Latest news with #DepartmentOfEmployment
News24
07-07-2025
- Business
- News24
Port workers, shark-spotting lifeguards designated as essential
The Department of Employment and Labour has listed several additional jobs and services which will be now classified as essential, including port and cargo workers, shark spotting lifeguards, and data services and network lines from the State Information Technology Agency (SITA). The list, which was published in the Government Gazette last month, also included jobs that form part of the Border Management Authority, such as law enforcement, as well as specialised functions related to agriculture and the environment. The gazette also designated primary healthcare services in tertiary institutions as essential, and provided updated definitions for civilian jobs in the Department of Defence considered essential. According to legislation, an essential service is considered a job which, if interrupted, will 'endanger the life, personal safety or health of the whole or any part of the population'. Current jobs that are included as essential services include air traffic control, blood transfusion services, firefighting, emergency health services, refuse collection, and the generation and distribution of power. Chairperson of SA's Essential Services Committee, Luvuyo Bono, said the committee received applications from parties, including Transnet, to update the essential jobs list. The committee is responsible for the designation of essential services, and can investigate whether jobs or services needed to be added or removed as essential in SA. Bono said the committee, which forms part of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), then investigated the application and conducted public hearings before it was officially added to the essential jobs or service roster. 'For Transnet's application, we looked at what happened when ships docked and the process of cargo services [to determine if the job is essential]. We also received an application from their lawyers for SITA because of a strike which happened a few years ago, for more jobs to be added as essential.' The chairperson said the jobs and services that were added to the list would also have limited strike action, due to their importance. He said the organisations — including Transnet — would have to conclude a minimum service agreement with workers within the next few months. The service agreement allows a limited number of workers to participate in strike action during a wage dispute, while others maintain the minimum number of services for the job to be fulfilled. News24 previously reported that nearly 20 000 workers had gone on strike at Transnet's port and rail network over a wage dispute between the state logistics company and United National Transport Union (UNTU). The dispute, which lasted more than one month and threatened to disrupt exports, eventually ended after the union agreed to a 6% wage increase over the next two financial years and a 5.5% increase in the third financial year, according to a report from Bloomberg.
News24
15-06-2025
- General
- News24
DA to challenge govt's plan for ‘crude racial classification' in workplace to meet quotas
Department of Employment and Labour/X Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once.
