Huge job losses in ICT sector, says Solidarity
The ongoing restructuring in the information and communications technology industry puts employees under immense pressure, trade union Solidarity said
Solidarity
Telkom to cut management jobs in turnaround plan
Telkom SA will cut an unspecified number of management staff by the end of this month, the fixed line operator said on Tuesday, pushing ahead with a restructuring plan that has been opposed by organised labour.
MUST WATCH: Bhana of Aurora v Solidarity’s Du Plessis; riveting television
Television is sometimes criticised as promoting the superficial; a flag-bearer of the sound-bite; co-creator (with Twitter) of the 140 character generation. But when TV works, no other medium can compare. And today’s CNBCAfrica Power Lunch debate between two warring parties really worked. Entrepreneur Solly Bhana has been painted as an evil crony capitalist responsible for … Read more
Two unions to take Telkom to court over planned retrenchments
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Two unions representing some of Telkom SA’s workers said on Tuesday they would take the South African landline provider to court over possible retrenchments. The South Africa Communications Union (SACU) said it believed Telkom was about to let go of about 9,000 of its 19,000 employees over the next six months, a claim the company … Read more
GM suspends SA production as striking union rejects offer
By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – U.S. auto giant GM said on Friday it had suspended production at its main South African assembly plant in the southeastern city of Port Elizabeth because a strike by the country’s biggest union had hit components suppliers. The engineering and metal workers’ strike shows no signs of abating after the National Union of … Read more
Solidarity wins interdict against Continental Tyres over layoffs
From Solidarity:  The urgent interdict that trade union Solidarity obtained today against Continental Tyres to stop the company’s unfair retrenchment process is not merely a small victory, but is in fact a larger victory in the struggle against the marginalisation of minority trade unions in the workplace, the union says. Solidarity was granted an urgent … Read more
AMCU’s hidden agenda: First a Socialist State, then we’ll worry about jobs
Through history, great damage to societies has been wrought by charismatic leaders who refused to countenance that much exists outside their field of understanding. In their ignorance, these egocentric narcissists were incapable of looking beyond their simplistic views, of embracing the complexities of our reality. These forces of destruction didn’t even start to know what … Read more
New dawn for SA labour relations – old political alliances in tatters, businesses have stopped rolling over
Labour relations is rarely out of the spotlight for a country where its unfortunate history and lingering socialist dogma bedevils progress to a modern economy. So while the realities of the changing world has turned trade unions worldwide into shadows of their former selves, in South Africa they continue to enjoy monopolistic power over wage … Read more
Pragmatic trade union leadership exists: meet Solidarity’s Gideon Du Plessis
One of Karoo hamlet Prince Albert’s finest, retired labour consultant Bokkie Botha, took a swing at me in the latest Financial Mail – criticising my column on SA’s labour crisis as  “peddling a facile view”. Perhaps he’s right. But living at the sharp edge of business for a couple decades exposes one to realities and unintended … Read more
Legacy of Marikana: investors should hope for the best, but plan for the worst
Will there be another Marikana? A year after violent clashes in the mining sector brought into sharp relief the socio-economic challenges that continue to bedevil South Africa, Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary of trade union Solidarity, reflects on what went wrong. He lists at least 20 reasons behind the conflict and warns that the problems … Read more