The Communication Workers Union on Friday remained adamant that the post office strike planned for next week was still on. CWU spokesperson Shakes Gonyane said that union negotiators were busy consulting with lawyers in response to the post office attempt to get a court interdict to stop the strike.
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/ 23 September 2004
Tourism is the only resource with the potential to create thousands of employment opportunities in a short space of time, while in other sectors of the economy, people are either dismissed or retrenched. This is according to United Association of South Africa (Uasa) support services general manager Leon Grobler.
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/ 21 September 2004
Wednesday will be D-Day for public-sector unions and the government to come to an agreement on salary increases as the two parties participate in a formal meeting at the Public Services Coordinating Bargaining Council. Anton Louwrens of the Public Servants Association said unions are canvassing their members on the latest government offer.
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/ 21 September 2004
South Africa’s state-owned defence and aerospace group Denel has been awarded contracts amounting to $2-million (about R13-million) to supply aircraft tooling for the production of the Indian Air Force’s new BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet-trainer aircraft. The South African-manufactured tooling will be exported to India.
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/ 20 September 2004
Coca-Cola has emerged as the world’s best global brand and the most admired company in South Africa, according to research published by the <i>Sunday Times</i> this weekend. The annual Top Brands Survey also revealed that eight of the top 10 brands in the soft/cool-drink market belong to the Coca-Cola stable.
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/ 16 September 2004
South African economists have different opinions on the impact of Thursday’s public-sector strike on the economy overall. T-Sec economist Mike Schussler contends that the South African public-sector wage bill is relatively too high for a developing country, and this is a major problem.
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/ 14 September 2004
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the Fuel Retailers’ Association and the Retail Motor Industry will on Tuesday sign a three-year wage deal. The wage agreement will cushion the wages of motor-retail workers by 7,5% and will cover 180 000 workers.
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/ 7 September 2004
With a couple of days left before South African matriculants start their final examinations, a strike by public servants planned for September 16 could deal a heavy blow to examination preparations. Close to 400 000 public servants will embark on a one-day strike on September 16.
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/ 7 September 2004
Comparing South Africa’s telecommunication charges to that of other countries, South Africa is generally more expensive and price increases in recent years were also generally higher than in most other countries, according to Efficient Research economist Dawie Roodt.
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/ 3 September 2004
The trade union Solidarity on Friday said it finds it regrettable that oil and chemicals group Sasol has not invited organised labour to join in the internal inquiry into the recent explosion at its Secunda ethylene plant. The death toll from the blast on Wednesday at Sasol Secunda ethylene plant remains at six.
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/ 2 September 2004
Volkswagen South Africa’s (VWSA) plant in Uitenhage produced more than 9 900 cars in August, which resulted in an all-time production record, the company said on Thursday. "We also anticipate an all-time annual production record in 2004," VWSA communication general manager Bill Stephens noted.
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/ 1 September 2004
Trade union Solidarity on Wednesday claimed that more than 30Â 000 activists and trade union members worldwide will be mustered this week against dual-listed telecommunication giant Telkom’s planned retrenchments. The London-based website <i>Labour Start</i> contains an exposition of the planned retrenchment of 4Â 181 Telkom workers.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) on Monday stated it will now mobilise all 180Â 000 workers in component manufacturing and at petrol stations, car dealers and panel-beating shops for an indefinite strike from September 10, after employers reportedly reneged on a previous in-principle agreement.
Trade union Solidarity on Thursday said in a statement that it has served legal papers on steel producer Ispat-Iscor in which it asks that the company’s current retrenchment process be declared void. The union claims that should its application succeed, the action will be a watershed for retrenchments in South Africa.
The wage dispute between trade union Solidarity and steel producer Iscor was resolved on Tuesday when the two parties signed a wage agreement. The agreement — which comes after a month-long wage dispute — includes, among other things, a three-year moratorium on forced retrenchments.
Fresh from their court victory against Telkom, three trade unions — Solidarity, the South African Communication Union and the Communication Workers Union — on Monday announced the appointment of a commission of inquiry to look at the rationale behind the company’s planned retrenchments.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=120408">Telkom backtracks on retrenchments</a>
The buyout of Secureco Armed Response (Gauteng) by Stallion Security has transformed Stallion into the largest privately held black economic empowerment (BEE) armed-response company in South Africa, according to Stallion Security CEO Clive Zulberg.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) on Tuesday stated that it is preparing its members in petrol stations, component manufacturing, car-dealer shops and panel-beating shops for strike action after wage negotiations failed. The union is preparing for the large-scale mobilisation of 180Â 000 workers.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=120108">Union calls Telkom strike</a>
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) on Tuesday stated that it is preparing its members in petrol stations, component manufacturing, car-dealer shops and panel-beating shops for strike action after wage negotiations failed. The union is preparing for the large-scale mobilisation of 180 000 workers.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=120108">Union calls Telkom strike</a>
The trade union Solidarity is to ask the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) on Friday for the dual-listed telecommunication giant Telkom’s consultation process to be public and open to the media. Solidarity claims that it will be the first time that a retrenchment process in South Africa plays out in public.
Close to 20 000 workers in the steel and engineering industry are expected to embark on a one-day protest march in Johannesburg on Thursday. This comes after the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the Steel Engineering Industry Federation of South Africa failed to resolve a wage dispute.
Dual-listed South African telecommunications giant Telkom and the Communication Workers Union have signed a collective recognition agreement, in line with the commitment of both parties to foster a harmonious and constructive relationship going forward.
In the three years since the City of Johannesburg took the step of outsourcing its vehicle fleet, it has saved taxpayers R357-million and plans to save even more. The vehicle fleet has been outsourced to FleetAfrica, listed transport company Super Group’s fleet-management business.
Six public sector unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) have threatened to embark on strike action if government does not move from its 5,5% wage increase offer. The conciliation and public service negotiations initiated by the Department of Public Services and Administration collapsed on Thursday. The conciliation started on 20 July.
South African steel producer Iscor on Thursday confirmed that it has reached an agreement on a final wage offer with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and United Association of South Africa. The company said it is still awaiting a response from the Solidarity trade union.
Dual-listed telecommunications giant Telkom on Monday stated that only 82, or 6%, of the 1 381 employees earmarked for retrenchments are likely to be forcibly retrenched. Telkom group human resources director Oupa Magashula said the company continues to explore other alternatives to retain affected workers.
The JSE edged marginally higher on Thursday mainly on the back of global resources group Anglo American and other resources stocks, as well as the weaker tone of the rand. Near-dated futures, meanwhile, closed flat on the back of weaker international markets and a slightly stronger rand.
Close to 21Â 000 members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) are likely to embark on strike action on July 26 if a meeting between union representatives and car-manufacturer CEOs does not bring results next week Tuesday. This was among several announcements made by Numsa on Thursday.
Dual-listed telecommunications giant Telkom said in a statement on Wednesday that it has provided its recognised unions — the Alliance of Telkom Unions and the Communication Workers Union — with notice of its intention to start consultations next week on the reduction of a possible 1 381 jobs during this financial year.
The JSE edged down on Wednesday due to the rand firming against the United States dollar in quiet trade. The all share index closed 0,73% down, resources fell 1,36% and the gold mining index inched down 0,49%. The stronger rand also pushed near-dated futures to close in negative territory.
The Commission for Employment Equity on Tuesday revealed in a report that the number of senior management positions in the country held by black people remains low despite the Employment Equity Act. Only 22% of senior management positions are held by black people, with black females in particular struggling to make it to senior-management level.
While the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo) argued on Wednesday that it is too early to call for a strike in the car industry, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) remained adamant that strike action is on the cards before the end of the month. Numsa on Monday declared "war" against Ameo.