Top earners will not be able to take their dismissal cases to CCMA

The resistance to electronic tolling on Gauteng freeways has been hailed as the largest civil disobedience campaign in the history of SA’s democracy, but not everyone agrees that motorists’ widespread refusal to pay e-tolls qualifies as civil disobedience.

The Health and Other Service Personnel Trade Union of South Africa (Hospersa) is critical of the little focus given to measures for combating irregular spending in Government. While the Union welcomes the safety afforded to the working class during these tough economic times, the overemphasis on increasing income and failure to curb government inefficiencies is seen as a cause for concern.

The card scanner on Johannesburg’s Rea Vaya bus rapid transit (BRT) system reads “insufficient balance”. The attendants say it’s malfunctioning but I cannot be let in; they need to be sure that my balance is sufficient. But my card cannot be checked at this station — the computers are offline.

On August 22, Judge Elias Motajane handed down judgment in the Netcare vs KPMG and Competition Commission case. Netcare brought the case because it believed that KPMG, having previously done work for Netcare, should be prevented from assisting the commission in its inquiry into the private healthcare sector, claiming a conflict of interest.

Hospersa, which is the majority Union at NETCARE, has declared a dispute over salary increases with the Hospital giant. Parties failed to reach an agreement and are now heading to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to try and end the impasse.