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Monday, 31 October 2016 10:49

Sowetan reports that drunken driving and speeding are suspected in the fatal crash involving a rubbish truck in which two municipal employees died and four others were injured when the vehicle overturned on Saturday.

The four sustained injuries when the back part of the heavy­duty vehicle fell on them.  The crash happened around 3pm on Soutpansberg Road in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni.  The road had to be closed for three hours.

Two people died and two others were found trapped under the truck.  One of them had his leg severed by the truck's heavy steel bin after paramedics could not move him, said ER24 spokesman Werner Vermaak on Sunday.  "A large towing vehicle was called to the scene to partially lift the truck to free him. Once freed paramedics found that he had sustained severe traumatic injuries.  "He was placed on life support and airlifted to hospital.  Rescue workers struggled for an hour to free him," Vermaak said confirming that two people died.  Two more were found near the truck with moderate injuries and were taken to Tembisa Hospital.

Ekurhuleni metro police spokesman Wilfred Kgasago said the driver lost control of the vehicle.  He said the cause of the accident was being investigated.

However, witnesses said alcohol and speeding could have been the cause of the accident.  Maria Jones, who lives at Oppimeer complex near the crash site, said they saw lots of beer bottles at the scene.  "They were not carrying a big load of rubbish because those beer bottles looked like they had just been used.  It was a horrific scene.  One of them lay flat and dead under that truck.  I was very upset," Jones said.

Elizabeth Moore said:  "It was so terrible.  I've never seen anything like that before.  Had those guys not been drinking and adhered to the rules of the road, this wouldn't have happened.  I feel sorry for their families."

Another resident, Emilly Tshabalala, said that stretch of road was known for accidents and reckless driving despite having a 60km/h speed limit.

Sergeant Barbara Ferreira, sector manager attached to Norkempark police station, said they did not suspect drinking and driving but speeding.  "Judging by the impact, we think the accident could have been caused by speeding.  Our guys are investigating," Ferreira said.

This report by Lindile Sifile is on page 2 of Sowetan of 31 October 2016

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Friday, 28 October 2016 11:43

Business Report writes that the retail motor industry has accused the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) of undermining the centralised bargaining process for a new three-year agreement for the industry by engaging in "back door" negotiations with individual employers.

Jakkie Olivier, chief executive of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), which represents 19,000 businesses that collectively employ 300,000 people, claimed Numsa was negotiating at a centralised bargaining level, while at the same time trying to engage with employers at plant level, which could not be allowed.

Olivier said the RMI had conveyed the message to Numsa to stop this two-tier bargaining and let the RMI know in which forum the union wanted to negotiate.

"These back door negotiations are not helping anyone and undermining the centralised bargaining process.  It is delaying and frustrating the process and results in unnecessary delays so workers can't get their increases," he said.

Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim countered by stressing the RMI did not represent Numsa members and could not tell the union whom it could speak to.  "We do what is in the interests of workers," he said.

Jim declined to comment on the reaction Numsa received from its interaction with individual companies.  "It's at a very sensitive stage of the process and anything can happen, even a strike," he said.  Jim confirmed Numsa had not given the RMI any notice of strike action and was still consulting its members and meeting employers.

A certificate of non-resolution of a dispute was issued to Numsa earlier this month during a negotiation session with the RMI, which allows the union to give the industry 48 hours’ notice of a strike by its members.  The certificate of non-resolution was issued to Numsa following several dispute meetings with the RMI.

Numsa had declared a dispute and a deadlock in its negotiations with the RMI at the motor industry bargaining council in July.

Numsa's final demand is a wage increase of 9% in the first year of a three-year agreement, with wage hikes of 8% in each of the following two years.  The RMI has offered a wage increase of 7% in each year of the agreement.

The automotive component manufacturing sector has offered a wage increase of 8.5% in the first year, 7.5% in the second and 7% in the third year.

Olivier said no progress had been made in resolving the dispute during a negotiation session with Numsa on Monday.  He said a fixed date had not been set on when the parties would meet again.  "But we have got to meet again if we are to resolve the dispute.  The process started in April," he said.

The previous three-year agreement between the RMI and Numsa expired at the end of August.  Any new agreement reached between the parties cannot be backdated.

The Automotive Manufacturers Employers' Organisation (Ameo) and Numsa last month agreed on a 10% wage increase in the first year of a three-year agreement, with an 8% wage hike in each of the following two years.

The settlement between the SA Tyre Manufacturing Organisation and Numsa was for an 8.5% wage increase in the first year and wage hikes of 8% in each of the following two years.

The original of this report by Roy Cokayne is on page 20 of Business Report of 28 October 2016

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Tuesday, 25 October 2016 12:21

The Citizen reports that outsourcing has fallen at the University of South Africa (Unisa) after 10 months of deliberations.  Unisa's Multi-stakeholder Task Team (MSTT) has announced that the university would appoint 910 new members of staff in previously outsourced areas, including cleaning, security, gardening and waste-removal.  The MSTT was established by a resolution of the Unisa Council at a special meeting in December, with a mandate to insource identified services in response to the nationwide call, largely by students, for academic institutions to end outsourcing.  

Sakhi Simelane, chair of the Unisa Council, said the agreement bore testimony to the "commitment, unwavering determination and resolution of all parties involved" to find amicable solutions to difficult problems.  Simelane added that this was done through courageous and open-minded discussion, as well as facing-up to the deep-seated systemic challenges confronting Unisa.

Following discussion on the submission by the MSTT, the executive committee of the Unisa Council resolved the following:

• To approve the insourcing of services from 1 December.  This would affect the security, cleaning, waste removal, recycling, gardening and estate services at Unisa centres;
• The stakeholders agreed insourcing would be capped at the current outsourced contract value of R112 million and be based on a shared model that applied a 70/30 principle, with 70% allocated to salaries and 30% to operational costs, administered by reputable service providers;
• The stakeholders agreed 910 of the 1,413 affected employees would benefit from insourcing, based on a fair selection process that took into account South African citizenship, a matric qualification, Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority verification for security personnel, and at least a year's service at Unisa, as well as no criminal record;
• All affected contracts for insourced employment be terminated and be completed as soon as possible, and that the procurement of new service providers for the shared-services model commence immediately;
• The same benefits that had been extended to the cleaning staff also be given to new insourced workers;
• The stakeholders agreed that an ex gratia salary payment of R3,500 for three months (totalling R10,500) be made to all members of staff who were not selected for insourced employment; and
• The Exco of Council approved and directed that a minimum wage for vulnerable workers in the sectors not yet identified be determined and, when implemented, be backdated to 1 March.

Based on a report by Virginia Keppler on page 8 of The Citizen of 25 October 2016

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Monday, 24 October 2016 14:27

Sunday Independent reports that National Treasury's decision to withdraw R64 million allocated for additional inspectors as requested by the Department of Labour has angered unions.  Cosatu and the Food and Allied Workers Union (Fawu) told Independent Media last week the decision would not bode well for improving labour relations and could be detrimental for workers.  The Treasury had allocated the funds to the department to employ an additional 124 inspectors for the 206/17 financial year.  

The about-turn was revealed in the department's annual 2016 report presented recently to Parliament.  The department said the Treasury's decision may mean it won't reach its target of increasing its inspector capacity by 30 percent for the 2014/15 to 2019/20 financial years, as stated in the department's medium term strategic framework.  The cost-cutting is part of the Treasury's efforts to tighten the government's purse strings and also prevent unnecessary expenditure.

Fawu deputy president Raymond Mnguni said he was concerned about those workers who desperately needed inspectors to ensure they are not abused, especially farm workers.  "Workers are injured every day on farms and they have given up on the government doing something to assist them.  That's an area that's going explode one day," he warned.

Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla stressed that many of the inspectors were poorly trained.  "The department just offers lip service with every year, releasing sectoral determination pay increases, but they don't make sure that there is compliance," he said.

Cosatu has presented numerous submissions to Parliament and the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on the need for additional inspectors.  "There are thousands of labour brokers that are violating workers' rights," said Pamla.

Cosatu researcher Neil Coleman said he was concerned the government's cost-cutting measures would affect crucial services.  "Without those extra inspectors, all the efforts of implementing legislation and the national minimum wage can never be addressed," said Coleman.  Enforcement is compromised by lack of proper inspection."

The national minimum wage is expected to be implemented by the end of the year, and both Fawu and Cosatu expressed concern about the department's ability to oversee compliance.

However, the department's Sithembele Tshwete said there were plans to allocate inspectors specifically to oversee the minimum wage implementation in the 2017/18 financial year and that the department would continue to request funds for more inspectors.

Report by Zintle Mahlati on page 8 of Sunday Independent of 23 October 2016

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Monday, 24 October 2016 12:58

The New Age reports that according to the labour constituency at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), things are edging closer towards the realisation of a national minimum wage (NMW).  Nedlac’s Committee of Principals (COP), representing government, business, labour and the community, met at the weekend to iron out their differences regarding the NMW.  It emerged that the advisory panel tasked with determining an appropriate level at which to set the NMW would give a report on its work within the next two weeks.  

Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) general secretary Dennis George indicated:  "We'll hear a progress report within two weeks on the motivation and argument for the wage.  The matter is quite important."  He said that agreeing to a level at which the wage must be set would not be an easy undertaking.  "The work is complex, if you set the wage too high, business must have a problem of affordability and they might not be able to pass the cost on to the consumer."  

Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said earlier that the labour federation would express its exasperation at the COP meeting over the snail's pace the government had taken to introduce the wage.  "We’re are now well over a year beyond the July 2015 deadline set by the 2014 Ekurhuleni Summit for the finalisation of this matter," Pamla stated.  He said that the labour federation feared that the advisory panel’s delay in completing its work, would render the finalisation of the NMW a pipe dream.

The original of this report by Bonolo Selebano is on page 4 of The New Age of 24 October 2016

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