Labour

Athlone asbestos victim gets his money

Cassiem Mohammed, who worked for 40 years at the Athlone Power Station, has finally been paid compensation for the lung disease he developed from contact with deadly asbestos fibres at work.

Pete Lewis

News | 24 March 2015

Robertson abattoir workers have their day in court

After a four year delay, the hearing in the case of 39 workers dismissed from Robertson Abattoir started in the Cape Town Labour Court this week.

Daneel Knoetze

Brief | 18 March 2015

Domestic workers union wants new minimum wage

On Thursday, a group of about ten women marched to parliament to protest against the delay by government to extend certain basic rights to domestic workers.

Bernard Chiguvare

Brief | 13 March 2015

Nyanga man’s salary slashed to pay for furniture he says he never bought

A Nyanga man has had more than R1,000 deducted from his salary every month since September 2013, to pay for furniture which he says he never bought.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 12 March 2015

Cosatu and Vavi: the Aurora factor

Infighting, bickering and the pursuit of power and patronage have largely paralysed Cosatu in recent years. That, broadly, is the view of the labour federation’s embattled general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi and of Jay Naidoo, Cosatu’s first general secretary.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 9 March 2015

Domestic workers slip through the cracks in UIF

Only 50% of domestic workers in the Western Cape are registered for Unemployment Insurance, according to official statistics. GroundUp tested the system to find out why employers don’t register their workers.

Ben Stanwix

News | 6 March 2015

A Cape Town firefighter’s long journey to work

It's 5:30am in Town Two, Khayelitsha, and firefighter Anelisa Flani has just started her day.

Barbara Maregele

News | 6 March 2015

False Bay domestic worker paid nothing for 14 years

A 61-year-old Zimbabwean domestic worker, Gladys Mafita, claims her False Bay employer fired her without payment after 14 years.The employer is Daniel Deng, son of Francis Deng, the first ambassador of South Sudan to the United States.

Tariro Washinyira

Feature | 4 March 2015

Residents welcome Siqalo clean-up

Siqalo residents have welcomed the City of Cape Town’s quick action to remove rubbish dumps that have spiraled out of control in recent weeks.

Daneel Knoetze

Brief | 25 February 2015

“I loved my job,” says man dismissed by Independent Media

Bongani Peterson Fani says he only knows one thing that he does very well and that is delivering newspapers. Now that he is suddenly out of a job, he doesn't know where to begin looking for work.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

Feature | 24 February 2015

A R12,500 spectre, cool heads and wage talks

Although there is speculation that the spectre of the R12,500 a month minimum wage demand is stalking the gold mines, no mandates have yet been received by the unions involved. This pay demand came to prominence at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine in August 2012. It has now developed something of an iconic status among mine workers.

Terry Bell

Opinion | 23 February 2015

Farm workers still fighting for dignity and their rights in the Western Cape

All kinds of nice things are being said and promises are once again being made by all the political parties around the State of the Nation speech and debate in parliament, writes Henriette Abrahams. But the reality on the ground for farm workers is very different.

Henriette Abrahams

Opinion | 20 February 2015

Delays, faults and failures: what is to be done about Metrorail?

Persistent train delays cause constant problems for Metrorail commuters. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), which owns Metrorail, plans to fix South Africa’s ageing and poorly maintained rail infrastructure.

Kevin Elliott

News | 19 February 2015

Love is Blind: The youth wage subsidy and the South African media

Some media houses are cheerleading for the youth wage subsidy, despite the available evidence strongly suggesting that it is already a R2bn waste of public money.

Doron Isaacs

Opinion | 19 February 2015

Poverty report strengthens COSATU’s case for national minimum wage and comprehensive social security

The Congress of South African Trade Unions’ argument for a national minimum wage, comprehensive social secuity, and a basic income grant was greatly strengthened by the report released by Statistics SA on 3 February 2015, which exposed the shocking extent and continued persistence of extreme levels of poverty, writes the organisation's General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi.

Zwelinzima Vavi

Opinion | 19 February 2015

Advocacy group takes large credit firm to court over deductions

On Monday, the University of Stellenboch Legal Aid Clinic will take a group of creditors to court in a bid to have alleged illegal emolument attachment orders declared null and void.

Barbara Maregele

News | 16 February 2015