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 Tuesday roundup, see summaries
of our selection of South African labour-
related stories that have appeared since
midday on Monday, 11 September 2017.
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BLSA’s Colin Coleman says business is committed to working harder for jobs Colin Coleman, Partner MD at Goldman Sachs International and a Board Member of Business Leadership SA (BLSA), writes that last month business made its voice heard with a clear and simple message, namely ‘Business Believes in South Africa’. In Alexandra, BLSA launched a “Contract with South Africa” to demonstrate how business, too, wants inclusive growth and transformation, central to which is a commitment to create jobs. Coleman says many of the nine million South Africans without work think it’s virtually impossible to get a job, and partly blame it on rife corruption. And they think the jobs of the 16 million employed are poorly paid. When business and Cosatu leaders met in June, they concluded that urgent action was necessary to end unemployment, poverty and inequality. That dialogue identified a growth and transformation agenda (as outlined in article). The meeting also highlighted the effect of corruption and “state capture”. Coleman maintains that a new period of dynamism now hinges on the success of effectively defeating “state capture” in its entirety, with the steps as necessary outlined. “Once this has been achieved, business can set about joining our partners in creating millions of jobs.” This article appeared on page 10 of Business Times of 10 September 2017. It can also be read at BLSA online. Read too, Cheers to SAB’s jobs bid, at The New Age Employers set for modest hiring in fourth quarter of 2017 Engineering News reports that Lyndy van den Barselaar, MD of ManpowerGroup SA, says local employers report modest hiring intentions for the fourth quarter of the year. Some 10% of employers expect to increase staffing levels, 5% are forecasting a decrease and 84% are anticipating no change. Hiring prospects remain relatively stable when compared with the previous quarter, but are 4% lower when compared to the final quarter of 2016. Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the hiring outlook is set to increase by 5% during the final quarter of this year. Opportunities for job seekers are expected to be strongest in the restaurants and hotels and the transport, storage and communication sectors. They will be weakest within the mining and quarrying sector. The strongest labour market is anticipated in the Western Cape, where employers report a net employment outlook of a 7% increase. Modest payroll gains are expected in both Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with outlooks of a 5% increase. Read this report in full at Engineering News The provinces and metros with the highest rates of employment in South Africa BusinessTech writes that with South Africa’s unemployment rate at 14-year highs, Statistics SA data show which provinces and metros are weathering the storm. In August, Stats SA released its Quarterly Labour Force Survey results for the second quarter of 2017 (April – June), detailing numbers around the state of employment in SA. The data also shows where workers are most likely to be employed (absorbed) in the country, and which regions are successfully in creating job opportunities. A table in this report outlines the provinces with the highest absorption rates, as well as the number of net gains/loss in jobs. Contrary to popular belief, it is the Western Cape that appears to offer the best bet on jobs, with 53.9% of the working age population formally employed. City of Cape Town takes the top position as regard absorption rate by metros, but it is second to Ekurhuleni in Gauteng for the net gain in jobs. The second quarter of 2017 saw 53,000 jobs being added in Cape Town year-on-year, compared to the 143,000 additions in Ekurhuleni. There was a net loss of 83,000 jobs in the City of Johannesburg over the period, but the city still has the second-highest absorption rate at 52.6% Read this report in full at BusinessTech Refocused EPWP to address unemployment in North West The North West province would focus its attention on the existing Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) in efforts to root out unemployment among youth, Premier Supra Mahumapelo has advised. Addressing the three-day Villages, Townships and Small Dorpies (VTSD) Skills Development Lekgotla in Potchefstroom, Mahumapelo said the province would refocus the EPWP programme from being mainly about the cleaning of environment to being innovation focused and skills development driven. “The refocused EPWP will … ponder the extension of the employment contract from 12 to 24 months, to enable beneficiaries sufficient time to be trained before being released for their actual work through applicable recruitment processes,” Mahumapelo indicated. The newly refocused EPWP will be rolled out before the end of the quarter. Read this report in full at SA Govt News Agency. Read too, North West prioritises skills development for youth, at SABC News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Transport Minister gives Uber, metered taxi drivers stern warning about violence EWN reports that Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi has warned e-hailing service partners and also metered taxi drivers that government would not tolerate lawlessness. He went on a walk-about at the Sandton Gautrain Station on Monday following clashes between Uber and metered taxi drivers last week, in which three vehicles were torched. The minister was joined by acting transport MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza and Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane. Maswanganyi met and interacted with taxi operators, who didn’t hold back in telling the minister their grievances. He once again condemned the violent clashes, saying government would not tolerate those who took the law into their own hands. He also indicated that Uber, Taxify and Zebra had been told that their driver-partners must apply for permits and said that any taxi services found operating without any proper documentation would have their vehicles impounded. Police have been deployed to the Sandton Gautrain Station to maintain law and order. A short report by Thando Kubheka is at EWN. Read too, By blood or iron, we will protect our territory, say metered taxi drivers, at News24. And aslso, Uber petitions transport, police ministers to step in amid violence, at News24. As well as, Taxi services at Gautrain stations may be suspended if violence continues, at EWN Man seriously injured by falling steel pipe in KZN factory accident The Mercury reports that a Durban man sustained serious injuries after a falling steel pipe struck him on Sunday afternoon. A Netcare911 spokesperson said on Monday that at approximately 3.40pm on Sunday afternoon, the service responded to reports of a “serious injury” at an industrial site in the Jacobs area, outside Durban. “Reports from the scene indicate that a large, heavy steel pipe fell approximately 2.5m and stuck the man. The incident still needs to be investigated.” The man was stabilised at the scene and spinally restricted before being transported to hospital for further assessment and care. A short report is at The Mercury KZN man in critical condition after angle grinder slices stomach Caxton News Services reports that a man, believed to be 57-years-old, is in a critical condition after sustaining a serious wound to his stomach. ER24 paramedics found the man lying on the floor at his home in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal, on Sunday. “It is believed the man was working with an angle grinder when the blade of the grinder came off,” said Annine Siddall, ER24 spokesperson. He was transported to RK Khan Hospital. A short report is at The Citizen Other internet posting(s) in this news category
Mineral Resources orders Lonmin to meet Social & Labour Plan commitments Business Report writes that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has ordered Lonmin to rectify non-compliance after an audit revealed that the miner had failed to meet its Social and Labour Plan (SLP) commitments between 2014 and 2017. Section 93 of the Mineral and Petroleum Development Act (MPRDA) gives the DMR the right to enforce compliance with the act by ordering mines to cease operations. Lonmin spokesperson Wendy Tlou confirmed that the platinum producer had received correspondence from the DMR highlighting areas that had been identified as non-compliant in its current SLP. “We are engaging with the DMR to provide evidence of our compliance and to apply for the relevant extensions where applicable for the remaining areas where we could still be found to be behind schedule of implementation. We are further engaging the DMR to ensure that community intervention programmes proposed are sustainable and in line with the municipal and provincial priorities for economic development,” Tlou indicated. Read this report by Dineo Faku in full at Business Report In coal sector negotiations, Numsa demands Glencore wage hike of 15% Reuters reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has demanded that Glencore raise coal mining wages by 15% across the board, the union said on Tuesday. The demand is almost triple the inflation rate of 4.6%. Numsa also said it was pushing for a housing subsidy of R80,000 and an increase of 20% in all allowances. Numsa has majority representation at Glencore. It was due to meet with the Chamber of Mines on Tuesday to discuss wages in the coal sector. This short report is at Mining Weekly. Read Numsa’s press statement in this regard at Numsa online Oliphant accuses mines of avoiding use of training fund for retrenched workers BusinessLive reports that Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant says mining companies are not making use of the government’s training layoff scheme, which has a fund of more than R2bn to up-skill retrenched workers. In an interview, she claimed mining companies were avoiding having to declare their finances to the Labour Department and disclose the real reasons behind retrenchments. The scheme was established shortly after the 2008 global recession, but it has recorded little success and the minister blamed this on the intransigent attitude of business. The Chamber of Mines (COM) denied there was a link between mining companies not using the training layoff scheme and unwillingness to disclose their finances as this was already being done to comply with section 189 of the Labour Relations Act. COM spokeswoman Charmane Russell listed a number of challenges that stood in the way of mining companies "fully embracing" the scheme. National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said the failure by business to take advantage of the scheme boiled down to a "lack of concern" about the future of retrenched mine workers, who were likely to end up destitute. Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana in full at BusinessLive Other labour / community / environmental postings relating to mining
Postings on Mining Charter
Transnet is not 'contemplating any forced retrenchments' Business Report writes that state-owned rail, port and pipeline company Transnet on Monday said that it was not contemplating any forced retrenchments. It indicated in a statement: “Any statement about retrenchments at Transnet is ill-advised, devoid of truth and may sow uncertainty among our employees,” and went on to add that the reports, which were based on a statement issued by the General Secretary of the United National Transport Union (Untu), Steve Harris, were misleading and totally inaccurate. Transnet said it valued and respected its relationship with employees and assured them that there would be no forced retrenchments. Harris last week questioned the reasoning of Tumelo Mokwena, Transnet’s Human Capital GM, after Mokwena said the moratorium that was placed on the filling of non-critical vacancies in Transnet last year, was only an interim measure. Read this report by Sizwe Dlamini in full at Business Report. Read Transnet’s press statement in this regard at Polity Other internet posting(s) in this news category
BLF marches to FNB Bank City for reinstatement of ‘FNB4’ ANA reports that Andile Mngxitama's Black First Land First (BLF) movement on Monday marched to the headquarters of FNB in a bid to petition the bank to reinstate four employees who were dismissed for discussing politics in their work social media and professional email platforms. About 100 BLF members marched from Gandhi Square in the Johannesburg CBD to FNB Bank City. This followed failure to meet with FNB chief executive, Jacques Celliers, two weeks ago. Last month, the four employees were fired for "political talk and using insulting language" after the bank monitored their business e-mails and WhatsApp group conversations for several months last year. They believe that they were unfairly dismissed for exercising their right to freedom of expression and their right to privacy. BLF general secretary Thandiswa Yaphi accused Celliers of not respecting black people and of being a "regime change agent", saying that the axed employees were fired for raising transformation issues within the bank. It was not immediately clear if the BLF succeeded in meeting Celliers on Monday. FNB declined to comment on specifics relating to the dismissal of the employees. Read this report in full at Business Report. See too, BLF seeks justice for dismissed FNB employees, at The New Age Other internet posting(s) in this news category
302 employees probed in UKZN medical school admissions scam Daily News reports that Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, vice-chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), has indicated that investigations into an admissions scam were still underway. He explained that a team had imaged more than 363 electronic devices that were seized from staff suspected of being involved in the elaborate scam. Van Jaarsveld explained: “The university’s forensic services unit and independent external forensic audit firm, Deloitte, concluded a wholesale search-and-seizure exercise that was conducted across our five campuses. The initial focus of the operation was 286 employees, however, the number had subsequently increased to 302 employees.” He added that two offices have been searched and additional documents and a computer have been seized. One person has already been dismissed. Read this report by Se-Anne Rall in full at Daily News Other internet posting(s) in this news category
See our listing of links to labour articles published on the internet on Monday, 11 September 2017 at SA Labour News
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Get South African labour news reports at SA Labour News