Labour unions have welcomed the proposed delay in implementing the new mineral and mining royalties legislation as a good way to protect jobs.
Allegations that the Gauteng Transport Department (Gautrans) owed commuter bus operators payments as far back as June 2007, were untrue, the department said on Thursday. ”Hence, the department strongly condemns any attempts aimed at causing uncertainty and divisions within the bus industry.”
The non-payment of subsidies by the Gauteng transport department to bus operators could cost thousands of employees their jobs and affect 300 000 commuters, trade union Solidarity said on Wednesday. In a statement, the union said the jobs of approximately 2 000 employees may be threatened.
Nine miners have died after an accident at the Gold Fields South Deep mine near Randfontein in Gauteng, the chief inspector of mines said on Thursday. Thabo Gazi said he received a report about the accident at about 12pm. It is believed that a conveyance in an inclined shaft fell down the shaft after the rope snapped.
Eskom has been given permission to have ”commercially sensitive” information on its proposed 53% tariff increase withheld from publication, the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) said on Monday. ”It is information that Eskom feels is commercially sensitive — just a paragraph here and there,” said Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela.
![]()
A charm offensive by Jacob Zuma may not be enough to dispel deep investor anxiety over whether he will be able to take charge of Africa’s biggest economy, even though he has won over some doubters. Since unseating President Thabo Mbeki as leader of the ruling African National Congress in December, Zuma has moved to consolidate his power.
Eskom has applied for a 53% hike in electricity tariffs, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa announced on Tuesday. It said it had received the application earlier in the day. Eskom is seeking this hike in place of the 14,2% increase it was granted in December last year.
Solidarity on Thursday welcomed a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling on a charge of unfair racial discrimination in the trade union’s favour. Solidarity declared a dispute with South African Airways Technical in February and referred the matter to the CCMA.
No image available
/ 30 January 2008
Trade union Solidarity on Wednesday demanded that the Department of Labour publish a detailed report about an explosion at Sasol in which 10 people were killed. ”Solidarity demands publication about the 2004 Sasol explosion within 48 hours,” said union spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans.
No image available
/ 30 January 2008
Trade union Solidarity is introducing its own medical fund in a move against what it called "high medical rates", it said on Wednesday. "It’s a non-profit service. We don’t want to make millions out of the sick, but make private healthcare more accessible to the people of South Africa," said Jaco Kleynhans, Solidarity spokesperson.
No image available
/ 28 January 2008
South Africa’s mining industry could lose up to R9,2-billion in revenue and the country’s GDP could take a knock of up to R5,6-billion as a result of the power restrictions imposed on mines by Eskom last week. T-Sec economist Mike Schussler estimates that the mining industry is losing about R330-million in revenues a day.
No image available
/ 22 January 2008
Weddings in the dark, disgusted tourists and business owners leaving the country are some of the effects Eskom’s power failures are having, according to postings on a website dedicated to the problem. In the first 48 hours of operation, www.eskomstories.co.za has received about 2 000 letters.
No image available
/ 17 January 2008
Outrage over the country’s ongoing power cuts spread among business, agricultural and political sectors on Thursday as Eskom announced that the risk for continued cuts over the weekend remained high. ”Load shedding will continue today [Thursday] until after evening peak and the possibility of load shedding remains high,” said Eskom.
No image available
/ 17 January 2008
Health authorities on Wednesday reported the first known cases of virtually untreatable tuberculosis in Botswana. The Health Ministry said there were two cases of so-called extremely drug resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, as well as 100 cases of the slightly more manageable multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB.
No image available
/ 10 January 2008
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang will meet heads of private hospital groups to discuss drastic hospital tariff increases, the Health Department said on Thursday. The meeting would take place on Friday to discuss the tariff increases from 8% to 33%, ”well above the general inflation rate”, said department spokesperson Charity Bhengu.
No image available
/ 10 January 2008
Load shedding resumed nationally on Thursday morning due to technical problems at power stations, said Eskom. ”Load shedding will continue throughout the day and the risk remains high for the rest of the week, but should ease at the weekend,” said the company in a statement.
No image available
/ 15 November 2007
Trade union Solidarity has served court papers on South African Airways Technical (SAAT) division to stop its retrenchment process on the grounds that it is procedurally unfair. Last week SAA announced that it had support from trade unions on restructuring plans that would lift the airline out of massive financial losses.
Trade union Solidarity has accused Denel of using employee salary funds to pay bonuses to top management. While Denel is locked in a dispute with four trade unions about exemption from national wage increases, 49 top management members have been paid performance bonuses totalling R2,2-million.