Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin, 26 July 2022
Norman Mampane
|
#2022YearofWorkersParliament #COSATU concluding its Special CEC to consolidate 14th National Congress preparations #Back2Basics #JoinCOSATUNow #ClassConsciousness |
Taking COSATU Today Forward Special Bulletin
‘Whoever sides with the revolutionary people in deed as well as in word is a revolutionary in the full sense’-Maoo
Our side of the story
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
‘Deepen
the Back to Basics Campaign, Consolidate the Struggle for the NDR and Advance the Struggle for Socialism’
All workers urged to take Covid19 vaccine jabs!
Organize at every workplace and demand Personal Protective Equipment Now!
Defend Jobs Now!
Join COSATU NOW!
Contents
- Workers Parliament: Back to Basics!
- NUM PWV Region declares wage deadlock with Geomechanics
- UIF urges employers to pay contributions and declare their workers
- Applications for Old Mutual Education Trust Scholarship Programme Now Open for the 2023 Academic Year!
- South Africa
- COSATU statement on government’s additional measures to overcome loadshedding as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa
- International-Workers’ Solidarity!
- President Ramaphosa congratulates Prof Marwala on his United Nations appointment
Workers’ Parliament-Back2Basics
NUM PWV Region declares wage deadlock with Geomechanics
Mlulameli Mweli, NUM PWV Regional Deputy Secretary, 26 July 2022
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) PWV Region has declared a deadlock in wage negotiations with Geomechanics, an industry leader in geotechnical investigations in Southern Africa.
Geomechanics provides drilling and testing services to the minerals exploration market, as well as geotechnical and civil industries in and around Southern Africa and Africa.
The NUM PWV Region is demanding a wage increase of R900 across the board whereas the company is offering R400 which we deem as an insult to workers at large.
Other demands are the immediate payment of the 2020 and 2021 13th cheques, the abolishing of usage of tents, and for the employees to be booked at BnBs while on duty.
We also demand the payments of all travelling hours as overtime, especially Sunday hours. The employer must ensure that employees get their well-deserved monthly days off to ensure that they can visit their families. The employer must also abolish what is called intermittent contracts.
“As leaders of the PWV Region, we met the company yesterday (Monday) and the company continues to demonstrate arrogance. It seems the company is not ready to move on its offer of R400. Our members are determined to fight tooth and nail until their demands are met,” said NUM PWV Regional Deputy Secretary Mlulameli Mweli.
__________________
UIF urges employers to pay contributions and declare their workers
22 July 2022
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has urged employers to pay contributions and declare their workers every month, as required by law, to avoid delays with benefit applications and payments.
Speaking at an employer advocacy session in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, UIF Provincial Support Director, Allan Ragavaloo, said the majority of normal benefit payments including the special Covid-19 TERS were delayed due to a lack of up-to-date declarations by employers.
"If employers are 100% compliant with the Fund’s legislation, as well as paying contributions and declaring their workers monthly, we would not experience significant delays with paying claims. The majority of the Covid-19 TERS payments were delayed due to the abundant lack of declarations by employers. If all employers had declared their workers to the UIF prior to the Covid-19 lockdowns, we would not have experienced delays with Covid-19 TERS payments," said Ragavaloo.
He also explained in detail the error codes that impede Covid-19 TERS payments such as incorrect identity and passport numbers, failed bank verifications, no declarations and salary discrepancies.
"I am encouraging employers to log into the Covid-19 TERS portal on uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19 and if you have any errors, please look at the solutions on the system and rectify the errors so we can process and pay the claim," said Ragavaloo.
He also stressed that employers who were aggrieved about their claims being rejected are entitled to follow the Fund’s appeal process.
The UIF’s Acting ICT Director, Viwe Gqoli, said the Fund had a responsibility to pay all valid Covid-19 TERS claims that are currently on the system, however, the onus is on the employers to correct the errors because the Fund is not permitted to implement corrections on their behalf.
"The UIF is really trying to close the Covid-19 TERS system and we really advise employers to finalise their claims. Currently, we do not have a backlog on new Covid-19 TERS applications in the system. Instead, we regularly re-run claims that are already in the system hoping that errors have been corrected, but we receive the same outcome of errors. Therefore, we suggest that you correct them before we close the system," said Gqoli.
He also divulged that the UIF had disbursed R9,2 billion through Covid-19 TERS and R15 million for Workers Affected By Unrest (WABU) in KwaZulu-Natal respectively, bringing relief to thousands of workers affected by Covid– 19 lockdowns and the July 2021 unrest.
Addressing the issue of fraud, Deputy Director: Fraud, Sibongiseni Mpanza, stressed that employers must always safeguard their uFiling log-in details. "Giving your uFiling credentials to third parties or other people is similar to people having your bank card and pin because they may commit fraud which could lead to your company being blacklisted by National Treasury," said Mpanza.
The next employer session will be held on Thursday 28 July 2022 at the Ascot Wedding and Conference Venue on 210 Woodhouse Road in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, from 09:00.
For Media Enquiries, contact:
Makhosonke Buthelezi
UIF Director: Communications and Marketing
071 491 7236 or Makhosonke...@labour.gov.za
-ENDS-
Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour
___________________
Applications for Old Mutual Education Trust Scholarship Programme Now Open for the 2023 Academic Year!
Members of DENOSA are hereby informed that Applications for the Old Mutual Education Trust Scholarship Programme for the 2023 academic year are now open to all paid-up DENOSA members, their spouses, dependent children and employees of DENOSA.
Enclosed is the information on the criteria, the time-line of the process from application to the final decision as well as the closing date.
The closing date for applications is end of August 2022.
DENOSA encourages all its members to utilize this opportunity to the maximum.
To apply, follow this link: https://www.oldmutual.co.za/.../old-mutual-education-trust/
Wishing you all the best of luck!!
South Africa
COSATU statement on government’s additional measures to overcome loadshedding as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa
Sizwe Pamla, Cosatu National Spokesperson, 26 July 2022
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has noted President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of additional measures to overcome loadshedding. The ongoing loadshedding is unsustainable for an economy with a 46% unemployment rate.
The Federation hopes that the announced interventions will help resolve our loadshedding crisis. We still need more details including figures and timeframes because these need to be expedited. The country does not have the luxury of time.
COSATU still feels that we could have avoided much of this debilitating loadshedding if government had moved with greater speed to implement the commitments of the Eskom Social Compact.
We remain deeply concerned that two years after the signing of the Eskom Social Compact at Nedlac, government has not finalised the debt relief package for Eskom.
This needs to be concluded as a matter of urgency because reducing Eskom’s debt burden to affordable levels is key to freeing liquidity for it to increase its maintenance and also invest in building its new generation capacity.
This debt relief, though, must not include the sale of Eskom’s generation capacity as previously called for by the Minister for Finance.
COSATU will oppose the asset stripping of Eskom or any attempts to privatise it through the backdoor.
The government needs to move with speed to finalise the Cop26 $8 billion Just Energy Transition funding.
This is critical to enabling Eskom to invest in new generation capacity, expand its renewable energy fleet, ensure workers and communities whose livelihoods are at risk are not left behind. This will also contribute to creating a local renewable energy manufacturing industry.
There is still more work that needs to be done to ensure that all consumers, in particular businesses, municipalities and government entities pay for the electricity they consume. Indigent households need to receive their allocation of free electricity.
These combined interventions are critical if Eskom is to be turned around and placed on a sustainable financial footing.
What consumers cannot afford are double digit tariff hikes that suffocate the economy and bleed workers’ salaries.
The Federation welcomes the establishment of an energy task team that will include organised labour to ensure the implementation of these interventions. It is critical that all parties, in particular government, business, labour and communities work together to overcome our energy crisis.
The Federation will avail itself to contribute to the critical work of this task team and to engage with government on the granular details of the President’s announcements at Nedlac.
We reiterate our position that all of this work needs to have specific timeframes and deadlines because the citizens and the economy are paying a huge price for loadshedding.
Issued by COSATU
International-Solidarity
Share
President Ramaphosa congratulates Prof Marwala on his United Nations appointment
President Cyril Ramaphosa proudly congratulates Professor Tshilidzi Marwala on his new appointment as the Rector of the United Nations University.
In an announcement made by the United Nations yesterday, Prof Marwala’s appointment is with effect from March 2023 in Tokyo.
Prof Marwala is currently the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg and the Deputy Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
The President describes this appointment as well deserved, referring to Prof Marwala as an accomplished intellectual, having obtained numerous academic qualifications from various universities nationally and internationally and having held various key roles in the global academic landscape for development.
The President expresses appreciation to Prof Marwala for his noble contribution to the country’s knowledge base and wishes him great success in his new role, where he is confident that Prof Marwala will fly the South African flag higher and further.
Media enquires: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President: +2782 835 6315 or me...@presidency.gov.za
ISSUED BY THE GCIS ON BEHALF OF THE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
26 JULY 2022
__________________________
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 line: 010 219-1348