In our Monday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Friday, 11 August 2017.
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Cape Town domestic worker lucky to be alive after pit bull mauling Cape Times reports that a domestic worker believes she is lucky to be alive after she was mauled by her employer's two pit bulls in Monte Vista, Cape Town. Khayelitsha resident Lilian Mkosi, 57, suffered head, legs and hand injuries during the attack and she can’t walk as a result of severe pain. She spent six days in Groote Schuur Hospital before she was discharged. The Cape of Good Hope SPCA’s Allan Perrins said the pit bulls have since been “put to sleep permanently” and added: “At the end of the day it remains a mystery why they attacked Lilian. It is hard to believe that they could inflict such bad injuries. She (Lilian) says there was no provocation on her part.” The dogs had been at Mkosi’s employer Brent Chad’s home for a week before they attacked her. Chad employer said he was sorry for what happened and has promised to pay for Mkosi’s medical bill and to compensate her for her loss of earnings. Read this report by Sandiso Phaliso in full at Cape Times Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Lonmin gives in to Amcu over minority union recognition at Marikana City Press reports that, after four years of trying, the Association of Mining and Construction Union (Amcu) has finally succeeded in getting minority unions derecognised at Lonmin and stripped of their already limited organisational rights. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa all received letters last week from the platinum producer giving them three months’ notice of withdrawal of their limited rights. Practically, this means an end to stop orders providing them with members’ union dues as well as losing their full-time officials and the limited access they have enjoyed to the Marikana mining complex to recruit and meet with members. According to Lonmin, the decision followed a recent escalation of Amcu’s “very insistent” demand that the small unions, which represent about 10% (about 2,500) of the workforce, should lose their perks. Amcu negotiated a so-called winner-takes-all recognition agreement with Lonmin in 2013, setting a 30% threshold for recognition, which translates into roughly 7,425 members. Read this report by Dewald van Rensburg in full at City Press Bench Marks Foundation wants Bokoni Platinum to come clean over suspension plans Business Report writes that the Bench Marks Foundation (BMF) has thrown down the gauntlet to Bokoni Platinum in Limpopo, which is retrenching 2651 employees, to give details of its plans to mothball shafts as it reiterated its call for mining houses to pay retrenched employees social grants. BMF, a faith-based NGO that monitors corporate performance, said on Friday that communities feared that the mine would use this “suspension” as a way of avoiding its requirement to rehabilitate the land. It was responding to news that Bokoni had been placed in a two-year period of care and maintenance to regain its financial strength. BMR’s John Capel said there were many unanswered questions around Bokoni and asked: “Once a mine’s operation is suspended, what onus is on it to continue operations once the suspension period has passed? How can we be sure that the same workers will be employed? How will infrastructure such as boreholes be maintained in good working order? What about the state of the roads that are used to take children to school, for example?” Capel also said that mining companies should establish a system of social grants to support the mineworkers they were retrenching. Read this report by Dineo Faku in full at Business Report Other labour/community posting(s) related to mining
Postings on Mining Charter
Marikana workers reap fruit of bitter sacrifice, saying strike was worth it Business Times recalls that at the start of 2014, two years after the Marikana tragedy, platinum mineworkers went on a five-month wage strike that only ended towards the end of June that year. The strike was the culmination of a series of disputes that began as wildcat strikes led by rock drill operators at Impala Platinum (Implats) as far back as 2009. The campaign for a R12,500 monthly wage spread through the platinum belt and on 16 August 2012 led to the massacre of 34 workers outside Lonmin's Marikana mine. A number of miners reflect in this article on the 2014 strike and on the preceding events at Marikana. Hlulakele Zembe, a rock driller at Implats, said: "It was worth the sacrifice of the long strike and the poverty that accompanied it. Even though we do not yet get the R12,500 a month pay, we are quite happy. We have received real increases, not the 10% increase we used to get." He added: "Five years later [after the strike] I can say we have got our dignity back. Mathunjwa (president of union Amcu) has delivered. The people who died at Marikana, it was worth it - there are always losses in battle." Implats boilermaker assistant Maphakge Williams indicated: "Life is good. We're really happy. Since Amcu came in during the strikes, we have received good salary increases." At Lonmin's Wonderkop hostel, Bigboy Lukhele echoed Zembe's sentiments of an improved life, saying: "The strike helped a lot. Even though money is never enough, we have a much better life now. Amcu has delivered." Read this report by Sikonathi Mantshantsha in full at BusinessLive. Read too, ‘Our Marikana heroes changed our lives’, at City Press Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Unions preparing for tough public sector wage talks BusinessLive reports that the weak economy, political instability and high cost of living are some of the factors that are expected to make 2017’s public sector negotiations the "most difficult" to date. Wage talks are expected to get under way at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council in September ahead of the expiration of the current agreement in March 2018. Trade unions are gearing up for an uphill battle, but have vowed they would not succumb to pressure to accept inflation-based wage offers from the government, despite the weak state of the economy. Curbing the government’s wage bill is one of the proposals that make up Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s recently launched action plan to lift growth. Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini said the federation was against the Treasury’s plan, indicating that workers would not be sacrificial lambs and could not be expected to demand anything below a living wage. The Public Servants Association (PSA) said it was also ready to defend the right of workers to demand a double-digit increase. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive
Police get interdict against striking 10111 call centre workers News24 reports that on Friday the SA Police Service (SAPS) was granted an interdict to stop striking 10111 call centre workers from harassing non-striking staff or damaging property. The Labour Court order interdicted members of the SA Policing Union (SAPU) from “harassing, threatening physical violence, threatening to assault or kill, and intimidating” anyone on police premises. A police spokesperson said the SAPS had approached the court because 10111 workers on strike at the Midrand call centre had been intimidating and threatening other employees and added that on Thursday “these unlawful acts escalated into them hurling objects at and damaging state vehicles.” Members of SAPU, who run the police’s 24-hour emergency call centres, have been on strike since late July, with a hiatus while CCMA mediation unsuccessfully took place. The union wants salary levels increased by two notches, about R50,000 per year per worker. Read this report by Jan Cronje in full at News24 Striking 10111 call centre operators: We will mobilise other workers EWN reports that striking 10111 call centre workers say they will now mobilise workers who may be on duty to join nationwide demonstrations. Protesters resumed their industrial action last week demanding a salary adjustment. Last week, the Labour Court in Johannesburg ruled in favour of the SA Police Service (SAPS), granting an interdict against acts of intimidation. Worker representative Bethuel Nkuna said they would not contravene the court order, but would turn to other workers. “We’re doing this to achieve what we’re aiming for. We are trying to reason with them so they understand why we’re doing this.” This short report by Pelane Phakgadi is at EWN. See too, SAPS open to engaging in talks with 10111 operators, at EWN
Cosatu rejects ANC witch-hunt against rebel MPs In a letter to Business Day published on Monday, Cosatu wrote that it has noted with concern calls coming from some within the ANC for a witch-hunt to be waged against those MPs who defied the party line and voted with opposition parties during last week’s no-confidence vote on President Jacob Zuma. The labour federation’s national spokesman Sizwe PamlaCosatu indicated: “We denounce this myopic view as a futile endeavour that will only weaken the ANC further. Looking for people who dissented during a secret ballot is like looking for a black cat in a dark room. It will only lead to McCarthyism, where scores are settled based on innuendo, lies and baseless information.” Meantime, TimesLive reports that President Jacob Zuma has declared war on those ANC MPs who voted against him last week. He said on Sunday that he would be discussing with ANC officials the issue of what had happened in Parliament and that he would “express my dissatisfaction about the conduct of some members and why." Read Cosatu’s letter to the editor at BusinessLive. Read too, Zuma guns for those who voted against him, at TimesLive
Sugar tax a certainty, with focus now on how to mitigate the job losses Heath24 reports that the proposed tax on sugary drinks is likely to go ahead later this year, following negotiations between government, labour and industry at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac). “It’s quite clear that the tax will happen and maybe even this year. If not, the conservative estimate is for the tax to be introduced at the beginning of the next tax season in March 2018,” Cosatu’s Matthew Parks indicated. He was speaking after the Nedlac discussions held the Friday before last. Negotiations are due to continue this week, but Parks said the debate was now less about whether or not there should be a tax and more about how to mitigate against job losses and save livelihoods. The beverage industry and sugar farmers have warned of massive job losses should the tax be implemented and Cosatu, while conceding the unhealthy effects of sugary drinks, has also raised its concern about job losses. Nedlac excludes the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu), which represents most of the workers who could be affected by the tax-related job losses. Read this report in full at Heath24 Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Large numbers of teachers habitually skip classes City Press reports that according to a study by the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE), pupils lose about 40% of learning time every year in SA schools because teachers habitually skip classes. The study, released on 1 August, attributed the loss of learning time to the failure of the current model of teacher assessment – the Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS). The report said the teacher-assessment model had been weakened to such a degree that teachers were getting performance points for attending staff meetings and not for targeting tangible gains to improve teaching and learning in schools. “Teachers go shopping on paydays. They are doing extra jobs while they are full-time teachers,” an education expert commented. The SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) in 2013 proposed that the Quality Management System (QMS) replace IQMS. “Until Sadtu has signed it off, it cannot be implemented. It has been watered down by government because of politics,” the expert claimed. Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said allegations that the union had not signed the IQMS were false. Read this report by Msindisi Fengu in full at City Press Other internet posting(s) in this news category
DA calls for public service minister to be probed over nepotistic hiring practices ANA reports that the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Sunday that Public Service and Administration Minister Faith Muthambi must be investigated by parliament's joint committee on ethics and members' interests for gross misconduct. This followed media revelations that Muthambi had allegedly hired 27 support staff to her office in what seemed to be a case of nepotism. "Reports today [Sunday] claim that Minister Muthambi allegedly appointed mostly uncles and cousins from her home province Limpopo as drivers, deputy directors, and a 'food services aide' in her office without following due procedure," the DA’s Mike Waters said. He went on to claim that even more disturbing were the allegations that the minister allegedly stripped the director-general of her department of his powers to appoint staff. Muthambi’s department is responsible for administering norms in the public sector and ensuring the ethical behaviour of public servants. Read this report in full at IOL News. Read too, The allegations of nepotism Muthambi will have to answer in Parliament, at BusinessLive. And also, Muthambi hands out jobs to family, pals, and Hlaudi’s daughter, at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Suspended Soweto taxi routes to remain closed for three more months eNCA reports that Gauteng MEC for Road and Transport, Ismail Vadi, on Friday announced that he intended extending the notice closing five taxi ranks and routes linked to violence, unrest, and instability in Soweto for a further three months. The affected taxi ranks and routes were shut down by Vadi in mid-July due to on-going violent conflicts between the Witwatersrand African Taxi Association and the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association, which negatively affected thousands of commuters. Vadi indicated that he has not received any assurances from the leadership of the two taxi bodies about restoring peaceful operations in the area. Read this report in full at eNCA Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet from Friday, 11 August to Sunday, 13 August 2017 at SA Labour News
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