Contact us: |
Telephone numbers: 012-644-4300 0861-25-24-23 |
Fax number: (012) 664-6493 |
C/o D F Malanstreet & Eendrachtstreet Kloofsig |
P.O. Box 11760 Centurion 0046 |
Nr. 440 |
|---|
Judgement reserved in big affirmative action case
By Ilze Nieuwoudt
Judgement was reserved on Wednesday in one of the most prominent court cases in the Labour Appeal Court in Johannesburg regarding the application of affirmative action. It is expected that it may take anything between three months and a year for a ruling to be given in this case between Solidarity on behalf of Captain Renate Barnard and the South African Police Service.
According to Dr Dirk Hermann, Deputy General Secretary of Solidarity, Barnard has been trying since 2005 to be promoted and the suspended judgement will result in justice being delayed further in this case.
POPCRU joins Renate Barnard case as friend of court
By dr. Dirk Hermann
Police union POPCRU joined the affirmative action appeal as a friend of the court between the South African Police Service and Solidarity on behalf of Renate Barnard. The case was heard at the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
In POPCRU's court documents, they argue that white people cannot apply for positions if affirmative action targets have not been reached. They also argue that the National Commissioner may leave positions vacant for the purpose of affirmative action.
By Cilleste van der Walt
Safety stoppages at mines lead to drop in production
Safety interventions at mines that were requested by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) led to various reports of production drops during the March quarter. Mining groups that reported production drops because of DMR action in recent weeks include Aquarius Platinum (Aquarius), Anglo Platinum (AngloPlat) and Eastern Platinum (Eastplat).
State to appeal ruling on mineral rights
The state will appeal a judgment by the North Gauteng High Court which ruled that a holder of deprived and expropriated old-order mineral rights was entitled to compensation.
This came after the court had delivered a landmark judgment on the merits of a compensation claim against the Minister of Mineral Resources.
Government’s job creation plans even more off course
Unemployment rises to 25%
By Ilze Nieuwoudt
The government’s plans to create five million new jobs by 2020 have veered even further off course as shown by employment figures for the past quarter. Statistics South Africa announced this week in its quarterly labour force survey that unemployment increased from 24% to 25% during the past quarter. To reach the government’s target, 38% more people must be employed in 2020 than in 2011 – a scenario that appears very unrealistic at this stage, Solidarity warned.
Solidarity crowns stars in the community
By Moira-Marie Kloppers and Daleen de Jager
Solidarity presented five people with a Star in the Community Award for the exceptional contribution they made in their communities during a cocktail event on the evening prior to the trade union’s National Congress.
Alta Fouche:
Alta sells food and applies the funds to support the less fortunate in her community. She also collects food, clothing and other necessities for the needy. Alta works in cooperation with the Leeudoringstad Support Forum, of which she is the secretary, to relieve the need in her church and community.
This is why AfriForum brought the case against Malema
Flip Buys
The court case which AfriForum brought against Malema’s hate speech is widely reported in the media. The court case is continued on 19 and 20 May when the advocates will make their closing arguments. It is expected that the judge will then give his ruling within a couple of weeks.
By Cilleste van der Walt
The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) of Kagiso and the Bureau for Economic Research shows that there was a slight drop in activity in the manufacturing sector, but certain sub-indexes point to robust conditions in this sector.
The PMI held at 56,4 in April, which was only marginally lower than the 13-month peak of 57,2 index points reached in March. This trend is in keeping with the worldwide PMI average for April which is 1,6 points lower.
By Cilleste van der Walt
Evaluation interviews with personnel are an important and positive part in a successful organisation, but in most companies it doesn’t happen.
Employers and managers who make use of evaluation interviews experience it as extremely positive. People want to discuss their future with the company and they want to find out more about something they possibly don’t understand. According to Herman Hendrikse, director of JHG Personnel Practitioners in Bellville in Cape Town, his company did research on the nature of achievement evaluation.
You can join the Solidarity Running Club by contacting club chairman Hendrik van der Westhuizen on 082 851 9451 for more information or send an email to atletiek@solidariteit.co.za.
The ten biggest social problems in the Netherlands
By Ingrid Scholtz
A number of weeks ago De Groene Amsterdammer asked 75 academics to assemble an overview of the ten biggest social problems in the Netherlands. Economists, philosophers, pedagogues, historians and other experts tried to come up with an accurate and balanced overview. For the next three weeks I will be focussing on this topic.
- The participants in the debate emphasised one problem in particular, namely fundamental existential uncertainty. Changes are taking place so rapidly that no one knows what the effects of all the change will be, which leads to a great degree of uncertainty, a lack of direction and the subversion of all forms of authority. Many other problems emanate from this uncertainty.
By Nico Strydom
Pakistan: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed on Monday at a compound in Abbottabad in Pakistan. Bin Laden had been in hiding for almost ten years, after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September 2001 which killed almost 3 000 people. Bin Laden was shot dead by US special forces, after which his body was buried at sea. His death has sparked fears of revenge terrorist attacks.
Syria: In Syria more than 500 people have been killed in anti-government protests that began on 15 March and have been sweeping through the Arab world. According to activists more than 1 000 demonstrators have been arrested by Syrian security forces. The government maintains its position that the demonstrators are militant criminals and not ordinary civilians who are protesting against the oppressive rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Libya: It is believed that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is still alive after a Nato missile attack that reportedly killed one of his sons and three of his grandchildren. Western powers began an air assault on Libya about a month ago after the UN approved a no-fly zone over the north African country. Fighting is continuing between forces loyal to Gaddafi and the rebels who are trying to oust him after more than 40 years in power.
Britain: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have spent their first weekend as husband and wife at a secret location. Prince William married Catherine Middleton on Friday as millions of people around the world tuned in. The royal couple have opted to delay their honeymoon as Prince William has returned to his job as helicopter pilot. It is speculated that the couple may go on honeymoon in Africa, in particular Kenya, where they got engaged last year.
By Johan Roos
Are employees of a security company permitted to belong to a trade union?
Employees have the right to belong to a trade union in terms of section 5 of the Labour Relations Act as well as the Constitution (under freedom of association).
Section 187(1) of the Labour Relations Act determines that a dismissal on the basis of trade union activities is automatically unfair.
ANC Youth League running to and fro because it knows it is set to lose the case – AfriForum
“The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) is scurrying about and clutching at straws because it (= the ANCYL) is now beginning to realise that Julius Malema had harmed his own case by playing for the audience in court, rather than to present the court with fair arguments.” This is the comment of AfriForum in response to Malema’s statement to the media that a settlement outside of the court is possible, while Floyd Shivambu is of the opposite opinion in a statement in which he attacks AfriForum and accuses the latter of lying.
Cultural Sensitivity
Dr. Danie Langner
The Belgian political philosopher and economist, Philippe van Parijs, argued in 1995 that an individual experience true freedom when he is assured of a minimum income. This opinion is in accordance with the South African government’s philosophy of upliftment through donations.
Simon Birnbaum of Sweden writes the following in his review on Philippe van Parijs: “A basic minimum income does not address the unfair limitations and norms which led to the vulnerable situation in which the person finds himself. Although a basic minimum income could relieve the day to day circumstances for victims of discrimination and marginalisation, it is improbable that it would have any impact on the structures and mechanisms which resulted in the marginalised circumstances.”
By Cilleste van der Walt
Hero: Two firefighters, George Vosloo and Mervyn van Ginkel, are this week’s heroes. They brought a woman from Pretoria to safety from a construction crane. She threatened to jump from a tower crane in the parking area of the abandoned The Villa shopping centre. She gave her cell phone to a stranger to inform her husband.
Villain: This week’s villains are the local government officials who are responsible for potholes on South Africa’s roads not being fixed. A huge pothole claimed the life of a police member of Sasolburg, Const. Matsholo Lorraine Lesia, and that of her unborn child. The police bus, in which she was travelling, overturned after hitting a pothole. Nine other people were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries.
Each edition of Solder features a hero and a villain of the week. The hero is a person or an organisation who made an achievement of some kind or did something positive the previous week, while the villain is a person or an organisation who did something negative. Nominations for these weekly awards can be sent to Ilze Nieuwoudt at ilze@solidariteit.co.za. (Remember to include a reason for your nomination.)
If there were a better, clearer, shorter way of saying what the fiction says, then why not scrap the fiction? - J. M. Coetzee
In dancing with the enemy one follows his steps even if counting under one's breath. - Breyten Breytenbach
The condition of the wounded touched my heart deeply. - Christiaan Rudolf de Wet