WEDNESDAY 8 FEBRUary 2012

Contents

1.     Workers

1.1 Cosatu plans major strike

1.2 Vavi warns ANC

1.3 Cosatu to strike over brokers, tolls

1.4 Sadtu padlocks Eastern Cape education department offices

1.5 KwaZulu-Natal teachers vow strike action

1.6 Sadtu seeks immediate axing of 10 000 KZN teachers

1.7 Sadtu hopes teacher plan materialises

1.8 Female Amplats worker dies after violent assault

1.9 Implats strike continues

1.10 Damning report on KZN varsity

1.11 'Nothing left' of R500k Pinnacle Point membership

1.12 Some staff to reapply as Absa restructures

1.13 South Africa's Q4 jobless rate falls to 23.9%

1.14 ‘Glimmer of hope’ as jobless rate hits new low

1.15 When mass dismissals are an easier option

1.16 When is a worker a deserter?

2.     ANC

2.1 ‘ANC must rediscover morality’

2.2 Cosatu urged to respect Malema decision

2.3 Cosatu backs anti-Mathale protest

3.     South Africa

3.1 Tolling to go ahead — ‘state just seeking options’

3.2 Report reveals gross corruption in Durban

3.3 Top Durban ANC names in fraud report

3.4 Row over FET forensic report

4.     International

4.1 Local unions to meet foreign counterparts on labour issues

5.     Comment

5.1 Educated and no jobs in sight, Mr President

5.2 No more slogans, no more history: we want answers now

5.3 Policy choices alone won’t bring economic growth

1.   Workers

1.1 Cosatu plans major strike

Kingdom Mabuza, Sowetan, 8 February 2012

"Not a single shop must open. Teachers will join the strike - and we must
make sure that no clinic is open, hospitals must come to a standstill".

COSATU plans to bring Gauteng to a halt next month and the labour federation
expects every clinic, hospital, school and shop to close when it embarks on
a strike.

Cosatu's provincial shop stewards, who gathered at Regina Mundi Church in
Soweto yesterday, were instructed to make sure that the economy was brought
to its knees.

The federation will embark on a national strike to demand a total ban of
labour brokers and the removal of tollgates on Gauteng freeways.

Cosatu's Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile said the success of the national
strike would depend on how effective it was in Gauteng.

"An employer who dismisses a worker will see the might of Cosatu.

"Not a single shop must open and we must make sure that there is no clinic
that is open, hospitals must come to a standstill," Dakile said.

"Samwu must make sure that there is no worker who will make tea for the
premier [Nomvula Mokonyane] and the mayors.

"We must drive the economy to a standstill. Employers and the ANC government
will not take us seriously if we do not organise an effective strike."

A Sadtu representative stood up and protested that Dakile had excluded
teachers in his list of services that had to be disrupted.

"Teachers will join the strike and we hope that parents will not fight with
us when we are on strike," said a Sadtu representative.

Dakile said the federation would assess the impact of the strike before
deciding on its next action.

Cosatu's Zwelinzima Vavi urged the shop stewards to fight for the banning of
labour brokers.

"If you do not fight this now, all of us will be employed through labour
brokers at some stage.

"Let us fix our house before it collapses. There are people who think they
must eat on behalf of the masses.

"The ANC must use the policy conference to turn the situation around," Vavi
said.

He condemned the obsession with the succession debate within the ANC which
he said was derailing the party from delivering on its promises to the
electorate.

"Let us concentrate on five key priorities which are creating jobs,
education, good healthcare, rural development and fighting crime.

"In 2014 it will be 20 years [of freedom] and we can't call on our people to
be patient."

Vavi drew on the experience of Zimbabwe, which he praised for spending its
first 20 years of liberation to fix its education and health systems.

He took a swipe at ANC leaders who relied on the sterling work done by
previous leaders of the organisation.

"Tell us about your work, not about Chief Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela and
Chris Hani. Tell us about you," he said.

1.2 Vavi warns ANC

Sipho Masondo, The Times, 8 February 2012

Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi yesterday slammed the ANC, saying it could no
longer depend on struggle heroes to win its elections.

In a hard-hitting speech only two days before President Jacob Zuma gives his
state of the nation address, Vavi said the honeymoon was over.

Speaking at a Cosatu Gauteng shop stewards' council meeting in Soweto, Vavi
told the ANC-led government to focus on delivering on its five priority
areas: decent jobs, quality education, affordable healthcare, fighting crime
and corruption, and rural development.

"We have gone to the people and promised them five priorities.

"In 2014 we can't go to them waving flags and say: 'Remember Chris Hani,
Albert Luthuli and Joe Slovo.'

"They will say, 'What else? ... Go away, you are liars. Don't tell us about
Luthuli and Mandela, tell us about yourself. Why should we support you?'"

Vavi said that in 2014 voters would no longer be patient but would want
results.

He said: "2014 will not be an ordinary election. We will be celebrating 20
years of democracy."

Before Zimbabwe was hit by its political crisis, said Vavi, the country had
done better than South Africa because it had improved education and health
services.

But South Africa was going the other way, said Vavi, adding that Zimbabwe
was hurt by allowing Mugabe to be president for more than 20 years.

He criticised the ANC for its "self-destructing" tendencies.

"The alliance is self-destructing, I've never seen this rate of
self-destructing.

"We are on the fast lane to self-destruction. Let's fix our house before it
collapses on our heads."

Vavi blamed those who "think they have divine authority to eat on behalf of
the masses. The tendency of tenderpreneurs should be exposed and isolated".

Reiterating his call for a March 7 nationwide strike, Vavi said his union
federation and all its affiliates would voice their frustration at the
government's refusal to ban labour brokers.

"We will strike to demand the banning of labour brokers. If we don't fight
this battle now, in no time all of us will be employed by labour brokers."

Instead of banning labour brokers, Vavi said, the government had proposed:

Forbidding labour brokers from employing people for more than six months;

After six months, the employee shall be deemed to be permanently employed;

Equal pay for all employees doing the same job, whether permanently employed
or assigned by a under labour broker; and

Labour brokers and employers will be jointly cited in court or in
arbitration.

Cosatu Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile, said: "We must make sure that, on
March 7, there are no clinics operating. Hospitals must come to a
standstill. We must make sure that there isn't a single mayor who is made
tea by his worker."

Cosatu's main affiliates include the National Union of Mineworkers, SA
Municipal Workers' Union, National Union of Metalworkers of SA and the SA
Transport and Allied Workers' Union.

1.3 Cosatu to strike over brokers, tolls

Business Report, 7 February 2012

A national strike will be held on March 7 to protest against labour brokers
and the proposed Gauteng toll roads, Cosatu said on Tuesday.

The action would be legal and no trade union worker could be punished for
downing tools, Congress of SA Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi
told shop stewards in Soweto.

“We must mobilise our members in every industry. Our strength is unity and
it through unity that we can achieve our goals.”

Cosatu's Gauteng secretary Dumisani Dakile said he wanted to see teachers
leading protest marches on March 7.

“SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu), we are looking to you to make sure
this happens,” Dakile said.

This meant schools would close on the day of the strike.

Vavi called for the outlawing of labour brokers and said they undermined
trade unionism by enabling employers to run their businesses using casual
workers.

Brokers handled every aspect of the employment process, keeping the real
employer at arm's length from its human resources. They also provided
temporary workers to industries.

Vavi said the proposed Gauteng tolls were also not up for discussion.

“The government is telling us not to cut off dialogue, but we cannot move
from our position. We do not want tolls,” he said.

“We want the right to use public roads without having to pay for it.”

“What's next?” he asked. “Will it be tolls for Cape Town and Durban?”

“The government should be focusing on ensuring safe, affordable and reliable
public transport, so that ordinary people can get home after work without
being mugged and raped.”

Vavi was clear on the points where Cosatu disagreed with South Africa's
leadership, but said the ANC and Cosatu were inextricably intertwined.

The failure of one would mean the inevitable end of the other.

“As workers we have to ensure that the ANC does well and rediscovers its
revolutionary morality.”

However, it had to “fix its house before it landed on its head,” he said.

To do this, decent jobs, quality education, food security, health care, and
crime had to be addressed as a priority.

Vavi appealed to workers not to fixate on leadership succession within the
ruling party.

“We cannot have a situation where the national debate is dominated by
leadership succession to the detriment of real issues.”

At the beginning of his hour-long speech, Vavi said the Eastern Cape
government and Sadtu were on the verge of ending their differences and that
an agreement would be announced on Wednesday.

“I am on my way to the Eastern Cape after this meeting and I believe that by
tonight we will have the breakthrough,” he said. - Sapa

1.4 Sadtu padlocks Eastern Cape education department offices

TimesLive, 7 February 2012

Demonstrating members of the SA Democratic Teachers' Union (Sadtu) padlocked
the main gate of the Eastern Cape education department's head office in
Zwelitsha, the department says.

"Early this morning they put a chain and padlock on the gate to lock out our
staff," said spokesman Loyiso Pulumani.

Senior management tried to negotiate with the union members, to no avail.

Pulumani said there were no reports of violence, but education MEC Mandla
Makupula had taken up the matter with Sadtu's provincial leadership.

Sadtu provincial secretary Mncekeleli Ndongeni claimed the police had used
tear-gas against the protesters.

The union and the department are in conflict over the redeployment of
temporary teachers in the province.

The High Court in Bhisho would hear an application by the department to
prevent further industrial action.

Ndongeni said teachers were exploring various avenues to get the plight of
overburdened teachers recognised and rectified by the department.

"There is anarchy in the schools... the whole mess, [head of department
Modidima] Mannya has caused."

The purpose of the union's demonstrations was to "put some pressure" on the
provincial education department.

Pulumani said the protests, which had also affected the department's offices
in Grahamstown, East London and Queenstown, constituted fully-fledged
industrial action.

Ndongeni said the protests were justified.

"All is not well in our schools... it is a war."

"When children are being denied education by government politicians, what
are we supposed to do?"

1.5 KwaZulu-Natal teachers vow strike action

Karl Gernetzky, Business Day, 8 February 2012

Another year of major disruptions to schooling is looming, as the South
African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in KwaZulu-Natal joins teachers in
the Eastern Cape in rolling mass action.

This comes as the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) yesterday
vowed to include schools in a nationwide strike set to take place on March
7, while the Eastern Cape education department describes Sadtu’s actions
there as "a fully fledged industrial action".

However, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who has been involved in
talks between Sadtu and the Eastern Cape government said yesterday a
solution to the conflict would be announced today.

Sadtu in KwaZulu-Natal announced yesterday that teachers in the province
would soon begin a go-slow and picketing, that would end in "the mother of
all marches" to the provincial head office at the end of the month.

The union said it was bringing to an end all engagements with provincial
departments over issues of "inefficiency, ineffectiveness and general
weakness".

Sadtu is demanding, among other things, that money deducted from members due
to the department’s "no work no pay" policy be returned, and support for
rural teachers be increased. It also demands that KwaZulu-Natal province
stop moving teachers from their original schools by ending the "defunct"
post provision system.

This demand echoes the Eastern Cape’s Sadtu complaint over the provincial
department’s refusal to employ temporary teachers.

Loyiso Pulumani, Eastern Cape education department spokesman, said
superintendent-general Modidima Mannya was trying to cut costs in the
province. He said the department saw mass employment of temporary teachers
as a waste of money, and wanted to transfer permanent teachers from areas
where they were not needed. This was "something all provinces" did at the
beginning of the year, and the refusal of some Sadtu members to be relocated
had led to teachers being overworked in understaffed schools.

Eastern Cape Sadtu provincial secretary Mncekeleli Ndongeni said the
protests were "justified" and the status of schooling in the province was
that of "war". He accused Mr Mannya of causing "anarchy" in schools in the
province, and Sadtu was demanding his suspension.

Democratic Alliance basic education spokeswoman Annette Lovemore said the DA
had lodged a complaint against Sadtu with the Human Rights Commission. She
said Sadtu’s actions in the Eastern Cape were interfering with children’s
constitutional right to education. According to the Labour Relations Act, a
"go-slow" was no different from a strike because it entailed a "retardation"
of labour, and Sadtu’s actions in the province were illegal, as no notice
had been given, she said.

While Sadtu had a right to demand that teacher allocations and temporary
teacher appointments happen in a "professional" manner, the union should not
be allowed "to run the process" and this could not extend to an "absolute
refusal" to be relocated, she said. With Alistair Anderson and Sapa

1.6 Sadtu seeks immediate axing of 10 000 KZN teachers

Philiswa Mbanjwa, Citizen, 7 February 2012

South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (Sadtu) in KwaZulu-Natal has
demanded an immediate dismissal of all 10 000 members of National Teachers’
Union (Natu) saying they embarked on illegal protests in 2010.

“We demand that the department applies the law of the land in relation to
people who go on a ‘wild cat’ strike.” said Sadtu’s spokesman Mbuyiseni
Mathonsi.

Natu denied it was on strike in 2010, but Mathonsi said Sadtu has evidence,
that 10 000 Natu members were on strike and said they should be dismissed.

Sadtu has addressed a number of demands to the department of education in
KZN.

Among other issues, Sadtu has called for the department to pay rural
allowance to all rural based teachers before February  15, and that together
with the finance department, the education department must begin to pay
rural workers for accommodation.  

The union demands the education department return monies that they deducted
from its members during February last year, under the “pretext” of no work,
no pay, before the end of this week.

Sadtu has planned to embark on a strike, should their issues not be met.

1.7 Sadtu hopes teacher plan materialises

Steven Tau, Citizen, 7 February 2012

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) say they hope that
plans aimed at developing and training teachers will materialise soon.

Sadtu’s national spokesman Nomusa Cembi was responding to a query by The
Citizen yesterday, on what their expectations were from President Jacob Zuma
when he presents his State of the Nation address tomorrow.

In his address last year, Zuma said the focus on basic education would be
“Triple T”, Teachers, Textbooks and Time.

“We reiterate our call that teachers must be at school, in class, on time,
teaching for at least seven hours a day.

“The administration must ensure that every child has a textbook on time, and
that we assist our teachers to create the right working environment for
quality teaching to take place,” Zuma said at the time.

Commenting further, Cembi said last year’s focus which was on investing in
teacher training especially in mathematics and science and training of
principals, particularly in underperforming schools, has  not materialised
as yet.

“Instead, we are seeing our principals being threatened with dismissals if
they don’t perform,” said Cembi.

She reiterated the union’s call for the reopening of colleges of education
to assist towards alleviating teacher shortages.

“The current crop of teachers who are being produced through the Funza
Lushaka scheme, will not close the gap,” said.

Reports emanating  from some schools since the start of the new academic
year, suggested that some schools did not have a great start as textbooks
were not delivered.

Cembi said more still needs to be done in ensuring that learning and
teaching material is delivered on time.

1.8 Female Amplats worker dies after violent assault

 <http://www.miningweekly.com/author.php?u_id=1096> Idéle Esterhuizen,
Mining Weekly, 7 February 2012

Mining major Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) confirmed on Tuesday that a
female worker at its Khomanani mine has died after being violently
assaulted.

The worker was found in the mine’s underground workings on Monday.

Amplats said in a statement that preliminary investigations indicated that
the employee was assaulted and succumbed to the injuries.

The miner stated that it was working with the relevant authorities to ensure
that the perpetrators were identified.

“We call on the law enforcement agencies to ensure that no stone is left
unturned and that perpetrators are brought to book,” said the National Union
of Mineworkers general secretary Frans Baleni.

In January, two mineworkers died at the Modikwa platinum mine in Limpopo,
Amplats’ joint venture with diversified miner African Rainbow Minerals.

Meanwhile, black-empowered platinum miner Royal Bafokeng Platinum has
suspended operations at the North shaft of its Bafokeng Rasimone platinum
mine in the North West, pending an investigation into a fatality on Monday.

South Africa's Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu told the Investing
in Africa Mining Indaba that she remained concerned about the continued loss
of lives at the mines.

Shabangu said that there was a slight drop in mining fatalities to 123 in
2011 from 127 in 2010 and that 13 miners have been killed this year in South
Africa.

1.9 Implats strike continues

Business Report, 7 February 2012

Impala Platinum's Rustenburg operation could be out of action for another
week as an illegal strike continued on Tuesday, CEO David Brown said.

“I can only give you a rough indication because of the fluidity of
situation, but it will probably take another week in terms of the rehire
process, then more time thereafter,” Brown said via a conference call.

He said platinum producer Lonmin had a similar situation last year when it
fired 9000 workers. It took a number of months for that situation to return
to normal.

Implats Rustenburg was losing 3000 platinum ounces a day, which amounted to
R65 million in lost revenue a day at current platinum prices. The strike had
been going on for two weeks.

Last week, Implats fired 13,000 miners who went on an illegal strike on
January 30. On January 27, 4200 workers were fired for embarking on an
illegal strike.

Brown said there appeared to have been incidents of intimidation and
possibly two fatalities related to the strike, although he had not been able
to confirm the deaths.

“A number of arrests were made when meetings turned violent today,” he said,
referring to public meetings held by ex-employees.

The SA Police Service and private security were keeping control.

Ex-employees were evicted from the mine's hostel on Tuesday after an
eviction order was granted by the Randburg Magistrate's Court, Brown said.

“This was carried out by the SA Police Service and sheriff of the court. We
are not responsible.”

Implats had said it would rehire workers who reapplied for their positions,
on the same terms and conditions as their previous employment contracts.

However, Brown said this was not going well because of intimidation.

“We are looking at starting the rehire process this week.”

Implats was also trying to get the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)
involved.

“We are engaging with the NUM to see if there is any hope of them being able
to communicate with the workforce... We suspect this won't transpire and
1/8won't 3/8 result in a successful outcome.”

Implats said the problems at the mine started on January 12 when rock drill
operators downed tools over salary concerns and refused to involve the
recognised union, the NUM, in addressing their issues.

“Our ability to negotiate with this group of employees is being... impacted
by their refusal to deal with the NUM,” Brown said.

“A new union, the Association of Mining and Construction Union (Amcu), are
exploiting employee dissatisfaction in this regard.”

Brown said Implats had not received any formal demand from workers through
any channel.

However, it would deal only with the legal and recognised negotiating body,
the NUM.

“This particular situation is not a positive situation for both the company
and the workforce,” Brown said.

“It effectively started from dissatisfaction with the NUM in terms of
handling workers' requests... the rival union has used the opportunity to
infiltrate the workforce.”

Brown urged the workers to return to work as soon as possible. – Sapa

1.10 Damning report on KZN varsity

Sue Segar, Mercury, 7 February 2012

A damning forensic audit report into the University of Zululand had led to
disciplinary action against 15 members of staff and students at the campus –
with more likely to follow – Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said
on Monday.

A group of forensic auditors was appointed to conduct an institutional audit
of the university’s affairs, including areas such as procurement, admission
and registration of students, management and governance.

Nzimande said the team had reported “serious and repeated transgressions of
university policy and procedures” pertaining to academic administration and
access to official student data.

The team found university employees in possession of blank certificates,
which could have been used to manufacture false certificates, and that
students who did not meet the minimum admission criteria had been
irregularly registered at the university.

Self-enrichment

There had also been repeated infringements of procurement policies and
procedures, leading to preferential treatment and self-enrichment by some
members of council and staff.

“Of particular concern is the fact that there are clear indications of
collusion between some students and staff in unacceptable practices that
undermined the educational mission of the university with devastating
consequences for the academic stature and credibility of the institution.
This should not be allowed to continue,” said Nzimande.

He said it was easy to break down the academic stature of an institution and
to engage in practices impacting negatively on the credibility of its
qualifications, but it was difficult to rebuild the image of such an
institution.

Nzimande said cases would be opened and criminal proceedings instituted,
where appropriate, against those concerned.

“There shall be no mercy for those who have been fingered by the forensic
audit,” he warned.

Nzimande called on all education institutions to take decisive action
against any staff found guilty of practices that “endanger the mission of
the university”, saying quality education was central to transformation.

The findings of the forensic audit team set up to look into the university’s
affairs, followed Nzimande’s dissolution of the university council and the
appointment of Professor Chris de Beer, senior vice-principal of the
University of Pretoria, as administrator of the university in April 2011.

This followed the report and recommendations of an independent assessor.

De Beer was tasked with conducting a forensic audit of the university and
with taking action against individuals who contravened university policies,
codes of conduct or regulations.

Said Nzimande: “It must be emphasised that these unacceptable practices and
behaviour not only pose a real threat to the future of individual
institutions, but also to the education system as a whole.”

He added that some students had admitted that they were irregularly
registered after paying facilitation fees of R1 500 to R3 900 each.

“The auditors also found that there were many procurement irregularities in
which suppliers owned or co-owned by university employees were providing
services to the university without staff declaring their interests,”
Nzimande said.

De Beer said 13 of the 15 to be subjected to disciplinary action were staff
and two were students.

“But there will be more to follow as we work through the forensic audit
report,” he said.

De Beer said: “We discovered repeated non-compliance with procurement
processes, especially by particular individuals. It was exactly those who
were enriching themselves by requesting services and providing the services
by their own companies. They will appear before a disciplinary committee.”

De Beer said students who had been found to have been admitted irregularly
to the university would be reported to the police.

An additional finding, Nzimande said, was that many staff had not achieved
performance outcomes.

1.11 'Nothing left' of R500k Pinnacle Point membership

Glynnis Underhill, Mail & Guardian, 7 February 2012

The owner of Cape Point Vineyards, Sybrand Van Der Spuy, told the insolvency
inquiry into JSE-listed group Pinnacle Point in Cape Town on Tuesday that he
and 120 other investors paid R500 000 each to become a platinum club member,
which gave them exclusive use of a motorised yacht and complimentary food
and beverages at the group's luxury resorts.

But Van Der Spuy said he was unaware until much later that the R60-million
earned from platinum club membership was then transferred from Pinnacle
Point Platinum to Pinnacle Point Resorts and some of its other companies,
and was believed to have been used as working capital.

Yet the agreement with platinum club members was they could redeem their
investment in full if desired, as they purchased shares when they bought
into the plan.

But the movement of the funds to Pinnacle's other companies resulted in the
group not being able to honour its obligations, Van der Spuy told the
inquiry.

The lure of platinum club membership was certainly understandable, if you
had the cash to spare. The membership gave those who bought in R20 000 spend
each year on food and beverages, while friends were able to play golf for
free if they were teeing off together. And the members also got exclusive
use of the motorised yacht.

"And what has happened to your platinum membership?," asked Advocate Gavin
Woodland, who is leading the questioning at the inquiry.

"There is nothing left of it," said Van Der Spuy, looking noticeably tired
after two days on the stand.

Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek was the first to apply to the Western Cape
High Court for a newly launched business rescue application, in this case to
assist struggling Pinnacle Point.

But after further investigations, Cape Point Vineyards applied for the
liquidation of Pinnacle Point, as he discovered it was like a "bubble" with
no substance, he told the inquiry.

Nothing but 'a Ponzi scheme'

Van Der Spuy paid more than R5-million to buy minority shares in the
company, earning him a 1% share in Pinnacle Point. But he told the inquiry
he felt misled when he found out that he bought the shares belonging to one
of his golfing buddies, David Mostert, who was the person who recommended he
buy into the venture. Mostert will take to the stand on Friday this week to
tell his side of the story.

Van Der Spuy said he was as furious about his suspended shares as he was
about falling for the platinum club membership scheme.

"To my mind, this was nothing else than a Ponzi scheme," said Van Der Spuy.
"They were selling an investment or instrument to people. They transferred
R60-million to another company and utilised it for whatever they wanted."

By April 2010, Stefan Braun, a director of Pinnacle Point Resorts, sent out
an email to insiders stating that the company was prepared to sell its
properties at a discount.

The platinum club membership scheme required R2.4-million annually to
sustain its food operation and looked certain to collapse.

The members formed an association to raise their concern about the ongoing
sustainability of the membership, but nothing could be done to save their
investments.

Last year liquidator Pieter Van Zyl went to court to cancel the agreements
with the platinum card members when Pinnacle Point Resorts was being wound
up, the inquiry heard.

Van Der Spuy said he believed all those who bought into the scheme were
deceived.

"If you look at the balance sheet, they have an obligation that can be
called at a moment's notice to redeem this membership. There was zero
possibility that they could repay," said Van Der Spuy. "Surely the financial
statements should have been qualified."

Now even the yacht has been reposessed by Absa, and the dream of a good life
for all involved has gone.

1.12 Some staff to reapply as Absa restructures

Phakamisa Ndzamela, Business Day, 8 February 2012

The restructuring of Absa ’s information technology (IT) unit will require
some permanent staff to reapply for their jobs, while contractors have been
asked to cut charges by as much as 10%.

Business Day understands the bank has told staff in a meeting that its plan
is to cut costs by 15%. The bank is said to have briefed IT suppliers last
year to take a 10% cut in rates.

Business Day was also told that in the retail unit there were 23 IT
architectural posts and only four were expected to be filled.

Asked to confirm this information, Absa responded: "We have always said that
improving efficiencies will remain at the centre of our key business
priorities. Therefore, with developments in technology and processes, we
consistently seek to improve output and efficiencies while reducing
duplication.

"In line with global trends, which have seen the recalibration of the cost
base of consultants and contractors, Absa held similar discussions with some
of its ICT suppliers of human capital last October. The aim is to optimise
value as well as attain a cost reduction ," the bank said. Absa said that in
all these efforts its clients and staff remained "key" and it would follow a
"fully consultative process with all key stakeholders".

The bank is in a closed period ahead of its full-year results. But in its
interim results last year it said, among other things, the focus would be on
containing costs and maintaining strong capital levels. In the six months to
end June last year, Absa said its IT costs had risen by 6% to R1,1bn.

Finance union Sasbo’s assistant general secretary Comfort Duma said: "At the
moment we understand that this process is not a retrenchment process, but a
reorganisation strategy."

"We will do anything in our power as the union to protect our members should
this process result in retrenchments," Mr Duma said.

1.13 South Africa's Q4 jobless rate falls to 23.9%

Engineering News, 8 February 2012

South Africa's official jobless rate eased to 23.9% of the labour force in
the fourth quarter of 2011 from 25% in the third, as new jobs were added in
the trade, social services and manufacturing sectors, a survey showed on
Tuesday.

However, growth in Africa's largest economy still remains far below the
levels needed to make a significant dent on unemployment, one of the biggest
challenges for President Jacob Zuma's government.

In its latest quarterly labour force survey, Statistics South Africa
(StatsSA) said the total number of unemployed people stood at 4.244-million
in the three months to December from 4.44-million in the third quarter.

The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes people who have
stopped looking for work, also decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 35.4%.

"What we've seen is that over the year there's been the hope that the
economy is recovering and we have seen that the year 2011 has created jobs
because we've seen two successive quarters of employment creation," StatsSA
deputy director general for population and social statistics Kefiloe
Masiteng said.

The government has singled out job creation as one of its main priorities
but says the economy needs to grow at 7% a year, more than double the
current rate, to significantly slash unemployment.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said the economy will probably grow
slightly above the 2.5% predicted by the International Monetary Fund this
year. This would be much lower than the 3.4%t growth forecast in October
last year.

Africa's largest economy shed about a million jobs in 2009, as it grappled
with its first recession in nearly two decades.

"The South African economy is in a phase where you are actually starting to
claw back some of the job losses that occurred in the wake of the global
financial crisis," Investment Solutions' chief economist Chris Hart said.

"However, job creation is not happening in abundance or at the rate that
could ever hope to materially dent unemployment. We are tinkering in decimal
points whereas the substance of unemployment is not really being resolved at
all."

1.14 ‘Glimmer of hope’ as jobless rate hits new low

Mariam Isa, Business Day, 8 February 2012

SA’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than two years in
the final quarter of last year, with manufacturing playing a key role in job
creation, official data showed yesterday.

The jobless rate fell to 23,9% from 25% in the third quarter, Statistics SA
said. Employment rose by a net 365000 over the whole of last year, following
declines in both 2010 and 2009.

The figures suggest that growth in the economy accelerated during the fourth
quarter of last year. They also mark the second consecutive quarter of
significant gains in employment, which could signal the start of a trend.

"We do see a glimmer of hope," Kafiloe Masiteng, deputy director-general of
population and social statistics at Statistics SA, said yesterday.

During the fourth quarter the formal sector of the economy created 180000
jobs, overshadowing a 26000 decline in employment in the informal sector.

The growth was led by community and social services (66000 new jobs),
manufacturing (52000) and trade (48000).

Jobs were also created in the agricultural sector and private households.
There were declines in employment in the financial services and construction
sectors.

The increase in jobs in retail and wholesale trade was no surprise as there
is normally a spike in temporary employment in that sector during the fourth
quarter, when consumers ramp up their year-end spending.

But the rise in manufacturing employment implies that the economy’s
second-biggest sector may have grown during the fourth quarter, after
shrinking for two quarters in a row.

Coenraad Bezuidenhout, executive director of the Manufacturing Circle, said
he expected the increase to be short-lived.

The sector was supported by the weaker rand in the fourth quarter, which
boosted the competitiveness of local exports.

Since then the rand has strengthened and "anecdotal evidence" suggested
there was another contraction in factory production in the first quarter of
this year, Mr Bezuidenhout said.

Closer examination of the Statistics SA data is not as encouraging as the
headline numbers. It shows that the number of people classified as
unemployed rose to 4,24-million in the fourth quarter of last year from
4,14-million in the final quarter of 2010.

This shows that the number of entrants to the job market is surpassing the
pace of job creation.

The number of discouraged work-seekers who have stopped looking for jobs
rose by 111000 during the fourth quarter.

Nonetheless, the expanded definition of unemployment, which includes this
group, dipped to 35,4% from 36% in the third quarter of the year.

Overall, the pace of job creation remains far too slow to meet the
government’s stated goal of generating 5-million new jobs by 2020.

The government has established a R9bn jobs fund and the Industrial
Development Corporation is putting aside R10bn for investment in
labour-intensive projects to be spent over the next five years.

Analysts say that these measures will help but the fragile nature of SA’s
economic recovery may not support robust job creation this year.

"Challenging economic conditions, both locally and globally, are expected to
persist in 2012, which could weigh on business confidence and discourage
organisations from expanding production capacity," Nedbank economist
Johannes Khosa said yesterday.

"This would restrict the pace of job creation."

1.15 When mass dismissals are an easier option

Alistair Anderson, Business Day, 8 February 2012

The increasingly common practice of companies firing striking workers and
then selectively rehiring them could reverse hard-won gains made by labour
as workers are likely to be re-employed on less generous contracts, labour
analysts say.

The world’s second-biggest producer of platinum, Implats , faced an illegal
strike from the middle of January until early February. It reacted by
dismissing about 17200 of its workers, saying it could no longer negotiate
with the union claiming to represent them.

The company then said it would consider applications by workers who wanted
their jobs back on a case-by-case basis.

This enables the company to stop a strike swiftly and decrease its
workforce, and cut costs. Analysts have warned that unions in SA have become
more militant. They seem more prepared to strike for nominal gains — such as
slight increases in housing allowances.

"Cosatu and other unions are trying to increase their political profile.
Beyond this they have also become ready to strike over wages and all sorts
of benefits, because they have won a lot from strikes in the recent past. As
a result, you will see companies disciplining them, sometimes harshly, this
year," analyst Andrew Ley says.

The strategy is not new to the mining sector, with Lonmin , another platinum
producer, having fired about 9000 workers last May after an illegal strike.
The company has since re-employed more than 90% of the staff. Lonmin
spokesman Ravin Maharaj last year said all rehired workers would be issued
with new contracts, meaning they would start as new employees and lose all
benefits gained previously.

Referring to its hire-fire strategy, Impala’s spokesman Bob Gilmour says the
move is better than trying to negotiate with mine unions arguing among
themselves. Up to 5000 rock-drillers went on strike last month over the
company’s failure to award them a retention bonus. Other workers last year
received salary increases as part of a retention scheme. This upset the
rock-drillers, who wanted equal treatment, but they chose to be represented
by a union without bargaining rights. About 12200 workers joined the
stayaway in sympathy, and were also dismissed.

The company struggled to resolve the impasse as the workers who began the
illegal strike, refused to be represented by the National Union of
Mineworkers (NUM). They wanted the support of the Association of Mineworkers
and Construction Union (Amcu), a union without bargaining powers, Mr Gilmour
says. The NUM is the official representative of Implats’ workers,
representing 70% of the 47000-strong workforce in SA.

Analysts believe the selective rehiring strategy frightens unions,
especially when they struggle to gain strike certificates to let them strike
legally. "It freaks unions out. They do not want to risk losing things they
striked for weeks for," labour analyst Tony Healy says.

Referring to Impala, he says: " If Implats dismissed the workers, they would
have to find replacements. If they did not, it would look like they were
condoning the behaviour. So it seems they fired them, and then offered to
rehire, (to say) next time you won’t be so lucky."

This week the Bombela Concession, which operates the Gautrain, dismissed 300
workers who were on strike illegally. It is expected to rehire them, but bus
drivers are more abundant than rock drillers — the number of possible
rehires may be limited.

NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka says the hire and fire strategy is a dirty
method.

He says Impala’s move to fire 17200 people was well-timed after David Brown
announced his resignation as CEO a few days earlier. The company has denied
his allegations.

Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant this week criticised Implats’ labour
practices, urging the parties to use the services of the Commission for
Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration as a way out of the impasse.

1.16 When is a worker a deserter?

Lavery Modise and Shaa'ista Bulbulia, Sowetan, 7 February 2012

The Labour Court has recognised that the employee's general duty is to
render a service to the employer, and that failure to discharge that duty
could potentially lead to disciplinary action.

If an employee is absent for several days from work without communicating
his or her absence to the employer, the assumption is often made by the
employer that the employee has absconded.

Employees will be deemed to have deserted only when evidence proves that the
employee had a clear and unequivocal intention to abandon employment.

The employer has the onus of proving that the employee had such intention.
The Labour Court has previously decided that an act of desertion constitutes
a breach or repudiation of the contract of employment. What happens in a
situation where an employee, who has been absent from work for several days,
has every intention of returning to work?

In a case that came before the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and
Arbitration (CCMA) in 2009, an employee was dismissed after being absent
from work for six days.

The employee claimed that he had asked his wife to call his manager and
inform the manager that he would be away from work.

The company claimed the employee was not dismissed, but that his employment
contract was terminated automatically in terms of its disciplinary code,
which deemed an employee to have deserted or absconded if he or she was
absent from work for longer than three days.

The commissioner held that, despite the provisions of the disciplinary code,
absence from work for longer than three days did not necessarily mean an
employee had absconded. To prove abscondment, the employer must prove that
the employee had the intention of not resuming work.

The employer failed to prove that the employee's wife did not telephone his
manager, regarding his absence from work and the commissioner found the
employee had been dismissed and rejected the employer's argument that the
contract was terminated automatically. In another case that came before the
CCMA, an employee requested one month's unpaid leave after believing her
ancestors had called her to be a sangoma.

The employee had submitted a certificate from her traditional healer
verifying that she suffered from "perminitions of ancestors".

The employer failed to authorise such leave, and instead offered her one
week's unpaid leave.

The employee rejected the offer and absented herself for the entire period.

The employee was charged with various counts of misconduct, including being
absent without a valid reason for more than three days. The employee was
dismissed following a disciplinary hearing; she then lodged a dispute with
the CCMA.

In deciding the matter, the commissioner considered that the employee had
informed her employer of her whereabouts and had supporting documentation
from her traditional healer.

The commissioner accordingly found that she had acted reasonably, given the
fact the employee was under the impression her life was in danger.

The employer challenged the CCMA's decision by bringing an application to
the Labour Court to have the commissioner's decision set aside. When the
matter came before the Labour Court, the employer argued that the
commissioner made findings not supported by law and rendered an award that
was not justifiable. The Labour Court held that this case turned on a clash
of cultures in the workplace.

The employer did not regard a calling to be a sangoma an illness, and the
employee believed that if she did not heed the calling to become a sangoma
she would become ill.

The court recognised that the primary question was whether the employee was
justifiably absent from work for more than three days. In assessing the
fairness of dismissal for absenteeism, many factors were taken into
consideration, including if the employee had tendered a reasonable
explanation for the absence. In this case the Labour Court found that the
employee had given a reasonable explanation and therefore the employee
should not have been dismissed.

*       Modise is deputy chairman of Eversheds and Shaa'ista Bulbulia a
candidate attorney at Eversheds

2.   ANC

2.1 ‘ANC must rediscover morality’

Carol Campbell, IOL, 7 February 2012

The ANC must rediscover its “revolutionary morality”, so its leaders can be
selfless, honest, and live with integrity, Cosatu said on Tuesday.

The ANC had to “fix its house before it landed on its head,” Cosatu general
secretary Zwelinzima Vavi told 2000 Gauteng shop stewards.

To do this, decent jobs, quality education, food security, healthcare, and
crime had to be addressed as a priority, he said.

“We are saying we have got to succeed in these areas, because if we don’t
succeed we can no longer be a fountain of hope that the ANC has been for the
past 100 years.”

Cosatu is an alliance partner of the ANC, with the SA Communist Party.

Vavi said Cosatu had to stay united to achieve its goals, because it was
through unity that the trade union movement in South Africa was
internationally respected.

“Without our numbers and without our unity we are nothing. We are building
this organisation so that workers can improve their lot in the work place
and society in general.”

Vavi said Cosatu could not be divided by people with agendas outside the
organisation.

The Polokwane progressive policy framework also had to be defended by a
united trade union movement.

Cosatu had to refuse to allow political paralysis on the framework and
ensure the ANC remained in dialogue on the issues it covered.

Tenderpreneurs represented a serious threat to the working class and those
who thought they had an “ordained right to eat on behalf of the masses” had
to be isolated and exposed, he said.

“We don’t care who is involved. Don’t tell us we were together in Polokwane.
We are not together in corruption.”

However, Cosatu had to defend the ANC leadership as a collective.

Those tenderpreneurs who had put the ANC's leadership on the backfoot had to
be stopped.

There was a responsibility to defend the collective leadership, not in a
factional way, but as a whole in the ANC.

The issue of leadership had to be debated in the right structures, not on
Facebook, Twitter, and in letters to the editor.

Vavi said it was premature to discuss succession in the ANC.

“It is not healthy to have an organisation where debate is on leadership and
not on the programmes of the government,” he said.

At the beginning of his hour-long speech, Vavi said the Eastern Cape
government and the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union were on the verge of ending
their differences and that an agreement would be announced on Wednesday. –
Sapa

2.2 Cosatu urged to respect Malema decision  

Nastasye Tay, EWN, 8 February 2012

Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) urged its members on Tuesday
to respect the African National Congress’ (ANC) decision to suspend youth
league president Julius Malema.

The national disciplinary appeals panel ruled that six senior ANC Youth
League (ANCYL) members would remain suspended.

They were found guilty of sowing division in the ANC and bringing the party
into disrepute.

Gauteng chairperson Phutas Tseki said party discipline is crucial, and
members must not misbehave, “Discipline is not about celebrating the fall of
another, but rather about correcting one another and moving together in
terms of the policy in terms of that organisation.”

2.3 Cosatu backs anti-Mathale protest

Warren Mabona, The New Age, 8 February 2012

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) has backed a call made by its
Limpopo branch encouraging workers to demonstrate against the administration
of Premier Cassel Mathale over unpaid salaries and bonuses.

Patrick Craven, national spokesperson for the union federation, told The New
Age that the financial woes of the Limpopo government were a cause for
serious concern and needed to be resolved urgently.

Craven was reacting to a call made by Cosatu’s provincial secretary-general
Dan Sebabi, while addressing about 200 National Health and Allied Workers
Union outside Mathale’s office on Monday.

“We fully support Sebabi and the striking workers because there is a
systemically deep labour problem in that administration,” said Craven.

“I am confident our efforts will eventually save many people who have become
the victims of exploitation.”

In his address, Sebabi encouraged the workers to stage a sit-in at the
entrance of the premises until Mathale stepped down. He said the ANC risked
losing the province in the 2014 general elections if Mathale was not
relieved of his duties as premier.

Craven said Cosatu’s stance on the Limpopo crisis would not put a strain on
its relationship with the ANC.

He said the federation had given a thumbs-up to the national government when
it took control of five Limpopo departments.

3.   South Africa

3.1 Tolling to go ahead — ‘state just seeking options’

Linda Ensor, Business Day, 8 February 2012

The government is heading for a major confrontation with the Congress of
South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) over the tolling of Gauteng roads.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele insisted yesterday that the state was
"not abandoning" the user-pay principle but was looking at a number of
options to make it "not so burdensome" for motorists.

He said Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan would be making a "major
announcement" soon about how to finance the R20bn debt which the South
African National Roads Agency (Sanral) incurred to build the Gauteng Freeway
Improvement Programme.

"We are working with the minister of finance now on the modalities," Mr
Ndebele said during an interview.

Any provision for a state grant would have to be made in the 2012-13
national budget which Mr Gordhan would table in Parliament in two weeks’
time. This grant is expected to be supplemented by toll fees.

Mr Ndebele dashed the labour movement’s hope that tolling would be set aside
altogether when he said that the government was "not abandoning" the
user-pay principle, but was looking at a number of options to refine it.

Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven insisted that the labour organisation would
oppose any form of tolling, however low the fee.

If no other way was found to pay off Sanral’s debt, Cosatu would embark on a
national strike on March 7 to demand an end to both tolling and labour
broking.

Cosatu and civil society organisations raised an outcry when Sanral
announced its toll fees, and they demanded that its implementation be halted
while alternatives were investigated. The Department of Labour made a
proposal for lower tariffs last July, but this too was rejected and in
December the Cabinet appointed a task team led by Mr Gordhan and Mr Ndebele
to come up with a funding model.

The new Sanral board was also instructed to look into the matter. Amid all
this uncertainty, Sanral has had to halt its bond auctions.

Meanwhile, the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s acting CEO, Collins
Letsoalo, told Parliament’s transport committee that the agency was awaiting
a condonation from Mr Gordhan for the R246m in transaction fees that it used
for its operating expenses instead of transferring it to the Department of
Transport. Without this condonation the organisation was bankrupt.

Mr Letsoalo said the corporation had also asked the Treasury for a bigger
budget for the next two financial years. The shortage of funds meant no
performance bonuses could be paid, core projects could not be completed and
staff vacancies could not been filled.

Mr Ndebele said the corporation had been stabilised under Mr Letsoalo’s
leadership, aided in this by the departure of suspended former CEO Ranthoko
Rakgoale in November. The process of getting a new CEO would commence
shortly.

Mr Rakgoale had been suspended on full pay of more than R1m a year pending
the resolution of a labour dispute. The details of the termination agreement
were confidential, Mr Lesoalo said.

Democratic Alliance transport spokesman Ian Ollis called for an
investigation into the mismanagement of funds by the corporation’s former
management.

3.2 Report reveals gross corruption in Durban

Benita Enoch, IOL, 7 February 2012

Several senior eThekwini officials, at least three municipal managers, the
former city mayor and metro police officers have been marked as playing a
hand in the eThekwini municipality’s R1.3 billion overspend due to financial
mismanagement, tender fraud and corruption.

The officials formed the basis of the Manase Report, which sought to
investigate why irregular expenditure and general financial mismanagement
had spiked 158 percent, or three times as much, in the past financial year.

The report was commissioned following public and former employee tip offs.
It was also implemented after previous forensic audits on the municipality.

Speaking at a press briefing on the report, MEC for Co-operative Governance
and Traditional Affairs Nomusa Dube, said the investigation was intended to
“confront head-on some of the ills bedevilling this municipality” and
“arrest the rot” before it collapsed the institution.

While specifics of the report, such as the names of the officials fingered
in the findings and the exact amounts they had defrauded the municipality by
were not released, Dube did discuss the areas in which the municipality had
suffered.

The Manase Report found that:

1. 161 councillors were found to have had private business interests that
benefited from dealings with the eThekwini Metro Municipality (EMM).

2. The municipality's former mayor “irregularly and unlawfully influenced” a
waste volume reduction tender intended for Bisasar Road Landfil Site.

3. Over R536 million was spent on contractors who did not meet the criteria
of supply chain management regulations. Of that amount, R428 million was
spent on the EMM's housing unit.

4. A former municipal manager did not report “fraudulent and corrupt
activities” amounting to R1.1 million to police, even after a similar
investigation (the Ngubane report of 2010) has presented him with the
findings.

5. Duplicate payments had been made to IT company Dimenshion Data of over
R2.6 million, days after the first payment was made. The second payment was
subsequently reversed.

6. Software programmers had been called to develop a “Revenue Management
System” for the municipality, as opposed to buying a generic programme to
accomplish the same task. The programme was expected to cost a maximum of
R150 million and be completed in four years. However eight years later, at
the completion of the project, the municipality incurred a total cost of
R474.7 million.

7. Exaggerated claims for overtime had been incurred from some departments,
notably the electricity department.

8. Several instances of nepotism and promotions across large pay grades were
also found. For example, trainees on a T10 level had incurred upgrades to
T14 level employment after serving the allotted time.

9. Numerous metro police officers were found to have had interests in the
taxi industry, as well as being involved in corrupt activity that included
maladministration and sexual harassment. The report also found that about 30
trainee constables bought their driver's license in order to work with the
department.

10. A housing project estimated to cost R18 million over 550 low cost homes,
eventually cost the municipality R57 million and the project was not open to
public tenders.

In some of the worse cases of negligence, the Manase Report found that
pertaining to irregularities in the housing unit, tender documents were not
even completed in full, even though the tender had been awarded. It also
found that documents needed to process awarded tenders were not signed and
in some cases, addressed to a sub contractor and not the municipality's
appointed contractor.

“It would appear that the Bid Adjudication Committee failed to apply their
minds and did not exercise due care and diligence in recommending
condonation of the housing unit's irregular spending,” Dube said.

The report also accused the managers in the Treasury, Infrastructure and
Housing sectors of not taking all steps to ensure that irregular expenditure
was prevented and for “failure to exercise due care and diligence”.

The Manase Report suggested that:

1. The tender process for waste volume reduction be started afresh.

2. Disciplinary action be taken against municipality's head and deputy head
of housing and the deputy head of supply chain management for irregular
expenditure to the tune of R6.3 million for a housing project in Chatsworth.

3. The municipality must make urgent arrangements to recover the amount of
R1.1 million highlighted in the Ngubane report of 2010.

4. Disciplinary action must be taken against 161 officials with private
businesses that have benefited from the municipality.

Dube said those marked in the report as having to account for their actions
would have three weeks in which to respond to the allegations, after which,
“appropriate methods” would be undertaken to hold accused, accountable.

3.3 Top Durban ANC names in fraud report

Edward West, Business Day, 8 February 2012

Ethekwini’s former mayor, Obed Mlaba, former municipal manager Michael
Sutcliffe, several department heads and many employees have been named in a
far-reaching probe into fraud, corruption and maladministration.

A probe by auditing firm Manase & Associates into the African National
Congress (ANC)-led metro — SA’s second-biggest by budget size — was released
yesterday by KwaZulu-Natal co-operative governance and traditional affairs
MEC Nomusa Dube.

ANC KwaZulu-Natal secretary Sihle Zikalala said yesterday the party "views
any allegation of corruption as serious". The ANC, in control of 51 of the
61 local government entities in the province, had initiated the audit, he
said.

The municipality is expected to comment today.

Democratic Alliance (DA) eThekwini chief whip Dean Macpherson said yesterday
it was "rich" of the ANC to congratulate themselves for ordering the
investigation, when it was the ANC-led city council "that got us into this
mess in the first place".

The audit report said there was sufficient documentary evidence "that
confirms" Mr Mlaba’s involvement in a landfill site tender and that the
integrity of the process had been "grossly compromised".

The report alleges Mr Sutcliffe had not reported corruption to the police,
nor did he appear to have reported irregular expenditure to the mayor and
the auditor-general in terms of regulations.

The audit found 10 councillors and 123 city employees did business with the
municipality.

It also found that there had been disregard of procurement and municipal
management regulations, excessive use of "emergency" clauses to bypass
tender procedures, lack of budgetary controls, irregular recruitment, fraud
in collusion with suppliers and corruption on the part of metro police
officials.

Mr Mlaba and Mr Sutcliffe could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Ms Dube said her department had given eThekwini’s municipal leaders 21 days
to respond to the report, after which her department would assess whether
the action being taken by the council was adequate.

3.4 Row over FET forensic report

Lebogang Seale, Star, 8 February 2012

Gauteng education officials have still to act against Tshwane South FET
college officials implicated by a forensic report in tender irregularities
and accused of maladministration.

A 2008 forensic report by the Gauteng Shared Service Centre found that the
Further Education and Training (FET) college in Pretoria was paralysed by
maladministration, nepotism and tender irregularities.

However, Charles Phahlane of the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE)
yesterday said no action had been taken against those implicated because an
independent legal team had found the evidence insufficient to proceed.

This was despite the investigation suggesting there was prima facie
evidence.

The college has campuses in Atteridgeville, Centurion, Odi in Mabopane, and
Pretoria West.

The situation, described as a crisis by lecturers, has been allowed to
fester for more than five years.

In February 2010, more than 200 staff – including lecturers, administrative
staff and cleaners – frogmarched principal Joe Chiloane from the college’s
Centurion headquarters during protests against his reinstatement.

Chiloane had earlier been transferred to the headquarters of the GDE in
Joburg after allegations of maladministration, and tender irregularities
were levelled against him and other top officials.

These included the deputy, Deborah Malete, and the procurement manager,
Goodman Mnisi.

A 2008 forensic report by the Gauteng Shared Service Centre found, among
other things, that:

§  Chiloane awarded major contracts amounting to more than R28 million to
his “close associate”, a Mr S Motsumi, and his relatives. The contracts
included the supply of student golf shirts; the planning, design and
erection of a resource centre, library and internet café (R3m); and the
provision of security (R12 275) and cleaning services (R10 264).

§  Malete awarded catering business deals amounting to more than R22m to
entities owned by “her business partner”, a Ms N Adom.

§  Mnisi awarded a contract for the installation of security access control
amounting to more than R1.7m without the contract being advertised.

§  Mnisi also failed to adhere to the college procurement procedures when he
acquired golf shirts valued at more than R1.3m from Othandwayo Business
Enterprises and when he procured almost R400 000 in services from Temoso
Trading.

But, more three years after the forensic report was finalised and handed to
the GDE, no action has been taken against Chiloane, Malete, Mnisi and other
alleged wrongdoers.

The report clearly recommended disciplinary action against the three.

Chiloane, Malete and Mnisi have declined to comment.

Lecturers decried that no action had been taken against those implicated in
corruption despite a protest march in February last year.

The protest also came after 22 lecturers were suspended for public violence
and malicious damage to property. Most of the suspended lecturers are based
at the college’s Atteridgeville campus.

4.   International

4.1 Local unions to meet foreign counterparts on labour issues

Alistair Anderson, Business Day, 7 February 2012

In an effort to retain South African members and conduct more effective
campaigns, some affiliates of the Congress of South African Trade Unions
(Cosatu) are trying to forge a stronger working relationship with foreign
unions.

A group of local unions, led by the National Union of Metalworkers of South
Africa (Numsa), is to host member unions of the World Federation of Trade
Unions (WFTU) from more than 50 countries this week.

Among the foreign trade-union organisations attending the event are Unione
Sindiale di Basi from Italy, the Organisation of African Trade Union Unity,
the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, the General Federation
of Trade Unions of CIS and the Permanent Congress of Trade Union Unity of
the Workers of Latin America.

Numsa wants foreign unions to involve themselves in South African labour
struggles.

From Wednesday to Sunday, Numsa, the National Education, Health and Allied
Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (Popcru)
and the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union
will host a council of union leaders, both local and foreign, in
Johannesburg.

They will discuss the erosion of worker rights in states such as North Korea
and how to serve their members in terms of wage bargaining.

"There are many issues to be discussed as we as unions try to strengthen
ourselves and our role in the world in light of the crisis of capitalism,"
said Suraya Jawoodien, deputy general secretary of Nehawu, last week.

She said some trade unionists who had been involved with the WFTU in the
1980s and early 1990s will be honoured at the event.

Nathi Theledi, deputy general secretary of Popcru, said the five-day event
would also be used to raise awareness of the WFTU among South African union
members.

"If you ask a guy on the street if he has an opinion on Cosatu, he will say
something about it. If you ask him about the WFTU, he will have no idea what
you’re talking about. We want to mobilise awareness of the WFTU," he said.

Numsa, the second-biggest Cosatu affiliate in terms of members, is trying
raise its profile with union voters ahead of Cosatu’s elective conference in
May this year.

Tony Healy, labour analyst, said he believed Numsa and the other unions were
gaining ammunition should they wish to protest against multinational
corporations in the future.

"It’s not surprising that we’re seeing the resurrection of a global body
while the capitalist world is struggling. The challenges faced by these
Western economies are similar in nature," Mr Healy said.

He added: "The unions get to learn about the modus operandi of organised
labour. They also get to march at multinationals all at the same time."

5.   Comment

5.1 Educated and no jobs in sight, Mr President

Lebogang Seale, Star, 8 February 2012

Four years ago, Humbulani Siwada packed his bags and travelled to Joburg all
the way from Thohoyandou in Limpopo to study at a further education and
training (FET) college.

Not that there weren’t colleges in his home town. It was the belief that
studying at one in the City of Gold would offer him better training and
enhance his chances for employment that impelled him.

But less than two months after completing his N6 diploma in human resource
management, Siwada is getting anxious about his prospects.

Like many other FET graduates, Siwada was unable to do the internship
lessons that would have enabled him to attain the vital skills and
experience in a workplace environment.

“I’m not confident I will get a job. Everywhere you go, they say you need
experience,” said Siwada, who graduated from South West Gauteng College’s
Dobsonville campus in Soweto.

He blames the colleges for failing to help students acquire skills through
internship programmes.

“They always say there are companies that come to the colleges to recruit
students, but I haven’t seen any.

“It’s just cheap talk, like what our president says when he promises to
create half a million jobs in a year. But he can’t create even 10 000.”

In his 2010 State of the Nation address, President Jacob Zuma announced a
youth subsidy policy to give students and young graduates experience in the
workplace.

But just like his job creation targets, very little has come of it.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said it was the responsibility of the
Higher Education and Training and Public Works departments to implement
that.

The Dobsonville campus has, like many others, been shunned by companies
interested in recruiting students for internship programmes.

It’s not difficult to see why. Most potential investors are put off by
problems such as inferior standards, mismanagement, corruption and
under-qualified lecturers.

At the Tshwane South College in Pretoria, for instance, there hasn’t been
any effective learning and teaching since February 2010.

This is because the institution has been dogged by suspensions and
allegations of corruption, including tender irregularities.

Tshwane South has campuses in Centurion, Pretoria West, Atteridgeville and
Odi.

The legal wrangling, corruption and mismanagement have discouraged
businesses from taking students on internship programmes.

Vuyelwa Qinga, spokeswoman for the Higher Education and Training Department,
said it was concerned about how few companies invested in FETs.

She admitted that companies might be discouraged by some inferior FET
programmes.

“In respect of college-business partnerships… we do acknowledge that it is
still an area where some colleges are struggling.

“In those colleges experiencing difficulties, it may have to do with
outdated programmes,” said Qinga.

Reluctance by companies to invest in FETs and place students in internship
programmes to equip them with practical skills in a workplace environment is
also of grave concern.

Motsumi Makhene, principal of Johannesburg Central College, said: “The
problem is the collapse of the apprenticeship programme. With it,
parastatals were obliged to foster relationships with the (now defunct)
technical colleges.”

Sector education and training authorities (Setas) are the institutions that
were supposed to replace the apprenticeship system and produce the skills
needed by the country’s industries.

So far, they have done very little.

“We are very concerned, but that goes up to the (higher education and
training) minister.”

And it’s not that Blade Nzimande is unaware.

He noted last year that there were “about 20 000 FET college students who
have completed the academic component, but cannot qualify for any
occupation”.

According to a higher education ministerial report on post-compulsory and
post-school provision, 2.8 million of the 6.8 million 18- to 24-year-old
South Africans are not in employment, education institutions or workplace
training.

The signs were there as far back as four years ago.

A 2008 SA Institute of Race Relations report indicated that FET colleges
were failing as meaningful skills-training institutions.

This, the report noted, was despite the fact that about R595m had been spent
on improving them by March 2008.

More damning was that the report revealed that no province had a pass rate
higher than 41 percent.

But the government need not look beyond the FET colleges themselves if
measures are to be taken to tackle their faltering objectives for skills
training.

There, the authorities will find that inadequate resources are also
hampering performance.

“Sometimes our computers freeze when we are in the middle of tasks.

“The lecturers will show you another computer to restart, only to find that
even that machine has frozen.

“In the end, it’s always theory, theory, theory (rather) than practice,”
said Musa Macevele, another graduate at the Dobsonville campus.

South West Gauteng College principal Dan Nkosi admitted that the resources
were inadequate, but said the situation had improved in the past two years.

“More can be done, but I am sure that we can do with what we have,” he said.

Central Johannesburg College’s Ellis Park campus, offering engineering
courses, is among the more popular institutions.

But even there, students are worried about their job prospects.

“We know of many students who have graduated here, but are struggling to
find jobs,” said Koketso Maelane, an N4-level student in civil engineering.

“We need to go to construction sites to learn things like scaffolding, but
it’s not happening.

“They just show us the drawings and illustrations, but we need workplace
experience.”

The situation is no different at the South West Gauteng College’s Dube
campus in Soweto, which offers IT and safety and policing courses.

“We only have Telkom and Neotel. There were 26 of us last year, but they
only took three.

“What’s going to happen to the rest?” asked Raymond Zuke, an IT and computer
programming graduate.

But it’s not all gloom and doom for FET students.

A few companies and para- statals have hired some FET graduates. For
instance, they are involved in Eskom’s new Medupi power station.

The Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sports Sector Education and
Training Authority and Radisson Blu hotels announced a partnership to give
more than 300 FET students in travel, tourism and hospitality an opportunity
to work in a real hotel environment to attain the needed workplace
experience.

There were also projects such as the Swiss-SA Co-operation Initiative and
the Danish-funded Student Support Services that would be rolled out this
year, said Qinga.

5.2 No more slogans, no more history: we want answers now

Editorial, Times, 8 February 2012

President Jacob Zuma will have to up his game tomorrow and give the nation
hope that his administration will make 2012 a better year for all.

As he steps up to the podium in parliament at 7pm, he will know that the
nation and its contesting constituencies will pay close attention to every
word he utters.

The general secretary of trade union federation Cosatu, Zwelinzima Vavi,
yesterday reminded the ruling party of the promises it had made to the
people.

He told the Cosatu Gauteng shop stewards' council meeting in Soweto that the
ANC will have to do more in the coming months and years than wave flags and
tell the masses to remember Chris Hani, Albert Luthuli, Nelson Mandela and
Joe Slovo.

He said voters will ask difficult questions about the present, not the past
- and they will demand answers.

Though Vavi says he is optimistic about the future and the ANC, his warning
is backed by the rising frustrations at all levels of our society.

The reality today is that South Africans, though passionate about their
freedom, expect more from their elected leaders.

It cannot be business as usual when voters see their taxes abused by their
leaders, who have turned the state into a battleground for settling
political scores.

Tomorrow, President Zuma will have to rise above it all. He must give hope
to the nation that all is not lost under his watch.

He must inspire the masses to believe that, in him, we will have a better
tomorrow.

If he fails to capture the moment and address the needs facing this country
today, Zuma and his cabinet will have more problems on their hands.

The talk among the working class and the down-trodden who are the majority
in this country is about why they must wait for a better tomorrow when those
in power already live like kings. If nothing changes for the better soon,
something will have to give.

5.3 Policy choices alone won’t bring economic growth

Steven Friedman, Business Day, 8 February 2012

The letter "N" stands for "nationalisation"; and "non-issue". The link is
political as well as alphabetic. Recent leaks to the media reportedly
confirm that the African National Congress (ANC) is not interested in
nationalising anything. And yet, in discussions of the economic outlook and
reports in the media, a fiction called "the nationalisation debate" is kept
alive.

This tells us much about the phobias of some in our society, but nothing
about political reality. We will understand our economic prospects and
choices better when we banish the nationalisation bogey.

There are two reasons for this. First, nationalisation is not a serious
prospect. Second, fretting about it diverts us from the issues we must
address if we want economic growth that meets the needs of all citizens.

On the first score, there is no majority support for nationalisation in the
ANC. This was, in effect, acknowledged in 2007 by Congress of South African
Trade Unions (Cosatu) general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who announced a
plan to ensure that leftwingers dominated its national executive. It failed
and the "middle class" majority he complained about, is still in charge.
Most national executive committee members have business interests and do not
want to give them away. The left is not organised enough to take over the
ANC and so there will be no serious push for nationalisation.

This is why what has been passed off as nationalisation pressure is nothing
of the sort. T he ANC Youth League’s "nationalisation proposal" is actually
a plan to help some private owners gain advantage over others, not to turn
private assets over to the state.

Later this year, Cosatu, which is worried by the perception that its issue
has been stolen from it, may unveil a nationalisation proposal. But because
the other side has the votes, this attempt to shift the ANC left is unlikely
to do any better than last time.

Why are we then in such a froth about nationalisation? Because many in
business and the media carry in their hearts a deep-rooted belief that, one
day, the masses will throw off the cloak of moderation and savagely despoil
the owners of wealth. This makes them see "evidence" and provides a weapon
to anyone who wants businesses to make deals they wouldn’t otherwise make.
If you want more of private industry, getting a young man to talk about
nationalisation, and then offering to make the problem go away at a price,
makes sense — as long as the fears are so deep-seated that no one looks at
the fine print. Until now, few people have. Similarly, some have spent four
years worrying about the ANC’s leftward shift, for which there is no
evidence. But it lives on because it is a product of deep fear, not
evidence.

Second, fretting about nationalisation (as about the "leftward shift")
assumes that our economic prospects depend on choosing the "right" policies.
This confuses the world of the text book with the one in which we live.

In a world in which pro business governments raid the fiscus to keep banks
in business, claiming that the government should simply get out of the way,
is like insisting we can end road carnage by scrapping traffic rules. On the
other side, claims that the government will steer the economy well simply by
deciding that it will, ignore the obvious gap between what governments would
like to do and what they can do. Economies grow not when a recipe is adopted
but when enough confidence is built to persuade investors to invest and
workers to work. This can be achieved using many policy mixes.

In this society, the challenge is illustrated by one of our key problems,
unemployment. Both sides of the debate tell us that their recipe will
guarantee job growth that can lead us to something approaching full
employment. Both are selling a bill of goods — millions here will need to
earn a living outside the formal economy for the foreseeable future,
whatever recipe we adopt.

That is no cause for despair — there are many ways to ensure people outside
the formal sector are not destitute or idle. But this needs more effective
government, not policy recipes. Social grants have shown what even modest
government programmes can do to enable people to live better and produce
more outside the formal job market. We need more that do the same.

The issue is not nationalisation or its alternatives. It is how to get the
government to work so that we can begin growing our economy in a way that
includes millions outside the formal sector — and what business, labour and
other interest groups can contribute to that.

Our prospects of sustained growth will not be settled by policy choices.
They will depend on whether the government can become better at providing a
platform for growth and private interests can become better at helping that
to happen. It is this, not which set of unworkable recipes we adopt, that
will decide where our economy is headed.

• Friedman is director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy.

.

Patrick Craven (National Spokesperson)

Congress of South African Trade Unions

1-5 Leyds Cnr Biccard Streets

Braamfontein

2017

P.O.Box 1019

Johannesburg

South Africa

Tel: +27 11 339-4911/24

Fax: +27 11 339-5080 / 6940

Mobile: +27 82 821 7456

E-Mail: patr...@cosatu.org.za

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