Economy | Labour

https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Advertise on this page? Click Here to Learn More

Labour News

Re-engineering of coal sector skills needed

By: Tracy Hancock 20th March 2020 The South African renewable-energy sector will not have an adequate pipeline of competent individuals to train if it does not endeavour to re-engineer the skills of workers in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga coal mining regions, South African Renewable Energy Technology Centre (Saretec) director Naim... →

Labour department unveils guidelines for managing Covid-19 at workplaces

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 17th March 2020 The Department of Employment and Labour has appealed to employers to use the prescriptions of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act in governing workplaces in relation to the Covid-19 virus. The OHS, read with the Hazardous Biological Agents Regulations, requires the employer to provide... →

Next gen of family business leaders have drive, but not necessarily support

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th March 2020 The next generation (NextGens) of African family business owners consider themselves agents of change for digital transformation and able to succeed in a digital world; however, they feel constrained by the current generation of leadership about their role in driving business forward. NextGens... →

Economy will be severely impacted by coronavirus - Ramaphosa

By: News24Wire 16th March 2020 With South Africa's economy already feeling the pinch of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that government is on the verge of finalising a comprehensive package of interventions to mitigate the expected impact. The president announced this in an address to the nation... →

SAA says adhering to safety protocols on Covid-19

By: African News Agency 12th March 2020 National carrier South African Airways said on Thursday its operational health and safety procedures were in line with the World Health Organisation’s protocols to protect its passengers and crew from contracting Covid-19. On Wednesday WHO declared the coronavirus disease a pandemic as it... →

South African employers cite limited hiring intentions, payroll rises in Q2

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th March 2020 South African employees have little to no intention to hire new employees during the second quarter of 2020, recruitment solutions company ManpowerGroup has found. Its latest Employment Outlook Survey shows that about 8% of employers expect to increase salaries, while 5% expect to decrease... →

DTIC reaches agreement with PepsiCo

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 5th March 2020 An agreement between the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and PepsiCo has been reached, and the buyout of Pioneer Foods by PepsiCo is currently with the Competition Tribunal for approval, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel informed during the Black Business Council's yearly... →

Numsa heads to Constitutional Court to have Aveng Trident Steel workers reinstated

By: Marleny Arnoldi 4th March 2020 The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has approached the Constitutional Court to seek the reinstatement of 733 workers who were dismissed by Aveng Trident Steel. The steel fabricator in 2015 issued a Section 189 notice, informing workers of its plans to restructure the... →

Ramaphosa says key State wage bill savings will stem from lower wage growth, not job cuts

By: News24Wire 2nd March 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa says that the State's plan to cut the costs of the public sector wage bill does not mean that it also intends to "dramatically" cut the size of the civil service. In his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa weighed in on Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's Budget... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Stainless steel growth unlikely in 2020

By: Mamaili Mamaila 28th February 2020 The level of activity in the local stainless steel sector’s value chain has dwindled in the past decade, mainly owing to international competition, low steel prices and the slow growth of the local economy. →

FULL OF VIGOR Stainless steel is one of the youngest industrial materials globally, managing to positively change people’s lives

Digitalisation beneficial for steel producers

By: Mamaili Mamaila 28th February 2020 Digitalisation will become an increasingly important strategy for steel producers to achieve a competitive advantage in the market, says metallurgical industry plant and integrated systems provider SMS group MD Pieter Bezuidenhout. →

Volatile steel prices to continue in 2020

By: Mamaili Mamaila 28th February 2020 The volatile prices of domestic steel producers and domestic steel merchants are likely to continue in 2020, says national employer federation Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) chief economist Dr Michael Ade. →

MICHAEL ADE 2020 is still going to be a difficult year for the metals and engineering sector, with ongoing pressure on margins

Cosatu: We will collapse the public service if wages are reviewed

By: News24Wire 26th February 2020 The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has threatened to strike and "collapse" the public service if government does not honour the current public service wage agreement, Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla told Fin24 on Wednesday. The agreement is non-negotiable and any attempt... →

Nehawu says govt wants to review public sector wage deal

By: Reuters 26th February 2020 South African public sector union the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) said on Wednesday that the government wanted to review a three-year wage deal with public sector workers struck in 2018, calling the move "a declaration of war". Nehawu said in a statement that if... →

Millennials making the biggest strides in education

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 25th February 2020 Millennials have made substantial strides in educational outcomes, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said, releasing the ‘2018 Education and Labour Market Outcomes in South Africa’ report, in Pretoria, on Tuesday. Millennials makes up the largest share of the working-age population (54.1%),... →

Two trade unions demand that SAA business rescue respects workers’ rights

By: Rebecca Campbell 25th February 2020 Two trade unions – the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca) – have jointly accused the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) currently overseeing the business rescue process for State-owned South African Airways (SAA) of... →

Group launched to tackle Compensation Fund issues

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 24th February 2020 A council of concerned industry leaders, the Injured Workers Action Group (IWAG), was launched on Monday, over concerns about what it says is the “technological collapse” of the R60-billion Compensation Fund that is legally mandated to cover the medical bills and disability pensions of workers... →

Cosatu’s plan on Eskom is immoral – Cape Chamber of Commerce

By: Sane Dhlamini 24th February 2020 The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry labelled the Congress of South African Trade Unions’ plan to save ailing power utility Eskom using Government Employees Pension Fund funds as immoral. Cosatu recently suggested saving Eskom by using R250-billion from the Public Investment Corporation,... →

Photo by Supplied by Cape Chamber
President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Geoff Jacobs

Eskom’s survival cannot be based on continuing tariff increases, says Minerals Council

By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st February 2020 The Minerals Council South Africa has reiterated the significant job losses that may result from power utility Eskom being granted the additional R27.3-billion in revenue it is seeking. In a media release issued ahead of a submission at public consultations held by the National Energy Regulator... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Minerals Council South Africa chief economist Henk Langenhoven

4IR vocational training a viable alternative to Grade 12

By: Schalk Burger 21st February 2020 The digital world being ushered in by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) requires more than just office workers; it requires engineers, technicians and artisans. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) enables learners to further their studies, as it creates more opportunities... →

Specialist on course despite pressures

By: Mamaili Mamaila 21st February 2020 Despite the local manufacturing sector being under pressure, mouldered product specialist DEMS’ rubber manufacturing division – which operates within a very niche and specialised market – has not been affected negatively, says DEMS MD Mark Baptie. →

ALWAYS ON EDGE DEMS is always investigating and looking for opportunities to remain competitive and continue to have an edge in the market

Rubber remains resilient despite strained sector

By: Mamaili Mamaila 21st February 2020 Engineered rubber remains a requirement for many industries notwithstanding local manufacturing industry woes, says rubber products manufacturer Hudson Rubber MD Stoney Steenkamp. →

RUBBING OFF THE RIGHT WAY The rubber sector will survive the current unfavourable economic climate as the product remains resilient and relevant in the industrial markets

Bleak outlook for rubber SMMEs in 2020

By: Mamaili Mamaila 21st February 2020 With the industrial market aspect of its rubber business having declined in 2019 by 25%, rubber compounding specialist National Rubber Matmin (NRM) MD Mike Stuart says 2020 is “not looking much better”. →

MIKE STUART National Rubber Matmin has had success in supplying products to the Australian mining sector

Labour federation Fedusa slams 3.8% national minimum wage increase

By: African News Agency 19th February 2020 The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) said it was outraged after the employment and labour minister only increased the statutory minimum wage by 3.8% to R20.76 an hour with effect from March 1. The country's National Minimum Wage Act came into effect at the beginning of 2019,... →

Adam Habib resigns as Wits Vice-Chancellor

By: Sane Dhlamini 18th February 2020 Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand Adam Habib has announced his resignation from the university at the end of December this year, after seven years at the helm. He will be joining the School of Oriental and African Studies, or SOAS, in London, as director, from... →

Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, Adam Habib

SoNA came at ‘crucial time’ says panel

By: Simone Liedtke 14th February 2020 The 2020 State of the Nation Address (SoNA) came at “a crucial time” for South Africa, which is faced with a stagnated economy defined by challenges such as lack of capacity in State-owned enterprises (SOEs), high unemployment and electricity supply constraints, a panel agreed on Friday morning... →

YES has made progress on the job creation front since 2018

By: Marleny Arnoldi 14th February 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa during his fourth State of the Nation Address on Thursday made special mention of the Youth Employment Service (YES) and how far it has come in providing work opportunities for young people. Since its inception in April 2018, YES has created more than 32 000 work... →

Eskom sets aside R400m for voluntary separation offer to senior employees

By: Terence Creamer 13th February 2020 Debt-laden State-owned power utility Eskom confirmed on Thursday that it would be offering senior employees voluntary separation packages during March and April in an effort to lower overhead costs. It reiterated, however, that it had no intention of implementing a forced retrenchments programme.... →

Mpact’s Neo Dongwana first woman to chair Barloworld board

By: Simone Liedtke 12th February 2020 JSE-listed equipment supplier Barloworld has appointed Neo Dongwana as independent chairperson following her endorsement by shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM). She is the first woman to chair the board in the company’s 118 years of existence, and takes over from Advocate... →

Unions launch ‘rise up’ campaign as SoNA, National Budget approach

By: Simone Liedtke 12th February 2020 South Africa finds itself looking over a precipice as the economic malaise currently being experienced all but places the nation at a point of no return, trade union federation, the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) said in a statement published on Wednesday. With the country... →

SAB empowerment scheme generates almost R14bn in decade-long run

By: Simone Liedtke 12th February 2020 When the South African Breweries (SAB) Zenzele broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) scheme winds down in April 2020, it will have generated almost R14-billion in value for South Africa, the beermaker said in a statement on Wednesday. Created with the intention of generating sustainable... →

Solidarity to take GEPF, PIC to task should they use State pensions to fund Eskom

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th February 2020 Solidarity has sent a letter of demand to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), requesting that the trustees and boards of these institutions not accept any proposals related to providing financing to power utility Eskom. At a media briefing... →

Solidarity CE Dr Dirk Hermann

South Africa should brace for ‘toughest budget since 1994’, says PwC

By: Simone Liedtke 11th February 2020 As the 2020 National Budget approaches, consumers should expect to tighten their belts further, particularly with continued fiscal drag set to blot the horizon amid a continuing economic slowdown, says multinational advisory firm PwC. Speaking at a pre-budget review on Tuesday, PwC lamented that... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Construction starts on Western Cape waste disposal facility

By: Simone Liedtke 7th February 2020 The construction of the first of nine new regional waste disposal facilities in the Western Cape has started in Mossel Bay. The new facility will serve multiple municipalities along the Garden Route and is aimed stimulating the waste economy, creating jobs and reducing the environmental impacts... →

Unions slam SAA route cancellations, warn of 'devastating' impact on jobs

By: News24Wire 7th February 2020 Two key unions at flag carrier South African Airways have slammed plans by the airline's business rescue practitioners to cancel a number of routes to save costs. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and the South African Cabin Crew Association said in a joint statement, "This will... →

Thousands of jobs wait for next wind farm bid round, says association

By: Marleny Arnoldi 4th February 2020 Thousands of jobs await a Ministerial determination to give the green light for the next round of wind farms to be built. South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) says South Africa’s energy transition is poised to unlock economic growth and deliver thousands of much-needed jobs at a time... →

Absa’s PMI at lowest level since September 2019

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd February 2020 The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) started the year on the back foot and declined further in January, decreasing by 1.9 points to 45.2, the lowest level since September 2019. The performance of the five major subcomponents was mixed, Absa said on Monday, noting that two... →

About

Engineering News is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa
Polity

Newsletters

Sign up for our FREE daily email newsletter

Receive daily sector news alerts

More

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Engineering News is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Subscribe