported last month that the council had been dealing with two Samwu factions on labour matters. Read this report in full at BusinessLive Tshwane City guards threaten chaos on Monday over looming loss of jobs The New Age reports that chaos could descend on the City of Tshwane on Monday as more than 3,000 private security guards have threatened to make it “ungovernable”. This comes after contracts with their companies were terminated by Democratic Alliance (DA) mayor Solly Msimanga. Security guards whose jobs are on the line have vowed to protest until they are hired permanently. The Academic & Professional Staff Association (Apsa) representing the guards has endorsed the strike, saying that about 3,000 would be left jobless. A representative of Apsa said: “We have been wanting to sit down and engage with the mayor but he has not made time. If we are not hired, we are going to make the city ungovernable.” The SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) was warned that its members in the metro police will be asked not to cooperate, saying: “All metro police officers already deployed will be recalled to their previous functions until the matter is finalised.” Last week, Msimanga indicated that the city would use the services of metro police to save money. Read this report by Ntombi Nkosi in full at The New Age
Seifsa dismisses Neasa’s allegation that it only represents big employers in metals wage talks Engineering News reports that the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has described suggestions that it was only representing the interests of large employers in the metals and engineering sector as malicious “propaganda”. The employers’ organisation said in a statement that it “fights hard” to represent both small and big companies. Seifsa was responding to a statement, titled ‘Exposing Seifsa’, in which the National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) accused its rival body of having caused “untold hardship – in terms of business closures and job losses”. Neasa said it was particularly concerned by media reports that Seifsa was currently engaging in bilateral discussions with the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) following a deadlock in wage talks at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC). Talks officially deadlocked on 15 June, following two rounds of negotiations. Seifsa CEO Kaizer Nyatsumba confirmed that they would indeed engage directly with the unions in an effort to avoid “devastating” industrial action. Read this report in full at Engineering News. Read Seifsa’s press statement at Seifsa online Still time to avert strike in metal and engineering sector, says employer body Saefa Business Report writes that the SA Engineers’ and Founders’ Association (Saefa) believes that the planned strikes by trade unions within the metal and engineering sector were not the only option available to workers. The association said although the unions had applied for a certificate to embark on a strike, this did not necessarily mean the strike was inevitable. Saefa executive director Gordon Angus said on Wednesday: “The reality is that strike action will be extremely detrimental to employees and the sector as a whole, not to mention the additional pressure that it will bring to bear on the already tenuous economic situation in the country.” At its expense, Saefa has appointed Jonathan Goldberg, a veteran of industry-level negotiations over wages and conditions of employment, as an independent lead negotiator to represent employers in the wage negotiations. Angus said this was a clear indication that the association and the more than 400 businesses it represented had a sincere desire to reach a solution that would prevent a strike. Read an extended version of this report by Sizwe Dlamini at SA Labour News. See too, Looming metal workers strike could collapse industry, at eNCA Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Vavi declines invite to SACP congress, can’t forgive party’s involvement in Cosatu split TimesLive reports that Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), has declined an invitation by the SA Communist Party (SACP) to the party’s national congress‚ presently underway in Boksburg. The SACP invited Vavi and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) to its 14th national congress‚ as it eyes contesting elections independently of its ally‚ the ANC. But in an open letter to the party on Wednesday, Vavi said he could not forgive the party’s involvement in Cosatu’s split. The party played an integral role in the expulsion of Vavi and Numsa from Cosatu at the end of 2014. Vavi and Numsa have gone on to form a new federation‚ Saftu‚ and are in the process of setting up a workers’ party to contest future elections. Vavi also wrote that members of Saftu were "disbelieving and sceptical" of the SACP leadership. He indicated that Saftu would only accept an invitation from the SACP when it "decisively and publicly breaks with politics of positioning‚ patronage and class collaboration". Read this report by Natasha Marrian and Genevieve Quintal in full at TimesLive. Read Saftu’s open letter to the SACP at Politicsweb Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Labour Appeal Court upholds rights of labour brokerage workers to become permanent BusinessLive reports that employees hired via labour brokerage firms will be entitled to benefits if they remain employed by a company for more than three months‚ the Labour Appeal Court has ruled. Judge Pule Tlaletsi ruled this week that employees of a labour broker become permanent employees of the client company after three months of working there. This judgment overturns a previous judgment handed down in 2015 that labour brokers and client companies were dual employers. The judgment came as a result of a case involving the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), Assign Services‚ Krost Shelving and Racking, and the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration. Assign Services supplied workers to Krost‚ many of whom worked for the company for more than three months. Wayne Ncube‚ senior attorney for Lawyers for Human Rights commented that "This is a massive judgment". Read this report by Petru Saal in full at BusinessLive. Read too, Labour Appeal Court upholds rights of vulnerable workers, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
We’ll work on Saturdays when you pay us overtime, union tells Home Affairs News24 reports that one of the unions negotiating with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) over working times on Saturdays has a simple message: "Call us only when you are ready to pay overtime. Until then, there will be no work on Saturdays!" On Thursday, the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw) released a statement saying that until the department was "ready to pay overtime, the employer’s status quo of voluntary work on Saturdays remains". In this long-standing dispute that dates back to March 2015, the DHA claims it’s not in a financial position to pay overtime and has proposed that officials be granted a day off on Wednesdays to ensure that they do not work a six day week. The unions - Nupsaw, the Public Servants Association (PSA) and the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) – have all rejected the offer. According to the DHA, negotiations with the unions are still ongoing this week. Read this report by Jan Gerber in full at News24
Funding gap at crowded TVET colleges ‘set to widen’ BusinessLive writes that technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges are underfunded because of over-enrolment and the Treasury projects that the funding gap will widen by 2020. The government wants colleges to become the cornerstone of higher learning and take over from universities in meeting industrial needs, but resources are scarce. In response to questions in Parliament on Wednesday, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said that TVET colleges were funded at 57% of the required 80% due to over-enrolment. About R9.6m was earmarked for TVETs in the financial year 2017-18, but R23.8m was required. TVET funding for 2018-19 faces an R18.5m shortfall, which will grow to R19.5m in 2019-20. The white paper for post-school education and training proposes increasing enrolment at colleges from about 700,000 to 2.5-million by 2030 to ease pressure on universities. Read this report by Michelle Gumede in full at BusinessLive
Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana suspends his director-general BusinessLive reports that Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana has suspended his director-general, Mike Mlengana, with immediate effect. A statement from the ministry did not provide reasons for the suspension and officials were not available for comment. The statement read: "The Minister of Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries‚ Mr Senzeni Zokwana has placed his director-general‚ Mr Mike Mlengana on suspension with immediate effect pending internal investigations. The suspension is a precautionary measure and does not in any way constitute a judgment." Mooketsa Ramasodi, deputy director-general for agricultural production‚ health and food safety‚ will stand in for Mlengana. This short report is at BusinessLive. See too, DAFF director-general suspended, at News24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category Transnet suspends senior officials for “reportable irregularities”, at Business Report
Commuters in Soweto left frustrated due to shutdown of taxi ranks TimesLive reports that residents in Soweto have been left frustrated after the Gauteng provincial government shut down five major taxi ranks. MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi invoked extraordinary measures in areas that have become battle grounds between taxi associations fighting over routes. "We have been left stranded and we are concerned about the safety of our children and the pensioners who have to travel to get medication‚" said Lindiwe Nonkolela‚ a resident of White City in Soweto. Thabani Masango‚ who did not know that Vadi had shut down the ranks‚ was astonished to find that there were no taxis. He blamed taxi associations for not communicating with commuters in advance. The closure took effect from Thursday until 13 August. There was a high police visibility at various routes in Soweto. Read this report by Neo Goba in full at TimesLive. Read too, Taxi body promises to defy ban, on page 8 of Sowetan of 13 July 2017 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
|
Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News