Although there is speculation that the spectre of the R12,500 a month minimum wage demand is stalking the gold mines, no mandates have yet been received by the unions involved. This pay demand came to prominence at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in August 2012. It has now developed something of an iconic status among mine workers.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 23 February 2015
All kinds of nice things are being said and promises are once again being made by all the political parties around the State of the Nation speech and debate in parliament, writes Henriette Abrahams. But the reality on the ground for farm workers is very different.
Henriette Abrahams
Opinion | 20 February 2015
Persistent train delays cause constant problems for Metrorail commuters. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), which owns Metrorail, plans to fix South Africa’s ageing and poorly maintained rail infrastructure.
Kevin Elliott
News | 19 February 2015
Some media houses are cheerleading for the youth wage subsidy, despite the available evidence strongly suggesting that it is already a R2bn waste of public money.
Doron Isaacs
Opinion | 19 February 2015
The Congress of South African Trade Unions’ argument for a national minimum wage, comprehensive social secuity, and a basic income grant was greatly strengthened by the report released by Statistics SA on 3 February 2015, which exposed the shocking extent and continued persistence of extreme levels of poverty, writes the organisation's General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.
Zwelinzima Vavi
Opinion | 19 February 2015
On Monday, the University of Stellenboch Legal Aid Clinic will take a group of creditors to court in a bid to have alleged illegal emolument attachment orders declared null and void.
Barbara Maregele
News | 16 February 2015
Every cloud has a silver lining. This expression implies that there is some good in every troubled circumstance. Yet it is often difficult to find that silver lining in terms of benefits gained or lessons learned. However, in the present shambles that is the Post Office many workers and trade unions seem to have learned a valuable lesson: nationalisation — state control — does not necessarily mean any improvement.
Terry Bell
Opinion | 16 February 2015
The annual Investing in African Mining Indaba is once again under way at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. It is a rather depressed affair this year, with an unresolved regulatory regime, looming labour disputes and an energy crisis that makes investing in South Africa look a lot less interesting than in other countries in Africa.
Melissa Fourie
Opinion | 12 February 2015
The latest casualty in the claimed “transformative restructuring” of Independent Newspapers is Bongani Fani, who has delivered Cape Times and Argus titles from Lakeside to Kalk Bay for more than 20 years. A resident of Masiphumelele and father of four, Mr Fani received a “Termination of subscription delivery contract” letter from “PG Rhoda, Circulation and Distribution Manager” last month.
Terry Bell
News | 8 February 2015
MyCiTi bus drivers say they will not go back to work until the South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (SATAWU) is recognised by Transpeninsula Investments (TPI). The strike that started yesterday continued today, with a picket outside TPI's depot.
Kevin Elliott
News | 5 February 2015
With only hours to go before the cut-off time, farm workers union Csaawu (Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union) has raised the target amount of R115,000 in its first phase of online crowd funding. The money will go towards paying for legal costs incurred for defending dismissed farm workers in the Cape Town Labour Court last year.
GroundUp Staff
Brief | 2 February 2015
The Wine Industry Ethical Trade Association (Wieta), which lists some of the country's top producers, appears to have recanted on its promise to investigate allegations of assault on a farm worker by one of its members. A board member says the organisation has double standards - quick to help its farm owning members, while sweeping aside complaints of abuse from workers.
Daneel Knoetze
News | 30 January 2015
Hundreds of unemployed Kimberley residents have turned to digging deserted mine dumps to earn a living.
Douglas Mthukwane
News | 27 January 2015
Three Zimbabwean men whose permits are pending have been told to leave their jobs at Touareg Tents in Capricorn Business Park and return only when they can prove they are legally in the country.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 27 January 2015
Labour and education rights groups have called for the immediate scrapping of the youth wage subsidy following the release of UCT research on its effectiveness.
Barbara Maregele
News | 22 January 2015
A year ago, some boys in my street came home late at night with a sex worker. They refused to pay her.
Abigail McDougall
Opinion | 22 January 2015