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 Monday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Friday, 21 June 2017.
|
Man electrocuted while repairing transformer in Vereeniging ANA reports that a man died on Friday morning when he was electrocuted while working on a transformer in Langerand near Vereeniging. ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring indicated: "Upon inspection, paramedics found the man lying in the middle of the road, his colleagues performing CPR on him. Paramedics quickly assessed the man and found that he had sustained serious burn wounds and had already succumbed to his injuries. Unfortunately, nothing could be done for the man and he was declared dead." He went on to indicate that it was understood that the man had been working on a transformer when he was electrocuted. His colleagues apparently managed to retrieve him and immediately began performing CPR on him. A short report is at IOL News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Four bodies retrieved from Tau Lekoa mine in North West following seismic accident Mining Weekly reports that rescuers have retrieved the bodies of four mine workers trapped underground during a seismic accident on Saturday afternoon at Tau Lekoa mine in Orkney, North West. They had been trapped by a rock fall induced by a 0.8 magnitude seismic event. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said rescuers had been faced with a difficult operation. “Cosatu and NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) leadership has been observing efforts by rescue team to recover bodies. We have been appraised that the recovery operation was difficult and sympathise with the families affected by the tragedy,” the federation said on Monday. It called on the Department of Mineral Resources to prioritise the safety of workers to curb similar incidents from occurring. North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo was due to visit the mine later on Monday. A short report is at Mining Weekly. See too, North West premier to visit Tau Lekoa mine after death of miners, at EWN. And also, Mining companies must take responsibility‚ Cosatu says after mine accident, at TimesLive Alleged illegal mining kingpins arrested in Limpopo ANA reports that Limpopo police achieved a major breakthrough in the fight against illegal mining when two alleged kingpins were arrested by members the police organised crime unit on Friday night. The two suspects, aged 40 and 62, were arrested after sterling detective work launched immediately after the initial and subsequent arrests of nine other suspects, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said on Saturday. The duo were from Pretoria and Rustenburg respectively. The two alleged kingpins were linked to illegal mining activities, including buying and exporting chrome to foreign countries, Mojapelo indicated. Limpopo police commissioner Lt-Gen Nneke Ledwaba commended all police members who were involved in this major success. The suspects were due to appear in the Lebowakgomo Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges related to the contravention of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Act and the National Environmental Maintenance Act. Read this report in full at The Citizen. See too, Zwane commends Limpopo police for success in fight against illegal mining, at TimesLive
Mining Charter postings
10111 call operator strike put on hold by policing union ANA reports that the SA Policing Union (Sapu) on Friday announced the temporary suspension of the 10111 call centre strike that was expected to have continued at the weekend. Sapu general secretary Oscar Skommere said the strike was temporarily suspended to give negotiations led by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), a chance. “Sapu will attend the Monday CCMA meeting with an open mind. The suspension of the strike must not be viewed by management as a way of us giving in to their arrogance,” Skommere stated. He added the union was communicating with its members about returning to their posts on Saturday morning. The 24-hour crime-reporting 10111 call centre deals with emergencies and complaints from the public. When it announced the strike, which started on Tuesday, Sapu said its 10111 members were among the lowest-paid government call centre workers. Read this report in full at eNCA. Read too, Countrywide 10111 strike temporarily suspended, at News24 NHLS strike threatens health sector disruption, while Numsa mulls engineering action BusinessLive reports that disruption of the health sector looms this week as the National Education Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) plans to take its members at the National Health Laboratories Service (NHLS) on an indefinite strike over wages from Wednesday. Management will be working with provincial health departments to minimise the effect of the strike on health laboratories. The NHLS employs about 7,000 people and is responsible for more than 80% of the country’s pathology diagnostic services, which could be thrown into disarray as a result of the strike. A strike by the 143,000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) in the metal and engineering sector could also be on the cards and will be weighed up by the union’s central committee when it meets this week. The union is busy consulting members on whether they want to go on strike over wages or not. Read this report by Linda Ensor in full at BusinessLive Numsa engineering strike will cause irreparable damage, says AfriBusiness ANA reports that AfriBusiness said on Monday that if a strike by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA Africa (Numsa) went ahead in the metal and engineering industries sector, it would cause irreparable damage to the economy. This came as Numsa last week slammed "intransigent" employers in the sector and warned of a "total shutdown" in the industry as it goes into a fifth wage negotiation meeting. Numsa has declared a dispute with employers in the sector wage negotiations, which deadlocked last month. Charles Castle of AfriBusiness warned that the strike that Numsa was threatening would harm, rather than benefit, the workers. He said that, if Numsa proceeded with its strike, the sector should expect more retrenchments and job losses which SA could ill afford. He went on to say that the economic difficulties that employees in the sector faced were understood, but employers would be left with no other alternative but to commence with retrenchments as a result of affordability and profit margins. Read this report in full at Business Report. See too, Saefa slams Numsa for 15% wage increase demand, at EWN Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Fedusa lambasts government for not being serious about the economy City Press reports that according to Dennis George, general secretary of the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa), government is not serious about addressing the country’s economic crisis and its actions clearly demonstrated this. On the sidelines of the federation’s leadership strategic indaba last week, he lambasted government for downplaying the country’s economic woes and said: “We have economic problems. We also have political problems and a lack of political creditability on the side of President Jacob Zuma. These political problems have to be addressed first because you will not be able to move forward convincingly.” George added that there was no state-owned company that was not captured. Fedusa had earlier issued a statement lambasting government for failing to attend a Nedlac task team meeting without tendering an apology. George said the no-show was another clear indication that government was not willing to prioritise the current state of the economy. Read this report by Lesetja Malope in full at City Press Second quarter jobless figure likely to have remained high BusinessLive reports that Statistics SA will be announcing the second quarter unemployment rate in its Quarterly Labour Force Survey on Tuesday. This will be preceded by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Economic Survey of SA on Monday. It is forecasted that the data will show that unemployment remained high during the second quarter of 2017, underscoring the weakness of an economy in recession. SA’s unemployment rate reached 27.7% in the first three months of 2017 — the highest in 14 years — after growth in job seeker numbers was faster than a rise in employment. Economists differ on what the unemployment reading is likely to be. First National Bank (FNB) forecasts a rise in unemployment to 27.8%, but Investec believes the rate may improve to 27.5%. Low business confidence, constrained investment and weak consumption expenditure remain challenges. Read this report by Asha Speckman in full at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Despite massive losses, Eskom employees got bonuses on average of R88,000 City Press reports that, although Eskom incurred massive losses in its last financial year, it still managed to pay each employee an average bonus of R88 000. The total bonus amount of R4.2bn (R2.1bn in 2016) was paid out the week before last, despite the fact that the state-owned power utility made a loss. If the total amount allocated for bonuses is divided by all 47,658 of Eskom’s employees, each one would have received a bonus of at least R88,000. Khulu Phasiwe, Eskom’s spokesperson, stated that bonuses were awarded on the basis of performance and added that not every Eskom employee had received a bonus. Solidarity’s Deon Reyneke said he had “no idea why there was such a big difference between this year’s figures and last year’s figures ... explaining where the money came from is difficult”. Read this report by Leanne George in full at City Press
Public Protector agrees to probe Brian Molefe’s R30m ‘golden handshake’ from Eskom BusinessLive reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday that the Public Protector has agreed to investigate former Eskom CE Brian Molefe’s R30m "golden handshake" from the power utility. The party had requested the investigation after it emerged that the Eskom board had approved a R30m pension payout to Molefe after only 18 months as CE of Eskom. The Office of the Public Protector indicated that the DA’s complaint was similar to those lodged by two other people, and the three complaints had been consolidated. Molefe left Eskom’s employ in December last year following adverse findings made against him by the former Public Protector in her ‘State of Capture’ report. He became an ANC MP in February‚ but returned to Eskom in May following Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown’s refusal to approve the R30m pension payout. Less than a month into his job at Eskom‚ Brown instructed the board of Eskom to rescind its decision to reappoint Molefe, which it did. Read this report by Ernest Mabuza in full at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Train services between Pienaarspoort and Pretoria disrupted on Monday by protest SowetanLive reports that Metrorail said on Monday that a protest has disrupted train services between Pienaarspoort and Pretoria. Spokesperson Lillian Mofokeng indicated that protesters were burning tyres on the railway tracks‚ damaging infrastructure. For safety reasons, all trains running on this corridor transporting thousands of commuters were turning around at Eestefabrieke, she advised. Mofokeng apologised that no alternative transport would be able to be arranged for commuters at affected train stations. She also condemned such protest action “as it negatively impacts on hundreds of commuters dependent on trains to get to their destination and economic activities." Read this report by Naledi Shange and Kyle Cowan in full at SowetanLive DA warns Prasa putting millions of jobs at risk with its non-compliance with PFMA Fin24 reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) claims it has information that confirms that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) is not compliant with sections of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). According to Manny de Freitas, DA shadow minister of transport, this means it may not get the funds it desperately needs from the Department of Transport. "This is very alarming as Prasa transports two million people to and from work every day. If Prasa does not meet the requirements to get the funding it needs to keep trains running, these people will be left stranded and will inevitably lose their jobs and livelihoods," De Freitas said in a statement on Sunday. In his view, Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi has neglected his duties and has failed to uphold his mandate. "He must urgently intervene to ensure Prasa gets its affairs in order as our country cannot afford to shed more jobs in this adverse economic climate," said De Freitas. Read this report in full at Fin24. See too, Minister's negligence could result in millions of job losses, says DA, at IOL News. Read the DA’s press statement at DA Newsroom Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet from Friday, 21 July 2017 to Sunday, 23 July 2017 at SA Labour News
|
Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News