Johannesburg – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says the success in crafting the national minimum wage should be that inequality is reduced, people are lifted out of poverty and there is an impact on unemployment.
The Deputy President was speaking on Saturday during a two-day National Economic Development and Labour Council’s (Nedlac) workshop held to discuss wage inequality and labour instability.
In his opening address, Deputy President Ramaphosa noted that for the first time in South Africa
Read more: National minimum wage must reduce inequality, unemployment
This means that members registered in the categories of Master HR Professional, Chartered HR Professional, HR Professional and HR Associate may now administer oaths or affirmations; take solemn or attested declarations; and certify documents to be a true copy of the original.
DOWNLOAD THE GOVERNMENT GAZETTE
We have put together a breakfast seminar to orientate SABPP members and the broader HR community, and now ex-officio Commissioners of Oaths about this new development.
Read more: SABPP registered professionals are now ex-officio Commissioners of Oaths!
In addition to the big ticket amendments presented at PMI’s recent workshops on the Amended BBBEE Codes workshops held in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg earlier this month, there have been further updates that are worth noting.
The ‘Revised Notice of Clarification’ was released by the DTI in the Government Gazette 38799- 15 May 2015. It includes important clarification on what qualifies a business as an ‘Empowering Supplier’, such as:
Read more: New amendments to the BBBEE codes -The more things change… the more things change
BY lvan lsraelstam, Chief Executive of Labour Law Management Consulting. He may be contacted on 0828522973 or on e-mail address: ivan@
Section143(1) of the Labour Relations Act (LRA) provides that “An arbitration award is final and binding”. This is not correct as either party can take the arbitrator’s conduct on review to the Labour Court if they are able to prove that the arbitrator, in making his/her award, has materially broken a rule.
Examples of such arbitrator ‘misconduct’ includes bias, interrogation of witnesses, failure to keep records, ignoring of evidence, refusal to allow a party the right to question witnesses or bring evidence, failure to apply his/her mind, misconstruing of evidence, overstepping his/her authority and failure to consider statutory provisions.
In County Fair Foods vs Theron NO & others
Introduction
From the early 1950's women in South Africa were involved in many activist campaigns to fight for their maternity leave benefits in the workplace. This was an important guarantee as many women needed economic security whilst going on maternity leave due to the fact that they did not want to lose their jobs.
Internationally, the Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) allows for a woman to whom this Convention applies a period of maternity leave of not less than 14 weeks.
In South Africa,Section 25 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act75 of 1997 ("BCEA")allows pregnant women at least 4 consecutive months of maternity leave. Each company has itsown policy and a company can choose how much to pay their employees for their maternity leave. If a company does not provide maternity leave benefits then a female employee can claimbenefits for 17 weeks of maternity leave from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
The Civil Union Act
Our legal system recognises civil unions of people of the same sex in terms of the Civil Union Act 17 of 2006 ("Civil Union Act").The Civil Union Act, defines a civil union as a voluntary union of two persons who are both 18 years of age or older, which is solemnised and registered by way of either a marriage or a civil partnership, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this Act. The Civil Union Act, also defines a civil union partner as a spouse in a marriage or a partner in a civil partnership, as the case may be concluded in terms of this Act.
The Civil Union Act, gives partners in a same-sex relationship theequal protectionas couples in a heterosexual marriage.
Recent Judgement
In the ground breaking case of MIA v State Information Technology Agency (Pty) Ltd [2015] JOL 33060 (LC) ("MIA judgment"), a couple in a registered civil union entered into a surrogacy agreement in terms of which they would be deemed to be the parents of the child born of the surrogate mother. The surrogacy agreement was duly made an order of court.
Prior to the birth of the child, the applicant applied for paid maternity leave. The employer refused to grant the leave
Page 68 of 80
