Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, Part Two, 23 November 2016
Norman Mampane
Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, Part Two...
COSATU to hold its Post ordinary CEC Press Briefing at COSATU House, Braamfontein Tomorrow, at 11h00
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Mao
Our side of the story
Wednesday 23 November 2016
‘Unity and Cohesion of COSATU to Advance the National Democratic Revolution’
COSATU Cares!
Contents
Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
Ø Commissioner Zach Modise congratulates role-players for resolving Occupational Specific Dispensation wrangle
Ø DENOSA to host Marilyn Lahana Caring Award to the most selfless nurse in SA on 24 November in Pretoria
South Africa
Ø COSATU Statement on the National Minimum Wage
Ø COSATU Strongly Welcomes Parliament's Passing the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act
International-Workers’ Solidarity!
Ø USA: Education unions and civil society unite to Stop the Hate
Ø New EU rules on insolvency must provide better protection for workers
Workers’ Parliament!-Back to Basics…
Commissioner Zach Modise congratulates role-players for resolving Occupational Specific Dispensation wrangle
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services, 22 Nov 2016
Protracted OSD wrangle finally resolved
Correctional Services National Commissioner, Mr. Zach Modise, has congratulated all role-players for finally resolving the protracted Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) wrangle.
After a long period of intense deliberations, discussions and negotiations, the parties finally reached an agreement yesterday (Monday, 21 November 2016) when the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) and Organised Labour signed a final settlement on the OSD.
“We congratulate all role-players and thank the negotiators for their tireless efforts in reaching this historic agreement. The breaking of this deadlock would have also not been possible without the political will and determination of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Adv. Michael Masutha," Modise said.
Three key elements of the settlement are the following:
Clarification of Clause 11.1 of GPSSBC Resolution 2 of 2009 with regard to the number of years regarded as experience required for appointment on each salary level when recognition of experience is calculated.
Translation of all qualifying officials to their correct OSD Second Phase notches will happen before 15 February 2017, effective from 1 October 2016.
Back-pay of 30% of basic salary owed to qualifying officials, which accumulated between 1 April 2010 and 30 September 2016.
The back-payment will be staggered in four payments over four years, with the first payment being 17% to be paid before 31 March 2017, 6% before 31 March 2018, 4% before 31 March 2019 and 3% before 31 March 2020.
Officials who were promoted, changed occupations or moved to another salary dispensation between 1 April 2010 and 31 October 2016 will receive pro-rata back-payment. The agreement has been evaluated accordingly, and is within the allocated compensation budget for 2016/17 until the 2019/20 financial year.
Officials who are on personal notches, or who will reach personal notches because of the OSD Second Phase translation, will not be excluded. However, they shall be dealt with in terms of a separate dispensation. Once translated, the principle related to pay progression will apply.
The process to accommodate the translations of qualifying officials on personal notches, or qualifying officials who will reach personal notches as a result of the translations, shall be finalised on or before 30 June 2017.
“The negotiation teams of both DCS and labour must be commended for displaying a great sense of commitment and maturity to the negotiation process,” said Modise. Both the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) expressed their gratitude for the manner in which DCS showed good faith in the negotiation and was always receptive to the solutions that they suggested.
With the negotiations finalised, Commissioner Modise has urged parties to now refocus their attention on the core mandate of DCS and contribute to maintaining and promoting a just, peaceful and safe society.
Issued by: Department of Correctional Services
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DENOSA to host Marilyn Lahana Caring Award to the most selfless nurse in SA on 24 November in Pretoria
Sibongiseni Delihlazo, DENOSA Communications Manager, 23 November 2016
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) cordially invites members of the media to its annual national Marilyn Lahana Caring Awards ceremony on Thursday 24 November 2016 at the Amber Dining Room at CSIR in Pretoria, which will award the most dedicated and selfless nurse in SA.
Now in its 20th year, the Marilyn Lahana Caring Awards is an annual event hosted by DENOSA in collaboration with the Marilyn Lahana Caring Trust, which awards a nurse who has shown the most dedication and selflessness while performing her work. The nurse is voted for by fellow nurses, community members as well as current and former patients.
Preliminaries are held in provinces where overall provincial winners go on to compete in the national finals. Nine nurses from the provinces will be vying for the coveted award.
The award is named after Marilyn Lahana, a nurse who died of Ebola in 1995 at a Johannesburg hospital. A patient infected with Ebola was transported from Gabon to a Johannesburg Hospital where Marilyn Lahana was working. In an act of sheer selflessness, she risked her own life cared for the patient comprehensively. Unfortunately, she got infected with the virus and died a little later on 24 November 1995.
The event will be a special 20th event and also marking 21 years since the death of Marilyn Lahana.
Nurses work under extremely difficult and challenging conditions, mainly as a result of severe shortage. These conditions often bring them to clash with community members as a result of boiling tensions over long queues.
“These awards are a way to say to those nurses that give their all under these trying conditions: Keep up the good work; the society is watching you and appreciative of your dedication and selflessness. But these awards should not in any way mean that as DENOSA we condone the poor conditions that nurses are subjected to in the workplace where there is no equipment, medication and basic tools of work,” says DENOSA Projects Coordinator, Kedibone Mdolo.
Members of the media are invited to attend the event and report.
Details of the event are as follows:
DATE: Thursday 24 November 2016
VENUE: Amber Dining Room at CSIR in Pretoria.
TIME: 18h00 – 20h30
MEDIA RSVP CONTACT: Sibongiseni Delihlazo, DENOSA Communications Manager. 079 875 2663
End
Issued by the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA)
South Africa
COSATU Statement on the National Minimum Wage
Sizwe Pamla, COSATU National Spokesperson, 23 November 2016
The COSATU CEC has noted and welcomes the release of the National Minimum Wage report by the Advisory panel of experts and its recommendation for the adoption of a legislated universal National Minimum Wage.
In some respects, this report is a step forward for the country and a victory for the workers and their federation, COSATU, that has been relentless in its campaign for the adoption of a legislated national minimum wage.
The Advisory panel took its mandate seriously and applied sober research and analysis in its work to reach its conclusions. Its analysis, while sound however, is combined with a mixed bag of recommendations.
We want to commend the Deputy President of South Africa, Cde Cyril Ramaphosa, for his leadership and tireless work in trying to break the deadlock between the social partners at Nedlac over this matter.
We hope that he will continue to provide the necessary leadership so that we finalise this issue before the end of this year.
The federation shall go back to Nedlac and engage with the contents of the report and also push for a speedy resolution of these negotiations. While the proposed figure of R3 500 still falls short of the federation’s proposed figure of R4 500.
We note that the proposals by the Panel are not a resolution taken at Nedlac, but are recommendations which still need to be deliberated on. We welcome the Report as an important contribution to the discussion, which has helped to break the deadlock.
We acknowledge that this proposed figure of R3 500 does not address the minimum living standards of an average South African household. The people’s legitimate frustrations and unhappiness with the proposed R3500 figure are understandable given the high cost of living for workers. Most scandalous is the fact that currently around half of all workers are earning below this figure. So anything above the figure of R3500, no matter how inadequate, will have a material impact on improving the wages of half of South African workers, or 6 million of our brutally exploited workers. This figure of R3 500, though, gives us a significant starting base and something to work with at Nedlac as we negotiate the way forward.
This country’s National Treasury seems to be either ignorant of or is deliberately ignoring the historical reality, which this administration is supposed to transform. Amongst others, this is underscored by their flawed and biased research and their provocative and misleading reaction to the Advisory panel’s report. This once again reinforces our perspective that unless the working class raises itself to a hegemonic position in key sites of power, and strengthens its capacity to mobilise and fight, the envisaged economic transformation will never happen.
The latest developments in the country reinforce the importance of expediting the implementation of a meaningful National Minimum Wage. The recently released Labour Market Dynamics, published by Stats SA, reveal that 50% of workers in South Africa earned below R3100 in 2015.
This reinforces the findings of the Wits National Minimum Wage Research Initiative that over 50% of full time workers (or 5.5 million workers) earn wages, which are too low to bring them and their dependants out of poverty.
A meaningful National Minimum Wage needs to be pitched at a level, which addresses this disgrace of working poverty, and the unacceptably high levels of wage inequality in our society.
A meaningful National Minimum Wage must be an important element of a new wage policy, which begins to recognise the dignity of every worker in our society, and overcomes the legacy of apartheid wage structures.
COSATU rejects the narrow shortsightedness of those , who want this report rejected in its entirety on the grounds of one or two components we don't like. The federation is of the view that very little will be achieved in an environment, where people are unable to offer coherent positions, which help to advance the cause of workers, which they claim to champion.
The Advisory Panel has decisively rejected the arguments of those, who have claimed that we cannot implement a NMW in our country, and those who have claimed that it will result in massive job losses. They have shown how a meaningful NMW will go a long way towards improving the plight of the working poor in SA, and combat the obscene inequalities. We totally agree with their view that a NMW is not a silver bullet by itself but needs to be combined with developmental labour market and economic policies, which tackle the cheap labour basis of our economy. We also appreciate their support for a universal NMW, and rejection of different rates for youth, small business, regions etc.
The NMW is a product of workers living wage struggles since the 1980’s, and the product of continuous pressure for the adoption of a legislated NMW by workers and their federation COSATU. The struggle for a Living Wage is a long and difficult one, which includes the struggle for affordable basic services, transport and food, and decent wages and working conditions and will only be achieved through the collective power of workers
We totally reject the public statements and the fear mongering by those , who are predicting catastrophic job losses if the minimum wage is introduced.
This fear mongering is what bogged down the negotiations for nearly two years, where government negotiators supported proposals for an ultra-low NMW put forward by business.
We also warn business not to think of going back to their insulting proposals for R1800-2200 which they have been advancing over the last year.
We appeal to all unions and labour federations in the country, and progressive civil society, to close ranks to advance the achievement of a legislated NMW, work together to achieve the best possible deal for workers, and avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
We are going back to Nedlac to take the process forward and the mandate to our negotiators is based on the following key elements:
- The R3500 starting figure (or R3900 for 45 hours) for the NMW recommended by the expert panel is a significant improvement on what business and government negotiators were proposing, but is still inadequate. We mantain our position that the R4 500 figure is the correct starting level on which we must progressively improve.
- The starting figure must be combined with a firmly agreed medium term target to achieve a decent NMW within a stipulated timeframe, and an agreement must be reached that there will be annual increases to progressively achieve this target. This is the only basis on, which we can move away from our demand for a first minimum wage of R4500. We therefore don’t support proposals for a two year ‘transition period’ in which there are no increases, or for a review process which doesn’t guarantee annual increases.
- Effective sanctions must be put in place to ensure proper implementation of the NMW, otherwise the NMW will become a voluntary and meaningless exercise. Notice should be given to the country at the end of this year of the agreed NMW, and this will give all employers time to prepare for its implementation. The principle of more limited sanctions for violating the NMW in the first six months could be considered, such as denying access to state tenders and other government incentives to those violating the NMW, but there must be meaningful sanctions.
- Any temporary exclusions of sectors, while not rejected in principle, must be the result of negotiated agreements, and must be agreed to upfront (as agreed in the Nedlac Wage Inequality Task Team), and must be contained in the NMW Act, as is the international practice.
- We demand a minimum wage of all workers without any exclusions. We call for an inclusion of those Public Works workers in the EPWP and CWP. Government must lead by example.
- Agreement must be reached on how sectoral determinations and collective agreements will relate with the NMW, including but not limited to the fact that their minimum wages must all be brought to at least the level of the NMW, in instances where they were below that level. Further, that it will be illegal for the wages of any worker earning higher than the NMW at the time of its introduction, to be brought down to the level of the NMW, or to be reduced at all.
- Strong provisions are required to compensate workers working short hours, both in terms of provisions for payment of minimum hours, as well as a premium for short time, as currently contained in various sectoral determinations.
- We will scrutinise and engage further on the proposed institutional arrangements and legal amendments to ensure that the objectives of introducing a NMW are taken forward most effectively by these proposed arrangements.
- The introduction of the NMW must be linked to a plan to extend comprehensive social security, in particular to cover all unemployed adults.
- We support the Panel’s recommendations to address wage inequality including through introduction of a prescribed wage ratio between the top and bottom 5% in the Employment Equity Act.
We will report to our members, fraternal organisations, and the public at large to explain our positions on the NMW, and why we believe our proposed package constitutes the basis for making a historic advance for workers.
Issued by COSATU
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COSATU Strongly Welcomes Parliament's Passing the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act
Matthew Parks, COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator, 23 November 2016
COSATU strongly supports and welcomes Parliament’s unanimous passing of the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act yesterday.
This is a major victory that will benefit millions of workers. COSATU has fought long and hard for this victory. COSATU appreciates the support we received from our ANC led government to expand access to the UIF.
COSATU now urges the President, cde. JG Zuma, to sign the Unemployment Insurance Amendment Act into law and the Department of Labour to publish it in the Government Gazette as a matter of the utmost urgency.
These should be done before the end of December 2016 so that this progressive law can come into effect and help hundreds of impoverished and retrenched workers, mothers on maternity leave and their families.
COSATU strongly supports the Act’s progressive clauses which will:
· Increase UIF benefits from 238 to 365 days.
· Increase maternity leave benefits to 66%.
· Cover workers who lost working hours due to reduced time at their work place.
· Separate maternity from UIF benefits and claims.
· Include public servants under the UIF and thus be covered in the event of dismissal.
· Include women who had miscarriages during the third trimester or a still born birth.
· Allow the family and/ or nominated beneficiary of deceased claimant to receive their benefits.
· Prohibit the charging of fees by any party (e.g. agency) to a UIF claimant for helping them submit their claims.
· Allow the Minister for Labour to issue regulations for domestic workers and employees of small businesses and enterprises to ensure that they are covered.
Several key areas however will still not be covered by the UIF. These affect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable workers. These areas include:
· Resignations;
· Informal sector and self employed workers (e.g. taxi drivers);
· Paternity, parental and adoption leave; and
Government has agreed to COSATU’s demand to further negotiations with COSATU at Nedlac on how to expand access to the UIF to cover these missing areas.
Issued by COSATU
International
USA: Education unions and civil society unite to Stop the Hate
Education International, 23 November 2016
Educators and citizens from all over the USA have signed the Stop the Hate petition, asking that President-elect Donald Trump keep his promise to be the President for all Americans, by speaking clearly and loudly against the hate.
“Donald Trump has said he will be the president for all Americans. We ask that he keeps that promise by loudly, forcefully, unequivocally and consistently denouncing acts of hate being carried out in his name and the ideology that drives them,” reads the petition addressed to President-elect Donald Trump. It was launched on 18 November and signed by the American Federation of Teachers’ President, Randi Weingarten, and Maureen B. Costello, Director of Teaching Tolerance at Alabama’s Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organisation combatting hate, intolerance and discrimination through education and litigation.
Throughout American history, the petition explains, Americans have found opportunities to overcome their differences and work together for the common good, noting that “it is one of the defining characteristics of our nation’s greatness”.
Hateful language
The statement condemns the fact that Trump’s election campaign rhetoric found an audience with those who would use differences to divide the American people. It says that, throughout the campaign, Trump, along with his supporters, directed hateful language at people “based on what we look like, where our families come from, who we love, how we worship, our abilities, our gender, and other factors that make up our identity and expression in the world”.
The signatories are especially troubled by incidents taking place in schools and on college campuses—places where educators and citizens do everything they can to ensure children are safe and nurtured and have the opportunity to grow and learn free of intimidation and hatred. They highlight how anecdotal evidence points to children chanting “build the wall” at classmates, with Muslim students and educators harassed for their clothing, female students intimidated by male classmates, and swastikas being painted on classroom doors.
NEA: Need to nurture all students
“The post-election acts of racism and hate in our schools are heart-breaking. Now more than ever we have to make sure, with every fibre of our being, that ALL students feel welcome, safe, supported. And loved,” said Lily Eskelsen García, President of the National Education Association (NEA), who also signed the Stop the Hate statement.
“The NEA strongly believes that schools should be havens of peace. However, many students are scared, anxious, and feel threatened. To help counter this, NEA has released resources outlining steps educators can take to respond to incidents of hateful words, actions and images and make sure their students feel welcome, supported and valued,” Eskelsen Garcia concluded.
You can sign the petition here https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-trump-to-represent-all-americans-stopthehate/
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New EU rules on insolvency must provide better protection for workers
ETUC, 23 November 2016
The ETUC has cautiously welcomed the European Commission’s proposal for a new Directive to protect companies that are insolvent or nearly insolvent.
The new rules, giving a period during which the company can explore all opportunities to provide for its survival, will stop creditors from forcing a company into insolvency and provide much needed breathing space for a Restructuring Plan to be put in place, helping to save some of the 1.7 million jobs lost to insolvency in the EU every year.
However, Esther Lynch, ETUC Confederal Secretary, expressed some caution: “It is unclear how workers and their unions will be able to negotiate and protect workers’ interests where the restructuring plan entails substantial changes in work organisation or to employment contracts and collective agreements.”
The ETUC is seeking clarification on how the proposals protect the normal practice of industrial relations. “We urgently need this clarification. We know from bitter experience the negative consequences for workers when legal provisions are not properly thought through or sufficiently clear. We will work to ensure that the effect of the new rules is confined to the type of situation that they are intended to address and ensure they have no broader or unforeseen consequences on industrial relations, collective bargaining and other fundamental labour rights.
“In addition, the Directive should be more ambitious. Developing a viable restructuring plan is more likely when workers are fully involved and it is disappointing that the proposals don’t provide a greater opportunity for employees to engage.
“Other parts of the proposals are likely to run into problems when they meet the real world. For example, workers’ wages are in principle exempted from the stay of enforcement. However, Member States can apply a stay if there is a scheme to pay workers' wages and other claims during the preventive restructuring period. This will mean that workers’ wages are somewhat protected. In practice, the long delays in processing these payments will undermine the protection afforded.
“These proposals fail to address the major issue of ‘tactical insolvencies’. Better rules are urgently needed to reign in unscrupulous employers who exploit the insolvency system. Unacceptable practices such as placing the assets of the company beyond the reach of workers must be tackled.”
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Norman Mampane (Shopsteward Editor)
Congress of South African Trade Unions
110 Jorissen Cnr Simmonds Street
Braamfontein
2017
P.O.Box 1019
Johannesburg
2000
South Africa
Tel: +27 11 339-4911 Direct 010 219-1348
E-Mail: mam...@cosatu.org.za
