Skills shortage in ICT industry hampers local employment

IT company Gijima has already retrenched about 200 employees since December and plans to retrench an additional 200 employees by mid-August this year, trade union Solidarity said today. In spite of a skills shortage in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, companies continue to retrench highly skilled employees and to outsource work to foreign companies.

According to Marius Croucamp, Solidarity spokesperson, Gijima claimed the retrenchments came in the wake of the company’s loss of half of a R200 million contract with Absa and a contract to supply computer equipment to the South African Police Service (SAPS). “The retrenchments started after Gijima announced its return to profitability earlier this year following its loss of R370 million in a dispute with the Department of Home Affairs regarding the implementation of an IT system,” Croucamp said. Gijima has retrenched approximately 150 permanent employees and 50 contract workers since December.

Gijima attributed the retrenchments to cost pressures and global changes in the technology industry. Croucamp said the skills shortage in the ICT industry was a big problem. “ICT companies retrench highly skilled employees for various reasons such as employment equity, thereby creating a skills shortage which in turn leads to outsourcing, inflated salaries and recruitment from abroad. These factors cause more South Africans to be retrenched and have a negative impact on the employment of local workers. Solidarity is in constant communication with Gijima and is monitoring the process. The trade union plans to meet with representatives of Gijima next week. A number of Gijima employees received a letter yesterday, informing them that a new retrenchment process was in the offing,” Croucamp said.

Solidarity will be representing employees of the State Information Technology Agency (Sita), who were unfairly dismissed, in separate cases soon. Solidarity had said in a previous press release that Sita’s restructuring process was being carried out recklessly and that the company was not acting in accordance with sections 189 and 64(4) of the Labour Relations Act. Sita’s restructuring process affects approximately 40% of its 2 200 employees. Meanwhile, Nokia Siemens Networks is also carrying out large-scale retrenchments in South Africa, Nigeria and Germany. Approximately 160 employees will be affected by the retrenchments.  

Marius Croucamp

Spokesperson: Solidarity

According to Marius Croucamp, Head of Solidarity’s Communication Industry, KT is a highly successful and respected company that has earned a reputation as pacesetter and innovator. “KT played a big role in turning South Korea into one of the countries with the fastest and most expansive internet connections worldwide. The company’s expertise and experience could therefore be a boon to both Telkom and South African society,” Croucamp said. He further pointed out that the KT/Telkom deal will bring about a much-needed cash injection for Telkom. “The cash injection will enable the company to expand its infrastructure without affecting its current budget,” Croucamp said.

Solidarity emphasised that the KT transaction is likely to usher in a new era for Telkom employees. “In Korea, KT focuses on creating a flexible working environment for its employees through flexitime, flexi workplaces and ‘virtual offices’. These virtual offices enable employees to find a better balance between work and family life,” according to Croucamp. KT also succeeded in diversifying its services, which created new opportunities for its employees. If the deal takes place, this culture could be transferred to Telkom.

Croucamp added that KT, a company geared towards customer service, was successful in privatising in a highly competitive industry. Apart from this, the company was rated the number one sustainable telecommunication company among 47 large communication companies worldwide on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes in 2011.

Solidarity will still keep a close watch on the developments as there is always a risk of job losses when a company adapts its management style and/or upgrades its equipment.

Moira-Marie Kloppers

Spokesperson: Solidarity

Employees once again the biggest losers

The trade union Solidarity has today submitted several proposals about the handling of the Velvet Sky matter, following on the lessons learnt in its fight against Aurora. According to the union it is now clear that Velvet Sky is following step for step in Aurora’s footsteps on account of the people involved overlapping the two entities.

Gideon du Plessis, Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity, has warned that the airline’s service providers and employees should act immediately to avoid landing as creditors in the same boat as those of Aurora. This follows after the Pietermaritzburg High Court placed Velvet Sky under provisional liquidation on Friday.

The liquidation application by BP was set aside in March after Velvet Sky had announced that a mysterious foreign “investor” would possibly intervene to save the airline from its predicament. This same false promise of a foreign investor had become a monotonous strain in the Aurora saga. Moreover, as in the case of Aurora, a so-called turnaround strategy is being mooted. It is estimated that Velvet Sky already owes its service providers more than R100 million.

According to Du Plessis, Velvet Sky did not only appoint the same director and business consultants that the liquidated Aurora had done; so far their modus operandi has been almost identical. “However, the most worrying aspect is that the lessons learnt from the Aurora debacle are still not being applied in this instance. The employees would probably be the biggest losers in the process, especially if active steps are again stalled for months on end. It has also been found, as with Aurora, that Velvet Sky does not hold any assets or capital. They owe their workers three months’ salaries.”

Solidarity’s proposals:

• The liquidators appointed in the Velvet Sky matter should immediately apply to the High Court for the extension of their powers in order to have an insolvency questioning arranged.
• The insolvency questioning should identify all role-players involved in the fiasco behind the scenes and legal steps should be taken against them.
• In the above event, Solidarity will appeal to the Master of the High Court for a public questioning in order to have the individuals involved and their misdemeanours finally exposed so they would be barred from doing business in South Africa ever again.
• The liquidators should prosecute the directors of Velvet Sky in terms of section 424 of the Companies Act in order to hold them personally liable for the reckless management of the airline.
• The liquidators should involve the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in the investigation because, in the Aurora investigation, it was clearly revealed that the tax affairs of the people involved were not in order.
• The Velvet Sky liquidators should convene with the Pamodzi Gold liquidators and legal team and compare notes on account of the similarities between the two entities. They should also determine whether some of the missing Aurora millions had not been ploughed into Velvet Sky, especially in view of the involvement of Solly and Fazel Bhana in both liquidated entities. The Bhanas had been identified as the key persons in the Aurora fiasco, following an Aurora insolvency questioning.
• The Velvet Sky liquidators should refrain from negotiating with the airline because the latter would exploit it as a delaying tactic.
• With reference to this, creditors and claimants should refrain from entering into any settlement with Velvet Sky because Aurora had failed to honour any similar settlements, merely using it to ease the pressure on them and to frustrate the process.
• Velvet Sky employees should register their outstanding salary claims with the Velvet Sky liquidators and start looking for alternative employment without delay.
• Solidarity would gladly advise Velvet Sky employees in view of its close involvement with the lot of the Aurora employees.

Gideon du Plessis

Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity

More employees told: “Today, tomorrow, goodbye”

Employees of Absa were notified by e-mail this week that they will be retrenched on 9 June. This came in spite of Absa’s continued denial that it is carrying out retrenchments. At least 140 employees in the IT department will lose their jobs. Trade union Solidarity is in possession of evidence that other departments will also be affected by retrenchments, but Absa is keeping mum on how many people will be retrenched on 9 June. Absa went even further and sent employees forms with which to resign from the company.

‘We are astounded by the callousness with which Absa is carrying out the process. First, employees were forced to pack up their belongings and escorted out of Absa’s offices. They were sent home for three months for so-called gardening leave and were told that other positions would be sought for them in the company. Now they are getting retrenched by e-mail,’ Dirk Hermann, Deputy General Secretary of Solidarity, said.

In the letter to the employees, they are requested to complete a form whereby they resign from Absa. The form’s heading reads “Notice of termination of service”. Employees have to complete the date of their resignation on the form.

‘If employees complete and sign this form, then it is no longer a case of retrenchment, but of resignation. The employees will therefore not be entitled to severance pay or unemployment insurance.

‘From a legal perspective the implication is that someone who worked for Absa for 40 years will be walking away without a cent,’ Hermann said.

Solidarity called on employees not to complete the form.

On 7 May 2012 at 15:20, employees received a letter by e-mail informing them that attempts to place them in other positions had been unsuccessful. On 8 May they were requested to complete forms to resign from their medical aid and pension and a form to resign from the company in order to ensure a seamless exit from the bank. They must also hand in all property of the employer that may still be in their possession. ‘In effect, the employees find themselves in a position where “today” they are told that “tomorrow” they have to say “goodbye”,’ Hermann said.

In the letter’s closing, the employees are thanked for their valuable contribution in Absa and wished success for the future.

Dirk Hermann

Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity

“Positive figures had been released by Stats SA since the third quarter of 2011, but as seasonal factors always push employment upwards during the fourth quarter, we had to wait until today to see whether the rising trend would continue,” Paul Joubert, economics researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), said.

The official unemployment rate rose from 23,9% to 25,2% in the last quarter and the broad unemployment rate, which includes discouraged jobseekers, rose from 35,4% to 36,6%. “This means that four out of ten South Africans who are looking for work are unable to find suitable employment,” Joubert explained.

“There are still roughly 421 000 fewer jobs compared with three years ago at the start of the recession,” according to Joubert. “In addition to this, the number of South Africans of working age (15-64 years) is growing by approximately 500 000 every year,” he added.

Paul Joubert

Economics researcher: SRI

the role of the trust relationship

by Johanette Rheeder

In the Labour Relations Act, the legislature favoured the remedy of reinstatement. Commissioners must reinstate employees unless certain circumstances arise. Compensation is considered when the employer committed a procedural unfair conduct, when reinstatement is not practical, the employee does not want reinstatement or when the trust relationship broke down irretrievably. But sometimes there are other factors at play as well. Factors such as the time delay and a lack of evidence can also play a vital role in the decision of the commissioner or court.

In Lubbe v Roop NO & others (2012) 21 LC 10.1.1 and [2012] JOL 28409 (LC), the case had a 7 year history of two runs at arbitration in the Bargaining Council and the Labour Court for review. The employee challenged the arbitrator’s conclusion that he was not entitled to reinstatement, which is the primary remedy for a substantively unfair dismissal.

The Commissioner gave various reasons as to why he did not feel that reinstatement is the appropriate relief. He believed that reinstatement was not even remotely an option in this instance. The first reason was the fact that the employee used a very common complaint in disciplinary hearings and arbitrations, being that he is the victim of a conspiracy and a well-orchestrated vendetta to get rid of him. The commissioner found it strange that he wanted reinstatement in light of this complaint.

A vendetta to rid an employer of an employee, for no apparent or real reason, is a very difficult allegation to prove. In such a case, this type of allegation will form part of the employee’s defence and the employee will have to provide evidence to this effect to substantiate his defence.  An unsubstantiated claim of a vendetta can easily turn around and work against the employee, who may be vigorously cross-examined on this point and may break down his credibility with the commissioner or chairperson. It may also, as it happened in this case, convince a decision maker that reinstatement is not appropriate due to a lack of trust between the parties. The Labour Court considered whether these circumstances, in fact were indicative of a break down in the trust relationship.

The Labour Appeal Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the Edcon v Pillmer case, have dealt with the circumstances in which an arbitrator would be entitled to conclude that an employment relationship had irretrievably broken down. On the basis of this authority[1], it is now clear that it will normally not be sufficient for an employer simply to make submissions that there has been an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship, unless a clear basis has been laid in evidence (by way of direct evidence) to justify such a conclusion. It is also evident that such a conclusion will not be easily drawn simply because of the nature of the misconduct at issue in the case.

On this question, the Labour Court found that the only evidence relied on by the arbitrator is the employee’s own representative’s contentions that senior members of the SAPS had conspired against him. The court asked whether the fact that an employee suspects and accuses an employer of bad faith in fact constitutes evidence of a break-down? The court found – no! Equally, there is no basis for permitting an employer to avoid an order of reinstatement merely because the employee’s representative accuses it of acting in bad faith.

In this case, the court found: “the “evidence” of a breakdown of trust are merely allegations of bad faith made by the employee’s representative and the employee never abandoned his claim for reinstatement, indicating that he did not deem the relationship to be irretrievably broken down[2].

Secondly, the commissioner found, the very period between the dismissal of the employee and the finalisation of this arbitration is roughly 7 years, a period during which the SAPS did undergo many changes and must reflect a workplace very different to that which the employee left 7 years ago. He found it inconceivable that that the employee could simply go back and that it would be business as usual. The Labour Court found that, again, in view of the absence of any material dispute on this question, it seems reasonable to conclude that the arbitrator was probably more influenced by simply the length of the lapse of time between the applicant’s dismissal and the outcome of the award than by any evidence that the nature of the workplace had altered so dramatically that it would not be practical to reinstate the applicant.

Employee representatives who may fight very hard to get retribution for a dismissed employee, must always take cognisance of the remedy the employee wants. If the employee is steadfast on reinstatement, it should be remembered that the employee must, at some stage, reintegrate in the workplace and continue working with superiors and peers – the longer she is away, the more difficult it may become to salvage and maintain the relationship. However, should the employer allege that the employee cannot re-integrate into the workplace, then it should lead evidence to that effect.

Obviously, as held by the SCA, an employer must be alive to the fact that reinstatement always remains a possibility if the ultimate decision goes against it and it cannot rely solely on a long delay in finalising the litigation as a reason for denying the remedy the employee was entitled to in the first place[3]. The court also found that there is also nothing in the award to indicate that the arbitrator gave any consideration to the applicant’s 30-odd years of service at the time of his dismissal or weighed up the relative impact of an award of compensation or reinstatement on someone who was close to retirement.

This case again confirms that the duty to prove is on the employer, and that a decision to dismiss must be based on evidence – not a gut feel!

For more information contact Johanette Rheeder

www.jrattorneys.co.za

According to Solidarity, the recklessness of the directors and management consultants resulted in, among others, damage worth millions of rand to mine infrastructure, embezzlement of revenue generated from gold sales, non-payment of salaries and creditors, mismanagement and alleged unauthorised payments amounting to millions made to Bhana family members. According to Gideon du Plessis, Solidarity Deputy General Secretary, the court was requested to confirm the suspicion that the Aurora directors and consultants had deliberately misled the liquidators about their financial ability. “There is no doubt that Aurora’s purpose with the transaction was to get access to the mining assets in order to strip them and to commit fraud,” Du Plessis says. “Moreover, it has been revealed that Aurora was already insolvent at the time of concluding the transaction and at no stage did it have sufficient capital to manage the mines or to pay workers.”   

According to Du Plessis, further action can be expected against friends and relatives of the Bhanas who allegedly derived unlawful financial benefit from the Aurora saga. “This process will involve the recovery of around R30 million, which hopefully, could be used for the payment of arrears in salaries and wages.

“It is obvious that the directors and the Bhanas only had one objective with Aurora – self-enrichment. In the meantime, Aurora employees had attempted to save the mine from flooding, demolition and demise to their own financial detriment,” Du Plessis says. “Aurora is one of the biggest corporate scandals in South Africa since 1994. It is a story of corruption, self-enrichment, vandalism and the inhumanity of directors and management consultants, combined with the lack of political will to intervene. At the same time, it is a story of integrity, courage and perseverance shown by employees who have lost everything in the process.”

The union appealed to the liquidators to insist on the imposition of the heaviest penalties for the directors and management consultants. “The good news is that the scandal has now been fully exposed and that the guilty parties are brought to book, but for thousands of former Aurora employees, it is already too late. The legal process must, however, ensure that the Aurora saga is never again repeated in South Africa and that the Aurora directors and Bhana family are prevented from doing any further business in the country”.

Gideon du Plessis

Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity

Trade union Solidarity today joined a march held in Pretoria as part of the City of Tshwane’s annual celebration of International Occupational Health and Safety Week. The trade union called on South African employers and employees to make occupational health and safety a priority. Following the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April 2012, the first week of May is celebrated as International Occupational Health and Safety Week.

The aim of the march was to raise awareness of occupational health and safety and the high incidence of occupational fatalities, injuries and diseases and to honour the memory of victims of occupational accidents and diseases. 

According to Paul Mardon, Head of Solidarity’s Occupational Health and Safety division, safety issues are seen as important, but health issues are often regarded as a lower priority in view of the slower and more long-term effects of occupational exposure to hazards compared with workplace injuries. ‘The state identified occupational health as a priority and therefore unions and employers will make it a national focus area for 2012,’ says Mardon.

The march was organised by the Occupational Health and Safety Department of the City of Tshwane. It started at the Belle Ombré Occupational Health Clinic in Bosman Street, Pretoria and ended at the Munitoria Building in Vermeulen Street where a memorandum was handed to the City of Tshwane’s Social Development and Health MMC, Ms Sibongile Moselelane.

‘In the memorandum, the occupational health professionals, supervisors and workers who participated in the march declare their commitment to promoting occupational health by making jobs and workplaces as hazard free as reasonably possible. For a change, this was a march with a positive, educational message,’ says Mardon.

Paul Mardon

Head: Occupational Health and Safety, Solidarity

Today, in response to another farm attack in which a 34-year-old mother was murdered on a farm outside Randfontein, Kraal Uitgewers, the publishing company of the Solidarity Movement, has appealed to the public to break the silence about farm attacks by taking part in the “Tell your story” project. The project was launched as part of the Solidarity Movement’s Campaign against Farm Attacks, and affected members of the public are invited to have their experiences listed to enable the Solidarity Movement to compile a reliable database of farm attacks in South Africa.

According to Ilze Nieuwoudt, spokesperson for Kraal Uitgewers, the latest farm attack in which Venessa Stafleu of Randfontein was shot to death on the farm Doornfontein 2 is yet again evidence of the crisis raging in South Africa. “However, the lack of reliable data on the extent of farm attacks in South Africa is a major defect, and therefore documenting these attacks is vital. Information on farm attacks is not available from the South African Police Service (SAPS), meaning that the true extent of the crisis is unknown.”

Since the start of the “Tell your story” project, several members of the public have already documented their experiences of farm attacks at www.treurgrond.co.za. “One clearly detects the pain of family and friends about the murders in the messages received, highlighting the necessity of this project. We can no longer keep silent about farm attacks. Our silence means the problem is ignored, but every message and every incident added to the list of more than 2 600 attacks would strengthen the case against farm attacks,” Nieuwoudt said.

The attacks are to be published by Kraal Uitgewers as part of a “monument of books” later this year, also to be used in support of the Solidarity Movement’s demand for the instatement of specialists units for rural safety in the SAPS and for the classification of farm attacks as a priority crime.

Here are just a few of the messages already received:

• “I’ve lost my breadwinner so life has become tough for me. My husband and I would have retired together. I feel that not enough is being done to find the killers. Daily we live in fear that they are somewhere among us.” – Amanda Kruger about the murder of her husband Iep in 2009.
• “My parents cared for their workers and did not deserve to be murdered like this. My stepmother’s head was crushed with an ironstone, and my dad’s head with an iron bar (‘gwala’). My two eldest brothers and I cleaned up the murder scene. I’ll never forget how we struggled to remove my stepmother’s blood from the cement … I hate nobody about this attack, but I do hold the government responsible for not being able to end the murders after all these years.” – Marinda Nel about the murder of her father and stepmother, Piet and Tilly Roos, in 1993.

Take part in the campaign by doing one of the following:

• Visit www.treurgrond.co.za and complete the online information form.
• SMS the word “Plaas” to 34388. Kraal Publishers will call you back to document your story. (An SMS will cost you R2.)
• Send an e-mail to treurgrond@solidariteit.co.za.
• Fax your story to 086 593 2882 or 012 644 1824.
• Call Kraal Publishers at 012 644 4329.

Ilze Nieuwoudt

Spokesperson: Kraal Publishers

On Workers’ Day today, the trade union Solidarity has appealed to all employees in South Africa to become part of a culture of life-long learning in order to improve their skills and increase their income. And by way of a special fund Solidarity will make millions of rands in the form of training aid available to its members and their families.

According to Flip Buys, General Secretary of Solidarity, this training fund will be funded by means of R5 contributions from Solidarity membership fees. “This year employees should not only ask for double-figure increases; they should aspire to doubling their salaries through improved skills.”

The Solidarity Movement is to establish a R150 million training campus shortly. Die Kampus will be the home of Sol-Tech and Akademia, the technical college and the higher-education institution of the Solidarity Movement respectively.

“The information era is causing knowledge to increase so rapidly that no-one can afford not to embark on life-long learning. We believe that trade unions’ new strategic role in South Africa should be to make members more employable by improving their skills. This is the best route to job security in South Africa,” Buys said.

“If trade unions, in partnership with government and the private sector, could succeed in raising the skills ceiling through training, it would also raise the economic-growth ceiling. Improved economic growth will ultimately lead to job creation and the alleviation of poverty.”

Moira-Marie Kloppers

Spokesperson: Solidarity