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department of labourlatest news & developments
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the SANDF deployment in his 12 February State of the Nation Address.
BORDER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

Looking past the SANDF deployment to solve our crime crisis together

It is also clear to many people, following revelations at the Madlanga Commission and corruption scandals in the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, that both the SAPS…

  • Ian Siebörger
8 min read
Newsmaker: The Domestic Animal Rescue Group (Darg) shelter in Hout Bay is regularly in the news. This time, allegations of maltreatment of staff have surfaced. (Photo by David Harrison)
ANIMAL SHELTER

Do animals trump people at Darg?

Despite whistleblowers, the department of labour has not yet helped undocumented migrants at a Hout Bay animal shelter

  • Eunice Masson
7 min read
Danger lurks: A police official ensures people keep their distance. (Nardus Engelbrecht/Gallo Images)
CORONAVIRUS

Eastern Cape citizens don’t have to visit the labour department for UIF

This measure, aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19, may shortly be introduced in other regions.

  • Tshegofatso Mathe
2 min read
The site where Tshiamo Hleza died
CHILDREN

Construction sites are a ‘death trap’

Four children died at Pretoria sites in just two weeks, but companies deny they’re to blame

  • Bongekile Macupe
6 min read
Forced labour is a type of human trafficking, defined under the Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act. Other types of human trafficking under this Act include sex trafficking, forced marriages and domestic servitude. (John McCann/M&G)
COVID 19

Rise in forced labour expected amid the Covid-19 economic crisis

Criminals prey on desperate people by offering them false promises of a better life. In fact, they are coercing them into lives of exploitation and misery

  • Jaynisha Patel
  • Sarah Child
4 min read
Respite: People queue at the department of employment and labour in Cape Town to claim money from the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme, established to assist companies affected by lockdown regulations. (Nardus Engelbrecht/Gallo Images)
CORONAVIRUS

Lockdown relief scheme payouts to employees tops R14-billion

Now employers and employees can apply to the Unemployment Insurance Fund for relief scheme payments

  • Tshegofatso Mathe
3 min read
Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi has warned that large-scale job losses are inevitable. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CCMA

CCMA closes doors to Covid-19

The statutory body mandated to deal with workplace disputes released an urgent directive postponing all matters set down to be heard between March 18 and April 14

  • Sarah Smit
3 min read
Justice: People gather to support Sylvia Mahlangu, whose mother drowned in her employer’s pool. She asked the Constitutional Court to confirm a high court ruling declaring that the exclusion of domestic workers from the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act was unconstitutional. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
APARTHEID

Compensation Fund capacity grilled

Despite fears that backdated claims by domestic workers may cripple the beleaguered Compensation Fund, the labour department said it will honour its legal obligations

  • Sarah Smit
5 min read
Although the fund paid out close to R28-billion to employees and employers for April and May, the labour department said in a statement that nearly 970 000 employees had not received their Ters payments. (Ntswe Mokoena)
COMPEASY

‘Broken’ claims system will fix Compensation Fund corruption

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi addressed concerns about the beleaguered fund, which compensates workers injured on the job

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read
The department of employment and labour has said it is not using new strike ballot rules to take aim at labour federation Cosatu’s rival, the South African Federation of Trade Unions. (Rajesh Jantilal/AFP)
CONGRESS OF SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE UNIONS

One strike and you’re out – registrar tells unions

A municipal workers’ union is the first to be sanctioned for not following the new rule when deciding whether to go on strike

  • Sarah Smit
3 min read
Hellish working conditions: The Beautiful City factory was raided by the department of labour earlier this month and six people were arrested. (Delwyn Verasamy/ M&G)
BEAUTIFUL CITY

The ugly face of Beautiful City

The factory owners took advantage of their foreign workers’ precarious status

  • Thando Maeko
7 min read
Zwelinzima Vavi. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AMCU

Vavi asks Amcu for unity

The Saftu general secretary addressed thousands of delegates at Amcu’s national elective congress on Thursday

  • Sarah Smit
2 min read
Although the fund paid out close to R28-billion to employees and employers for April and May, the labour department said in a statement that nearly 970 000 employees had not received their Ters payments. (Ntswe Mokoena)
COUNTRY

‘Creating jobs is no threat to labour’

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi rebuffs fears that his department will become too entangled with the private sector to rein it in

  • Sarah Smit
6 min read
Proactive: Thulas Nxesi has his job cut out for him now that employment is part of the labour department’s portfolio. (Delwyn Verasamy)
2019 CABINET

Ministry to labour for job creation

It is set to move from compliance checking to help create an environment that will drive employment

  • Sarah Smit
4 min read
Amcu head Joseph Mathunjwa insists his union’s affairs are in order and that the possible deregistration of the union is “politically motivated.” (Oupa Nkosi/M&G)
AMCU

Amcu to meet labour registrar over cancellation threat

Amcu head says his union is under attack by capital and other "yellow unions"

  • Natasha Marrian
3 min read
Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko, ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, has been accused of humiliating embassy staff and treating them unfairly
CCMA

Ambassador spreads fear in Geneva

She locked officials in a boardroom for five hours when some employees didn’t attend a meeting

  • Athandiwe Saba
5 min read
Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Labour department accused of undermining ‘meaningful national minimum wage package’

The minimum wage and the amendments were set to be implemented on Workers’ Day, May 1, but this was postponed

  • Sarah Smit
2 min read
Strikes are a common sight in South Africa. Data helps to put them in context. (Nic Bothman, EPA)
DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR

South Africa’s strike rate isn’t as bad as it’s made out to be

The labour department has justified changes to strike legislation by arguing that they are increasingly violent. But data reveals a different picture

  • Carin Runciman
4 min read
Rea Vaya station in Braamfontein.
BUS STRIKE

Labour department to weigh in as bus strike continues

The department of labour is expected to weigh in on Tuesday in an attempt to bring the parties closer to a settlement

  • Jenni Evans
2 min read
The audit regulator said that it could not disclose nature of the irregularities but they will be referred to the relevant authorities
DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR

Audit regulator refers irregularities found at Transnet, Eskom for investigation

Regulatory body seeks Hawks intervention

  • Lynley Donnelly
2 min read