by Dev_SACCAWU | General
BusinessTech reports that the Department of Labour and Employment (DEL) has published a new Draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal, which also covers for possible retrenchments. It was gazetted by the Minister of Employment and Labour on 21 January 2025. According to law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, the draft code emphasises that the purpose of a fair procedure is to foster dialogue and reflection. A fair procedure would allow an employee to respond to allegations of misconduct. The draft code also indicates that investigations and enquiries into misconduct can be informal, with their nature tailored to the specific context and size of the employer. The frequency and severity of the misconduct in question can also be looked into. Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr note that this approach is consistent with the decriminalisation of disciplinary processes. The draft code also includes guidelines on dismissals due to operational requirements. Such guidelines were previously absent from the existing Code of Good Practice on Dismissal and were instead found under a separate Code of Good Practice on Operational Requirements. The Draft Code’s proposed Annexure A outlines what issues should be addressed in notices of possible retrenchments given in terms of section 189 of the LRA. Interested parties have 60 days, until 22 March, to submit their proposals on the Draft Code to the DEL.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luke Fraser at BusinessTech. Download the Draft Code of Good Practice on Dismissal here
by Dev_SACCAWU | General
BL Premium reports that Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge’s legal team on Tuesday argued at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal that the complainant accusing him of sexually harassing her misled the hearing by omitting “disgusting” messages in which she reciprocated his sexual advances. The complainant, judges’ secretary Andiswa Mengo, had testified on Tuesday, the seventh day of the tribunal, that Mbenenge’s persistent sexual advances towards her had left her traumatised. The tribunal’s purpose is to determine whether Mbenenge’s conduct in his engagements with the subordinate constituted sexual harassment. In law, sexual harassment is defined as “unwarranted conduct which is persistent or serious or creates an intimidating environment which is related to sex, gender or sexual orientation”. Advocate Salome Scheepers wrapped up leading evidence on Mengo’s testimony on Tuesday. Acting for Mbenenge, advocate Muzi Sikhakhane in his cross-examination argued that Mengo “misled” the tribunal by not detailing her “sexual responses” in her affidavit. “The version of my client is that certain chats, some of them salacious, took place between the two of you. Do you agree with me that at some point you were exchanging equally salacious messages?” he asked. Mengo agreed that she did send salacious messages. Sikhakhane stated that Mengo did not communicate her discomfort to Mbenenge about the sexual advances. He argued her failure to communicate this could be construed as “consensual”.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Judge’s secretary flirted back, argues lawyer, at GroundUp. And also, Mengo concedes that her interactions with Mbenenge could be reasonably concluded to be consensual, at EWN
by Dev_SACCAWU | General
News24 reports that Deputy President Paul Mashatile has told organised labour not to fear the government of national unity (GNU) because workers’ rights under the GNU were protected. Speaking at National Economic Development and Labour Council’s (Nedlac’s) annual labour school in Pretoria on Tuesday, he said: “I told our leaders this morning, ‘don’t be scared about GNU’. I know at the beginning there were many who were saying this GNU includes those who don’t have the interests of workers at heart, so we might see a reversal of the gains that workers have made over the years and I said to them, ‘no, don’t worry, we are there to make sure that workers’ rights are protected’. Don’t be scared; workers’ rights will always be protected even if we have the GNU. That is what I want to assure you of. Please sleep peacefully at night; don’t be worried about what will happen now.” His message, however, did not resonate with some of those in attendance, who pointed out that the ANC’s main GNU partner, the DA, opposed the minimum wage. A National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) representative asked Mashatile to respond to the stance of some GNU partners who were anti-minimum wage. Another Saftu representative refuted Mashatile by saying they could not afford to sleep peacefully. Cosatu’s Mike Shingange, stated: “One of the problems that South Africa faces since 1994 is what the deputy president is asking the workers to do, to go home and sleep peacefully while the revolution is unfolding.”
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Siyamtanda Capa at News24 (subscription or trial registration required). Read too, Labour school a critical platform for market, says Paul Mashatile, at TimesLIVE. And also, Mashatile vows: No exploitation of farmworkers under GNU, at The Citizen
by Dev_SACCAWU | General
Fin24 reports that the 2024 increase in the national minimum wage (NMW), which was the biggest increase since the measure’s introduction in 2019, did not cause significant job losses or reduced working hours. But, only 20% of the 5.4 million eligible workers benefitted from increased pay. In 2024, the NMW increased by 8.5%, namely 3.2 percentage points above inflation, bringing hourly pay to R27.58 and pay for a 40-hour week to R4,744 for This raised fears of a negative economic impact. A research paper published last month by UCT’s Development Policy Research Unit for the NMW commission found that the negative impact of the rise was small but underlined that employer compliance was very low. According to Stats SA, 5.4 million people earned below the minimum wage and were entitled to a wage hike. However, the study says only 19% benefitted from the full increase.
Due to the spillover effect, a larger group of low-paid workers also experienced pay rises when the minimum wage rose, taking the proportion of those who benefitted from higher wages to 27%. The study found that the negative economic impact of the hike was minimal. Employment in this cohort reduced slightly – by 3.4% – and working hours reduced by around 3%, suggesting that some employers cut working hours to deal with the increase. Zwelinzima Vavi of the SA Federation of Trade Unions called on the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) to strengthen compliance. The NMW commission has proposed to the DEL that the increase for 2025 should be December CPI (not yet published) plus 1.5%. The proposal was published last month for comment.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carol Paton at Fin24 (subscription or trial registration required)
by Dev_SACCAWU | General
Bloomberg reports that the SA government has increased its pay offer to public sector employees from 5% to 5.5%, as it seeks to end wage talks that began in September.
The latest offer presented at a special bargaining council meeting Monday, was “very progressive,” commented Claude Naicker of the Public Servants Association (PSA), which represents more than 245,000 workers. The increase is “their final offer; meaning that they will append their signature to the draft agreement, and what it effectively means, is that it gives the unions 21 days to either accept the agreement or not,” said Naicker. Although the offer is a climb-down from workers’ opening demand of 12% for the fiscal year that begins on 1 April, it is significantly higher than SA’s 2.9% inflation rate and the SA Reserve Bank’s 4.5% target for anchoring price expectations. The government wants to link public sector pay increases to the consumer price index for the two years after 2025-26. The draft agreement allows increases to be set at 4% should inflation fall below that level in the outer years, or 6% if consumer prices exceed that rate. Naicker commented further: “Hopefully the other unions sign. The employer is not going to go any higher than this. “We think under the circumstances it’s a reasonable offer, coupled with the other things like the housing allowance.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntando Thukwana at Moneyweb
by Dev_SACCAWU | General
Employers who default on paying over pension fund contributions in line of fire
BL Premium reports that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is exploring ways to ensure defaulting employers pay outstanding contributions to pension funds amounting to more than R5bn. Thousands of employers have failed to make their obligatory contributions, a practice particularly prevalent among municipalities and in the private security industry. Zareena Camroodian, who is head of fund governance and trustee conduct in the FSCA retirement fund division, said the authority met with Nedlac and planned to meet the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) this week about this problem. “At Nedlac, we are trying to get all the social partners and relevant parties in the room to collectively try to resolve the issue of arrear contributions. A dashboard will be developed with various metrics to track the progress made during these sessions,” Camroodian said. The FSCA is also working with the Department of Employment and Labour about possible amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) to deal with the payment of arrear pension fund contributions by employers.
The Pension Funds Act makes it a criminal offence not to pay pension fund contributions, liable on conviction to a R10m fine or 10 years imprisonment. Camroodian said the challenge was a number of police stations did not understand that nonpayment of contributions constituted a criminal offence. “We are engaging the NPA so that they may take on a number of cases so that a loud and clear message is sent out that delinquent employers will not be tolerated,” Camroodian said. It is incumbent on retirement fund boards to institute legal action to recover outstanding contributions and to report contraventions to the SAPS, but they have largely failed to do so.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
