In our Thursday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Wednesday, 6 September 2017.
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Paramedics under siege as Cape's 'red zones' rise to 15 Cape Times reports that the lives of those living in the most dangerous areas in Cape Town are at risk because it takes an average of two hours for paramedics to reach a patient in an emergency situation in a “red zone” community. This is because paramedics are under attack from robbers, some armed with weapons, and have to wait for a police escort for on average an hour. Only then can they respond to calls for assistance. The red-zone areas are where ambulance crews are often attacked. There have been 32 attacks on paramedics this year. And some 26 staff members have had to take stress leave as a result of these attacks, Western Cape Emergency Medical Services (EMS) manager Pumzile Papu indicated. In the latest incident last week, paramedics were unable to reach a patient in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain, and had to leave the area when they and their police escort were stoned and shot at. Red zones have increased from 11 to 15. Added to the list now are Beacon Valley, Rocklands, Heideveld and Chicago in Paarl. Read this report by Sandiso Phaliso in full at Cape Times Other internet posting(s) in this news category
NUM wants Trans Hex to surrender mining licence amid retrenchment plan Business Report writes that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called on diamond mining company Trans Hex to surrender its mining licence amid its plan to retrench 332 employees at its ageing and loss-making Baken Mine in the Northern Cape. NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu on Wednesday questioned why the diamond producer was putting the mine, which has been operating for more than 45 years, under care and maintenance if it was no longer profitable. “Our position as the NUM is that they must return their mining licence to the regulator, which is the Department of Mineral Resources, so that interested companies can take over and mine there. It is clear that they are lying,” he said. Trans Hex said that Baken was nearing the end of life in its current form. Operations would continue at the mine during the consultation process with the NUM and Baken would then be placed on care and maintenance from 1 November. Read this report by Luyolo Mkentane in full at Business Report. Read the NUM’s press statement in this regard at NUM online Other labour posting(s) relating to mining
Community / environmental postings relating to mining
Postings on Mining Charter
Inhumane treatment of Free State farmworkers shocks parliamentary committee ANA reports that Parliament’s Select Committee on Economic and Business Development on Tuesday said it was shocked and angered by claims that a farmer gave his workers “rotten meat” while feeding his caged lions with fresh chunks. “This behaviour of the concerned farmer needs to be condemned strongly and discouraged. Farmers should not conduct themselves in a manner that perpetuates anger and polarisation among our people along racial lines,” committee chairperson Mandla Rayi said. He indicated that the committee, which is conducting an oversight visit in the Free State, would raise the matter at its meeting with the Department of Labour. Read this report in full at The Citizen. Read too, Nog niemand aangekla oor ‘kinderarbeid’ in Vrystaat, at Maroela Media Striking farmworkers protest in Ventersdorp over union recognition and wages ANA reports that the SA Federation of Trade Union (Saftu) said on Tuesday that at least 123 farmworkers were on strike in Ventersdorp, in the North West, over union recognition and wages. “This strike was exacerbated by the arrogance and intransigent behaviour of the bosses by denying farmworkers their basic and fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution,” Puseletso Molise, Saftu’s North West provincial convenor, said. The workers downed tools at Doornplaat beef farm outside Ventersdorp on 25 August, demanding that their union, namely the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (Nupsaw), be recognised by the employer. They further wanted the employer to compensate the families of three workers who died on duty. Farmworkers filled the Ventersdorp municipality chambers during a media briefing and painted a gloomy picture of labour law violations at the farm. Read this report in full in Afrikaans at Maroela Media Other internet posting(s) in this news category
PSA encouraging partnerships ahead of state wage talks The New Age reports that the Public Servants Association of SA (PSA) on Tuesday said it has been lobbying a number of stakeholders, including Fedusa-aligned unions and Cosatu, ahead of wage talks at the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). Amid political and economic instability, the PSCBC is bracing itself for the most of difficult wage talks. “We are fully aware that these negotiations will be the toughest most probably in the history of our democracy. That is why our approach will also be different from previous ways of negotiations. We are looking at and encouraging partnerships instead of adopting an adversarial approach to negotiations,” the PSA’s Tahir Maepa said. Forming part of PSA’s plan going into the wage talks is to hear the positions of business and labour so that a middle path can be found that will not be oblivious of the current economic climate. A short report by Refilwe Magashule is at The New Age
UCT strike cancelled over interdict 'technicalities' Cape Times reports that according to University of Cape Town (UCT) workers and student activists they had no choice but to withdraw their planned strike over labour issues, after the university applied for a court interdict over two technicalities. A meeting between the university's management and worker representatives on Wednesday ended with the parties agreeing they would meet again on Thursday. They were due to discuss issues regarding working hours, shift allowances and pay differences among ground staff. SA Liberated Public Sector Workers Union representative Abraham Agullas said: “We were advised to withdraw our notice because in their interdict they said we did not stipulate where on UCT we would strike or the time.” A university spokesperson said the university had withdrawn its urgent application to interdict the strike after the unions informed them of their withdrawal of their notice. Agullas said vice-chancellor Max Price was at Wednesday’s meeting to argue that management was working to resolve the issues. Read this report by Dominic Adriaanse in full at Cape Times. See too, UCT strike postponed, at GroundUp. And also, Mass meeting held after UCT shutdown cancelled, at Cape Argus. As well as, Max Price: Planned shutdown could cost UCT R500m, at TimesLive
Nedlac rejects Saftu’s claim of bias in issuing of protest action certificates BusinessLive reports that the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) says it is not biased in its issuing of section 77 certificates, which protect workers embarking on socioeconomic protests. The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) accused Nedlac of acting "suspiciously", because its members either had applications declined or their applications were not finalised speedily. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has also complained about having to resubmit an application for a protest against mining job losses after its initial attempt was turned down by Nedlac. Denying that it deliberately stalled any applications, Nedlac on Thursday also criticised Saftu’s plan to protest outside Nedlac’s annual summit on Friday, saying the federation’s fight for affiliation was without merit as there was as yet no record of a membership application. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive Next round of taxi protests planned for 13 September to target BAW, Sasol and Fourways Mall Business Report writes that next round of protests by the taxi industry will target vehicle manufacturer Beijing Automotive Works (BAW), Sasol in Secunda and the Fourways Mall. Further companies may be added to the list of targets. The protests are mainly related to the industry’s exclusion from the industry’s value chain. The planned protest against Fourways Mall is related to the lack of facilities at the mall for taxis that transport customers and retail store staff to and from the mall. Apparently, the Mass Taxi Industry Protest Action Committee is in the process of applying for permission to embark on the protests on 13 September. The committee, a splinter group of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco), organised the blockade at Toyota SA’s manufacturing plant in Prospecton in Durban in May and the protests that took place in June in Johannesburg and Midrand. Read this report by Roy Cokayne in full at Business Report
BUSA awakes, but merely to congratulate SAB for employment initiative Business Report reports that Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) has congratulated South African Breweries’ (SAB's) entrepreneurship campaign aimed at enabling SA entrepreneurs to create 10,000 jobs by 2021. While not referred to in this Business Report report, this seems to be the first public pronouncement in a very long time on the employment crisis in the country by the supposedly foremost body representing businesses in SA. The context is that South Africa is experiencing an unemployment crisis of epic proportions. Encouragingly, the SAB entrepreneurial campaign brings together the company’s initiatives under one integrated package and was launched in Vilakazi Street, Soweto on Monday. BUSA Chief Executive Officer Tanya Cohen roused herself to say the SAB’s entrepreneurship initiative was in line with BUSA’s approach to black economic empowerment and inclusive economic growth. Read this report in full at Business Report. Read too, 10,000 new jobs in the pipeline says South African Breweries, at Business Report Union federations welcome deferment of sugar tax and urge consultation Business Report writes that labour federations have called on the National Treasury to revisit submissions and engage meaningfully on the contentious sugar tax now that its implementation has been deferred. Treasury’s Ismail Momoniat announced on Tuesday that implementation of the so-called sugar tax would be delayed until April 2018. The Treasury had proposed a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, which was supposed to be implemented in April this year. But industry body, the Beverage Association of SA (BevSA), rallied against the proposed tax, saying if implemented, it would cost between 62,000 and 72,000 jobs. “We hope that during this postponement period they will attend to some of the submissions regarding the issue of jobs,” said Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla. Fedusa’s Dennis George said that the postponement should be used to establish a “proper dialogue on this matter so that we can scrutinise its impact on the economy”. His counterpart from Nactu, Narius Moloto, agreed. Saftu’s Moleko Phakedi said: “The consultation should strike a balance between (promotion of) good health and job creation. The tax shouldn’t attain good health at the expense of jobs in the sector.” Phakedi said the consultations should be inclusive and bemoaned the fact that Saftu’s affiliate, the Food and Allied Workers’ Union (Fawu), was left out of the Nedlac discussions on the matter. Read the original of the report by Luyolo Mkentane at SA Labour News. See too, Sugar tax likely to be implemented in April 2018, but concerns remain about job losses, at BusinessTech Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Parliamentary committee very concerned about high vacancy rate at KZN’s Addington hospital News24 reports that a parliamentary committee says the high vacancy rate at the troubled Addington Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has negatively impacted healthcare in the province. The select committee on social services on Wednesday said the high vacancy rate of medical professionals had a direct link and impact on the quality of healthcare services rendered to the public. The vacancy rate of medical specialists at the hospital currently stands at 29% and the vacancy rate for medical officers is at 28%. The hospital has a further 38% vacancy rate for its heads of clinical units and a 14% professional nurse vacancy rate. Chairperson of the committee, Cathy Dlamini, said the statistics were alarming in the context of the workload that the current staff complement have to carry. "The committee reiterates its view that filling of vacancies within the health portfolio must be prioritised It cannot be that the freezing of posts occurs even at hospital level because the issues dealt with at these institutions are matters of life and death," she said. Read this report by Kaveel Singh in full at News24 Sadtu supports ‘unqualified’ black principal getting job Cape Times reports that the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) has indicated its support for the government’s decision to appoint an “unqualified” person as Klipspruit West Secondary School’s principal despite the community objections. It has emerged that the preferred candidate scored only the third highest points during the interview with the panel but got the position instead of another candidate, who received the highest score. The community said the procedure was flawed and kept secret from them. The national Department of Basic Education is investigating the matter and a report is expected soon. But on Tuesday, Sadtu’s general secretary in Gauteng, Tseliso Ledimo, said there was nothing untoward with the process followed to hire the successful candidate and that the department, as the employer, could make the final decision. He added that the involvement of the community in the appointment of a desired candidate would cause problems because the community “has limited access to information of hiring professionals. If we open that process to community structures, we will have chaos.” Read this report by Lindile Sifile in full at Cape Times
Motsoeneng’s legal representative pins Jimmy Matthews for SABC 8 sacking ANA reports that the Labour Court on Wednesday heard that former SA Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) acting CEO Jimmy Matthews was responsible for the sacking of eight journalists in July 2016. Former SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s legal representative, Thabani Masuku, argued that his client should not be held personally liable for the wrongful dismissal of eight journalists at the public broadcaster in the so-called SABC 8 saga. On 11 May, the Labour Court granted the application by trade union Solidarity to add Motsoeneng, along with acting head of news Simon Tebele, as respondents in the trade union’s cost order case against the SABC. Solidarity and the Broadcast, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union are asking that the three be held responsible for the SABC 8’s successful legal action against the SABC. The SABC’s legal representative, Phillip Mokoena, argued that it should only be held liable for 10% of the costs. Read this report in full at eNCA. See too, Hlaudi blames Jimi Matthews for wrongful dismissal of SABC 8, at News24. And also, Hlaudi: 'They want to hit his pockets and hurt his family', at Business Report. As well as, SABC 8: Hlaudi Motsoeneng loses his friends in court, at Daily Maverick Other internet posting(s) in this news category
UniZulu vice-chancellor accused of corruption and maladministration The Citizen reports that a former education lecturer at the University of Zululand (Unizulu) has opened criminal charges against the vice-chancellor, Prof Xoliswa Mtose, for tender rigging, contravention of the university’s supply-chain policy, fraud, irregular and wasteful expenditure, violating the higher education act and misrepresenting her CV. This comes a few months after the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande, wrote a scathing letter to the university council and executives to get their house in order or be placed under administration. Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks), stated that the investigation against UniZulu council members as well the vice-chancellor and members of her executive management was ongoing, and was awaiting a progress report from the anti-corruption unit in respect of queries raised. Read this report by Gosebo Mathope in full at The Citizen Necsa CEO in court over private use of company car BusinessLive reports that on Wednesday, the High Court in Pretoria heard an application brought by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) against the longstanding CEO of the Nuclear Energy Corporation of SA (Necsa), Phumzile Tshelane. This was for allegedly unlawfully using his company vehicle and driver for his private benefit and doing so without the approval of the institution’s board. The CIPC wants him to be placed on probation for five years for acting "in a manner materially inconsistent with his duties as director of Necsa". Tshelane’s legal representatives still have to explain to the court why he had not reimbursed Necsa for the private use of the luxury Lexus vehicle, as directed by the old board. The court also has to consider an affidavit submitted at the eleventh hour by Necsa’s new board declaring it had resolved just over a week ago to set aside the findings of the old board that Tshelane had "improperly made use of a company vehicle" .Tshelane challenged the version of events relied upon by the CIPC. Judgment was reserved. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Wednesday, 6 September 2017 at SA Labour News
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Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News