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Don’t forget Election Day is a public holiday
Labour Bulletin | 26 March, 2009 | Hot Topics:
Dear Reader
Although I’m sure many of us are looking forward to all the holidays and long weekends in April, it’s a difficult month from a productivity point of view. And now we have another Public Holiday! The President has declared Election Day, 22 April 2009, a Public Holiday throughout the Republic (Government Gazette No. 32039 of 19 March 2009).
What does this mean for you?
This means:
- as an employer you may not require an employee to work on that day other than by agreement;
- employees must be paid for the day at ordinary rates, if they don’t work; and
- if employees do work, they must be paid double their normal rates.
Remember: You can exchange a public holiday for any other day by agreement (Section 2(2) of the Public Holidays Act).
Minister of Labour criticises labour brokers
The Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, has been quoted in the press saying the ANC plans to ban labour brokers after the elections because “labour brokers are nothing more than human traffickers”. He complained that many labour brokers don’t take responsibility for their workers and don’t contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
We’ll keep track of any developments about this and keep you updated. In the meantime why don’t you let us know what you think about it at sarahjane@fsp.co.za
New trade union launch
The former president of COSATU, Willie Madisha, has announced a new trade union movement will be launched in Gauteng on 28 March 2009. He says there’s a need for a labour movement that isn’t politically aligned. Unions that are politically aligned, he says, fail to address the needs of workers across industries in both the public and private sectors; workers shouldn’t be forced to support a particular political party.
Interestingly, Madisha has publicly aligned himself with the leadership of COPE. We’ll definitely be watching the press for more on this one as well.
I will be at an international employment law conference in Berlin in April where I will be co-chairing a session. I look forward to sharing any exciting developments with you when I return.
Until next month...
Susan Stelzner
Editor-in-chief
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Editors note
Michelle Govender
Labour Bulletin Editor
The Labour Bulletin team speaks to subscribers every week on landmark labour events and offer valuable and practical information from the Handbook, from questions and answers and from our experts that subscribers can use now to benefit their business.
