How companies cheat workers. IOL of 19 November 2008. 'A growing number of large employers are resorting to outsourcing in order to bypass labour legislation, a Wits University report commissioned by the Department of Labour has revealed. The report also paints a damning picture of big mining and manufacturing companies' tendency of contracting service providers who exploit their workers in order to maintain their profits. Speaking at the release of the report into the labour market on Tuesday, Wits Professor Edward Webster said there was a growing informalisation of the labour market in the country. Webster said the department needed to intervene in the practices of large manufacturing companies in the supply chain. "What we are seeing is a growing tendency by the large employers to outsource services because then they do not have to pay out proper wages and benefits to employees. "Workers are employed on contract by the service providers and they find themselves at the bottom of the economy," he said. Webster said the notion about two economies existing was a misrepresentation of what was really happening. "The so-called two economies are directly related. This report is presented through the notion that South Africa is divided into two economies; a first economy of modern establishments and decent work, and a second economy consisting of a range of precarious and vulnerable forms of work and survival activities. This is misleading. It is wrong to see the informal sector merely as a set of survival activities performed by the poor and destitute," he said. Webster said this was also demonstrated in the liquor business, where a large SA Breweries truck that delivers stock to an unregistered tavern "is directly involved with the informal sector and was making money from the business".

DA submits PAIA application for release of mining safety report. The Citizen of 19 November 2008. 'The Democratic Alliance on Tuesday submitted an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to compel the presidency to release the mining safety audit report to the public. The audit was commissioned by former president Thabo Mbeki last year in December following a series of deaths and accidents across the country’s mines, DA spokesman Hendrik Schmidt said. The minerals and energy department completed the audit in August promising it would “be released soon”. More than three months after the department completed the audit, it had still not been made public, he said. President Kgalema Motlanthe had been sitting on the report for almost a month since receiving it from the department. The public deserved to know the exact causes of mine deaths and what steps were being taken to make working conditions in South Africa’s mines less dangerous, Schmidt said. “Mining is the heart of our country’s economy. But it is driven by the hard work and the willingness of thousands of mineworkers to put their lives at risk every day.” The scale of mine deaths due too poor compliance with mining safety regulations posed a serious threat to the viability of this key sector and caused untold human suffering. “This year more than 145 mineworkers have already died on duty as a result of unsafe working conditions.” Government had promised to tackle the causes of mine deaths for many years, yet it was now squandering an opportunity that would enable it to do so, he said. Schmidt also urged Parliament to use this last session of the year to speedily consider the Mine Health and Safety Amendment Bill, which provided for more strenuous mining health and safety requirements. More

Mining still faces many challenges, says CSIR. Busrep of 12 November 2008. 'Despite the mining industry remaining a vital component of the economy, it faced critical challenges, particularly in health and safety, Sibusiso Sibisi, the president of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said yesterday. Speaking at the release of the CSIR’s 2007/08 annual report, he said the industry's health and safety record was increasingly under scrutiny, and it appeared that the trend of improvement had stopped. "Mining remains a vital component of the economy and needs to overcome the ever increasing difficulty of mining the available resources," said Sibisi. "Despite this, no national view exists on the approach to mining research and industry support for research has declined to trivial levels over the past 15 years." The CSIR was ensuring that it maintained its skills base by providing bursaries and scholarships and was using available resources to enhance its skills, he added. "Logically – as is the case with any knowledge organisation – the quality of intellectual assets is critical to our performance. The competition for top skills is fierce, particularly in new fields of science."  Sibisi said in terms of demographics, more than half of the CSIR’s science, engineering and technology staff were black. "Of particular importance is a growing number of national SET strategies and policy processes to which we contribute. An important driver of SET output is the upward trend in publication equivalents. This grew to 343 in the past year, an increase of about 64 percent from the year before." The CSIR’s total operating income stood at R1.2 billion – a higher-than-projected achievement, which had surpassed the results of previous years. Sibisi said: "Operational efficiency and quality practices remain of high standard. Formal processes and systems to support strategic procurement were implemented and contribute to a successful broad-based black economic empowerment strategy."

Workers ‘offered money to see us medical expert'. The Citizen of 10 November 2008. 'Suspected manganese poisoning victims were allegedly offered R800,000 each to undergo further testing while their employer refused to recognise the attorney representing them, a labour department that is investigating several cases of manganese poisoning heard on Monday. Richard Spoor, an attorney representing 10 workers who have been diagnosed with manganism, told the inquiry that Assmang had offered affected workers R800,000 to be examined by an overseas medical expert, identified as Professor Warren Olanow. Spoor added that Assmang had attempted to influence black workers affected by manganism. “They have gone so far as to hire chiefs (traditional leaders) to pressurise them into accepting deals,” said Spoor. Olanow is a movement disorder specialist of the Department of Neurology and Professor of the Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York. Assmang’s attorney, Willem le Roux, said his client denied the allegations “of influence” being applied to the employees, saying that Spoor “makes statements for the benefit of the media”. Le Roux said the company did not want to negotiate with Spoor, because of his “defamatory statements” and “aggressive attitude”. Dr Murray Coombs, whose company Elixir Corporate Health Solutions is contracted to manage Assmang’s occupational health screening, said that Olanow had been appointed to lead a medical panel of the company because Olanow was a top expert in the field of manganism. Spoor however pointed out that Olanow had received 2.9 million dollars from the “manganese institute” for his research and had testified as a defence witness in manganism trials in the United States. “A man who receives 2.9 million dollars for research on behalf of companies can hardly be described as independent,” said Spoor. Spoor’s clients have objected to being examined by Olanow. He also questioned whether Coombs had examined the personal medical records of employees, violating the patient-doctor confidentiality rules.The company has disputed that 10 workers represented by Spoor and originally diagnosed with the disease, actually suffer from manganism. Manganism is acquired by overexposure to airborne manganese. Manganism is a disease that affects the sufferer’s central nervous system, leaving them with symptoms very similar to Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis (MS). The disease’s similarity to MS, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease make diagnosis difficult. The disease was first recognised among miners in Scotland in 1835. More

Two die in Witbank mine accident. IOL of 10 November 2008. 'Two mineworkers, aged 43 and 49, died and a third was injured following an accident at an Xstrata coal mine near Witbank, Xstrata Coal said on Monday. Spokesperson Songezo Zibi said Gabriel Manyeli, 43, a continuous miner operator, and Solwako Magagula, 49, a cable handler, died on Saturday after inhaling noxious gas. The mine was evacuated and the two men were taken above ground but could not be resuscitated. A third miner was hospitalised and was reportedly out of danger. Xstrata stopped all underground operations and sealed the mine until further investigations by Xstrata Coal and the Department of Minerals and Energy's Inspector of Mines, Zibi said. Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said on Monday the men died after they drilled into an old section of the mine containing carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide forms naturally in the old sections of coal mines, Kleynhans said. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and displaces air upwards when released in a mine. "The open channel between the old and new sections meant that all the oxygen was displaced out of the space where the mineworkers were drilling," Kleynhans said. Gas-related accidents were not common in South African mines. This was the 143rd and 144th fatality in South African mines this year, Kleynhans said.

Miner dies at Rustenburg operation. IOL of 27 October 2008. 'A mineworker died at Anglo Platinum's Rustenburg mine on Monday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said in a statement. The man was electrocuted at the mine's Turffontein shaft, NUM said. NUM called on its members at the mine to observe a day of mourning. "The date will be decided once the Section 54 notice has been lifted," said Lesiba Seshoka, spokesperson for NUM. A Section 54 notice of the Mine Health & Safety Act had been issued for the shaft and it would remain closed until the notice was lifted by the department of minerals and energy. Spokesperson for Anglo Platinum, Simon Tebele, confirmed that the death as well as the Section 54 notice. "A full investigation is underway to determine the causes of the incident," Tebele added. Anglo Platinum is the world's leading primary producer of platinum group metals. This year the group has reported 16 fatalities - this includes Monday's death.

90 000 dying yearly from asbestos-related illnesses globally. Mining News of 27 October 2008. 'About 125-million people around the world, of whom 12-million are in Africa, are exposed to asbestos at work each year, with at least 90 000 dying from diseases associated with this fibrous mineral, according to the World Health Organisation. And one in every million people globally is diagnosed with the life-threatening asbestos illness, mesothelioma, with 30 to 50 people in the Northern Cape province receiving medical treatment a month. In the district of Kgalagadi, in the Northern Cape province, the survival rate for mesothelioma is ‘zero’ and research has indicated that death occurs within 6 to 18 months of the onset of symptoms, said Johnny Swart, chairperson of the Asbestos Coordinating Committee of Kgalagadi (ACCK), a community-based organisation, at the National Asbestos Conference, in Johannesburg, last week. People are “eating and sleeping” in asbestos in the Kgalagadi area, said Kgalagadi district municipality mayor Bothajana Mereeotlhe. The ACCK says that 300 km of roads, residential property and some mines in the Kgalagadi district are polluted with asbestos. Other towns in the North West, the North-ern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces also face the challenge of asbestos pollution. There are 39 schools in Kgalagadi that are polluted, and the cost of relocating these schools would be about R2-million for each school, which would cost the municipality about R80-million. About R360-million is required to clean up the roads, but the Department of Transport provides only about R2-million a year to rehabilitate about 5 km of roads. Swart said that, if adequate funds and equipment were available, it would be possible for the district municipality to clean up 30 km of roads a year and that, if this was outsourced, the clean-up could occur much faster. He said that the mining industry and relevant government departments “needed to come to the table” and assist. Swart suggested that a ‘super’ fund be established by government, together with action plans and a specialised healthcare system. Medical treatment would cost an affected individual, “who is unemployed, living in poverty or receiving a relatively low pension”, about R11 000 for every two weeks at a government hospital, while private treatment would cost R23 000 every two weeks. “We recommend that this be declared a national disaster, and that a national asbestos committee be established to work together with the ACCK and other relevant stakeholders to address this environmental hazard,” he said. Meanwhile, the Lesotho-South Africa ex-Miners and Allied Workers Association’s Dr Amelia Ranotsi told Mining Weekly that there was a lack of awareness regarding asbestos in Lesotho. This was a result of multiple factors, including the current high priority focus on HIV/Aids and tuberculosis in the Mountain Kingdom, and a lack of research and education. A delegate at the conference said that while one could not undo the wrongs of the past, South Africa needed to tackle the serious environmental hazard posed by asbestos today by ensuring collaboration between government, civil society organisations and the mining industry.

Côte d'Ivoire court gives 20-year jail term in pollution case. M & G of 23 October 2008. 'Côte d'Ivoire court on Wednesday handed down jail terms of 20 years and five years to two people for the dumping of toxic waste from a cargo ship in Abidjan in 2006, which killed 17 people and poisoned thousands. Seven other people charged in the case were acquitted. More than 500 cubic metres of toxic waste from a Panamanian-registered cargo ship, the Probo Koala, were dumped at public sites across Abidjan in August 2006, causing breathing problems and nausea among nearby residents. The court -- after three hours of deliberation -- sentenced Nigerian national Salomon Ugborugbo, head of the Tommy company that dumped the waste from the Probo Koala, to 20 years in jail. Côte d'Ivoire Attorney General Damou Kouyate had requested that he be sentenced to life in prison for poisoning. Essoin Kouao, who worked as a shipping agent at the Port of Abijan and had recommended the Tommy company to the Probo Koala's charterer, received a five-year jail term. He had been charged with complicity in poisoning. Kouyate had said the those involved in the poisoning were motivated "by a wild quest for money" to set up a "fatal deal". No executives from Trafigura, which chartered the Probo Koala, were on trial after the Dutch multinational reached a €152-million settlement with the Ivorian government last year in return for indemnity against prosecution. The deadly incidents date from August 2006 when tanker trucks hired by Ugborugbo dumped 528 cubic metres of waste "slops" from the Probo Koala at public sites across Abidjan. The slops were in fact a toxic mix of petroleum residues, sulphur and caustic soda, which had accumulated in the ship. Exposure to the waste caused respiratory difficulties, nausea and other medical problems among nearby residents, prompting the evacuation of entire neighbourhoods. Prosecutors had requested jail terms of up to 20 years for five of the accused who had been charged with complicity to poison or breaking environmental and public safety laws.

Engineers warn that built-environment Bill could undermine public safety. Eng. News of 23 October 2008. 'Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA), which represents about 460 consulting engineering firms, has reaffirmed its concern about the consolidation of the existing professional councils into a new mega-council, dubbed the South African Council for Built Environment (SACBE). The move is proposed in the Built Environment Professions Bill, but CESA argued that such a development could impact negatively on the health and safety of the public. Click here for full article.

How could this happen? Editorial. The Star of 20 October 2008. 'The horrifying collapse of a building on the West Rand this week showed humanity at its best … and its worst. For while there was unstinting heroism from the rescuers, there remained a cloud of suspicion about incompetence which allowed this tragedy to happen in the first place. We salute Quintin Antunes, Michiel Breed and Willem Pretorius, who all rushed to the scene to pull injured people from the rubble, using their bare hands to rescue the dazed and injured construction workers. Their actions are a reminder to all of us that there are South Africans who are prepared to put themselves at risk to help others in distress. But this incident - to call it an accident somehow absolves people of guilt - is a damning indictment of our construction industry. How was it that, according to workers, construction of this building was allowed to continue, despite the fact they had observed it shaking in the days before the collapse? Other workers reported seeing cracks in the building around the same time. How could the inspectors who were called to the site on Wednesday - the day before the incident - have passed the construction as safe? These are questions which need answers … and these answers must be found quickly. Urgency is needed for two reasons. First, those responsible must be held accountable and, because people have died (two according to reports), we say charges of culpable homicide should be levelled. Perhaps, if this happens, construction companies would pay more attention to health and safety rules and would build to acceptable standards. Secondly, if this collapse occurred because of deficiencies in the statutory systems which regulate the construction sector - and we are especially concerned about the inspection in this case - then we need to change things now. Otherwise, there are other tragedies waiting.

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