For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: Justice Committee welcomes arrests of Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana; Solidarity heads to court over Employment Equity Amendment Bill; And, Eskom’s biggest union demands 15% wage hike as power cuts worsen

Justice Committee welcomes arrests of Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana

Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Service chairperson Gratitude Magwanishe welcomed the arrest and return of fugitives Thabo Bester and Dr Nandipha Magudumana to South Africa.

The pair were arrested in Tanzania after trying to flee the country. They have been brought back to South Africa under heavy police presence.

Bester, who allegedly staged his death and escaped Mangaung prison in 2022, was taken to the Kgosi Mampuru correctional facility in Pretoria.

Magudumana faces charges of fraud, aiding and abetting Bester and murder and violation of bodies.

She will appear at the Bloemfontein High Court on Thursday.

Solidarity heads to court over Employment Equity Amendment Bill

Solidarity indicated that it is preparing for a huge legal battle over the new Employment Equity Act, saying the Bill grants draconian racial powers to the Minister of Employment and Labour.

Yesterday, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law the Amendment Bill which seeks to advance transformation of South Africa’s workforce by setting equity targets for economic sectors and geographical regions, and requiring enterprises to develop transformation plans.

However, Solidarity is of the opinion that this Act is unconstitutional and that it is directly contrary to an earlier finding of the South African Human Rights Commission which indicated that even in its current format South Africa’s racial legislation is unconstitutional and not in accordance with international norms and values.

Solidarity contends that it had already written to Ramaphosa in August last year to point out that the amendments are unconstitutional.

Solidarity also obtained legal opinion which confirms this, and it has made submissions to Parliament. 

And, Eskom’s biggest union demands 15% wage hike as power cuts worsen

The biggest labour union at South Africa’s Eskom Holdings wants a 15% wage increase even as the utility fails to generate adequate electricity to meet the country’s needs, resulting in nationwide power cuts.

The National Union of Mineworkers wants the same raise for all workers along with other increases in allowances for housing and other benefits, it said in a copy of the letter to Eskom.

Wage negotiations at the utility come at a contentious time for Eskom and South Africa. Measures implemented by President Cyril Ramaphosa to end power shortages have included expanding a programme to buy renewable energy, implementing a national state of disaster that was retracted and appointing an electricity minister, but the ongoing outages have deepened in recent days.

Labor settled on a one-year contract with Eskom in 2022 following violent protests that intimidated some workers from reporting for duty and increased power shortages that contributed to an all-time record. Eskom employees aren’t allowed to strike legally, because the provision of electricity is considered an essential service.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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