The competition is organised by financial journalist and entrepreneur Marc Ashton and supported by highly respected marketer and author Scott Cundill from Majestic Interactive.

“Locally there has been a lot of focus on start-ups – particularly in the technology sector – but start-ups are initially low impact employing a handful of skilled people and run very high failure rates,” says Ashton.

“What about the businesses that have already done the legwork, made their mistakes and are now looking to scale up? That is where a competition like Punk Your SME comes in,” he adds.

Based on the “Pimp your ride” reality TV concept, the competition will every three months see the team giving away advertising, marketing material, technology to make small businesses run better as well as a round table mentoring and strategy session with top South African entrepreneurs to provide suggestions for scaling the business up.

The competition also provides an opportunity for the organisers to collect data toward their Entrepreneur Confidence Index which will provide relevant information on entrepreneurial activity in South Africa as well as try identify pains that the small business sector may be experiencing.

How to get involved:
Entrepreneurs looking to get involved with the competition can send an e-mail to marc@rival.co.za with the subject line: “I Want To Punky My SME”.

Alternatively entrepreneurs can join the “Punk Your SME” Facebook group to be kept up to date with industry happenings.

One of the key strategies for the organisers is to leverage the “social lending” spirit which is becoming increasingly prominent in South Africa. Those looking to contribute skills, services, mentoring, products or make cash donations which can be put toward each quarters’ prize can contact Marc Ashton on 082-561-1585 or e-mail to discuss further.

Consulting

Arbitrator misconduct can and does occur in many different forms

including:

Bias

In the case of Best Boland Motors vs Dispute Resolution Centre &others (CLL Vol. 13 No. 5 page 47) the Labour Appeal Court found that theconduct of the arbitrator suggested bias because the arbitrator and theapplicant employee held private discussions.

Aggressive Interrogation

In County Fair Foods vs Theron NO & others (2001, 2 BLLR 134 LC) the court found the aggressive manner in which the arbitrator questionedwitnesses to be unacceptable and therefore set the arbitrator’s decisionaside.

Ignoring of Evidence

In the case of Sasko (Pty) Ltd vs Buthelezi & others (1997, 12 BLLR1639 LC) the arbitrator failed to take into account that the employee had refused an offer of promotion. The Labour Court found this to be a breachof the arbitrator’s duty.

Misconstruing Evidence

In the case of Crown Chickens (Pty) Ltd vs Kapp & others (2002, 6 BLLR493 LAC) the arbitrator found that the employee had not called a colleague
a “kaffer”. However, the Labour Appeal Court found that the arbitrator had, without good reason, rejected the evidence of two witnesses whose evidence indicated that the employee had called his colleague a “kaffer”.

The Court found this amounted to a gross irregularity.

It is difficult to persuade a judge to overturn an arbitration decision.

Parties should not apply to Court for a review without the benefit ofproper legal expertise.

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Author may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail

address: labourlaw@absamail.co.za. Go to: www.labourlawadvice.co.za.

To attend our May 2010 seminars in Cape Town and Johannesburg on CHANGES

AND DANGERS IN LABOUR LAW please contact Ronni at

ronni@labourlawadvice.co.za or on 0845217492 or (011) 782-3066.

Before a trade union can legally force the employer to recognise shop stewards as worker representatives the trade union first has to:

1. Gain official recognition itself from the employer; and

2. Show that the trade union on its own (or together with other trade unions) has as members the majority of the employees at the workplace; and

3. Have, at the workplace, at least ten trade union members on its own or jointly with other unions.

The employer that recognises a trade union and shop stewards has to pay normal wages to the employees elected as shop stewards. When the worker puts aside his duties as an employee and carries out his/her shop steward duties the employer must still, in most cases, pay him/her!

It is therefore vital for the employer to enter into an agreement with the union before recognising the union and the shop steward so as to control the activities of the union and of the shop stewards. Without such an agreement the shop stewards might act beyond their authority and squander valuable production time. The employer should therefore:

· Refuse recognition of the shop steward until a properly drafted union recognition agreement has been signed

· Impose, via the recognition agreement, strict controls on the activities of the shop steward

· Make the shop steward fully aware of the consequences of breach of the terms of the recognition agreement and of the employer’s code of conduct

· Take swift yet legally correct action where shop stewards flout the rules

· Join a reputable employers’ organisation such as the GDPEO in order to gain access to expert legal advice and representation.

———————-

Author may be contacted on (011) 888-7944 or 0828522973 or on e-mail address: labourlaw@absamail.co.za. Web address: www.labourlawadvice.co.za.

To attend our May 2010 seminars in JHB and Cape Town on CHANGES AND DANGERS IN LABOUR LAW please contact Ronni at ronni@labourlawadvice.co.za or on 0845217492 or (011) 782-3066.

That’s according to data drawn from the financial services product aggregator operated by Rival Financial Services which is a product owned by local publishing and research house Rival Industrial.
Marc Ashton from Rival comments: “While it is still early days, this financial product aggregator has provided us with some interesting insight into where the South African consumer is at in terms of confidence and whether they believe we are seeing a genuine economic rebound.”

Personal loans and debt consolidation remain high on the list but there are signs that consumers are now considering medical and life insurance products as well as savings consultations.

After three weeks of running the aggregator the following product classes have seen the most demand:

• Personal loans – 30%
• Medical insurance – 20%
• Life insurance / savings consultations – 13.33%
• Debt consolidation – 13.33%
• Short term insurance – 10%
• Funeral insurance – 7%
• Foreign exchange trading accounts – 3.33%
• Home loans – 3%

We would interpret this to mean that while many South African consumers are battling to make ends meet each month and are still seeking short-term credit, there is less pressure on a segment of the population who are seeking to buy insurance cover.

Ashton said he was a little surprised by the demand for funeral insurance products and would be watching this this trend closely as feedback from industry indicated increasing demand for this product.

Demand for home-loan and trading products (specifically foreign exchange) remains low.

Rival will provide monthly updates to industry as it attempts to map out trends and the mood of the local consumer.

To get competitive quotes on various financial services products please visit the Rival Financial Services site.

Until recently, Sangqu was group executive director of Kagiso Trust Investments and was previously Chief Executive Officer of Prodigy-Coris Asset Management.  He has over 14 years of experience in senior financial managerial roles in a range of industries, including mining.

Sangqu will sit on the Executive Committees of both Xstrata Alloys and Xstrata Coal and will report to the Xstrata plc Transformation Committee, chaired by Mick Davis, Chief Executive.

Mick Davis, Xstrata plc Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted to welcome Andile Sangqu to Xstrata.  His extensive industry and business experience will be invaluable in delivering the successful execution of our strategy in South Africa.”

Sangqu commented: “I am looking forward to making a significant contribution to Xstrata’s continued development in South Africa, working closely with executive colleagues within the business and with our many external stakeholders.”

Currently There is a huge amount of legal risk that a verification agency incurs when issuing BEE Certificates and therefore it is vital that there is a consistent approach to the application of the Codes and that this is regulated.

The dti is the custodian of the BEE program, but does not play the role of a Regulator to the industry. Neither is it in the proper position to pronounce on legal interpretation of legislation. SANAS accredits the agencies and monitors adherence to the requirements of SANAS R47, the standards for accreditation. Even the recently established BEE Council has not been tasked with the regulation of the industry.

ABVA (the Association of BEE Verification Agencies) is a voluntary membership body for the verification industry. And while ABVA has attempted to regulate the industry by instituting disciplinary actions against members found to act outside of its rules, since it is not an official regulatory body it remains without teeth. A recent example of this was the resignation of a member who had no desire to adhere to the ABVA guidelines that are in place to encourage a consistent set of standards. In other words, if verification agencies do not wish to act within a specified framework, they simply resign their membership with no repercussions. The dti, SANAS, the BEE Council nor ABVA would have any regulation over this agency.

ABVA believes that it is well placed to take on the role of the regulatory body and has applied to the dti to be considered for this function. Plans are also afoot to present this strategy to the BEE Council. It is in the interest of all role players in this industry, as well as stake holders especially the companies being measured, that there is a consistent well understood application of the BEE measurement tools.

This consistency brings credibility and professionalism to the industry and provides a sense of certainty that if a company initiates transformation activities there are clear points that one will achieve, irrespective of which agency is retained to handle the verification.

An unregulated verification industry is a potential hurdle to effective transformation of the South African business landscape, and as such the issue must urgently be addressed.

By: Brigitte Brun: Director: Association of BEE Verification Agencies – Membership Portfolio

While arbitrators have repeatedly faulted employers for procedural unfairness at disciplinary hearings certain employers still maintain that there is no need for a formal hearing. Part of the reason for this misconception is the wording of Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act which states that the hearing need not be a formal one. However, the same item requires that the employee be allowed the opportunity to state a case in response to the allegations. The courts have frequently interpreted the latter requirement to mean that the accused employee must be given the right to an unbiased chairperson, to testify, to bring documents, call witnesses and cross examine evidence brought against him/her.

Thus, in order to be able to comply with this the employer needs to set up a formal hearing, the record of which becomes part of the evidence at the CCMA. Because it is at the CCMA where the employer will be required to prove that it complied with legal procedure when dismissing the employee.

Furthermore, where an employee is suspected of poor performance it is not enough to have an informal discussion with the employee about the problem and then to fire him/her the next week. The LRA sets down specific steps to be followed before a dismissal for poor performance can even be considered.

Again it is not practical to comply properly with such stringent requirements in an informal manner because informal processes are difficult to control and to prove.

Therefore, managers must either be thoroughly trained in disciplinary process or the employer must hire a reputable labour law expert to chair its hearings.

To attend our seminars on CHANGES AND DANGERS IN LABOUR LAW on 12 March 2010 (JHB) and 14 May 2010 (Cape Town) please contact Ronni at ronni@labourlawadvice.co.za or on 0845217492 or (011) 782-3066.

Ferronews.com has recently added a recruitment module to its site which allows for the advertising of positions for skilled professionals in the sector.

The cost per advert is R175 excl. VAT. (R199.50) and the position is held open until the user expires it.

The site is ideal for promoting opportunities for:

• Engineers
• Furnace operators
• SHEQ professionals (Safety, Health, Environmental, Quality)
• Industrial Chemists
• Chemical engineers
• Metallurgists
• etc.

For further information about advertising a position on Ferronews.com please e-mail sales@rival.co.za or contact 082-561-1585

During the orientation programme, students participated in life and study skills workshops, while also being exposed to the Sasol operations and the plant environment. Sasol Secunda is the world’s largest Coal-to-Liquid (CTL) fuel plant and also houses Sasol Mining, which supplies coal to the CTL process.

The bursary scheme is a critical element in Sasol’s talent development strategy. This year’s intake boosts Sasol’s existing 761 undergraduate and postgraduate bursars to 949. The bursary investment of R45 million in 2009 focused primarily on developing talent in science and technology disciplines to, amongst other objectives, help bridge the gaps identified on the Government’s national scarce skills list.

“Sasol is investing now in talent that will develop into South Africa’s next generation of scientists and engineers. These future professionals will support our company’s ambitious growth plans for the future while also enhancing South Africa’s pool of expertise in these sought-after professions,” said Nolitha Fakude, Sasol executive director.

In 2009, Sasol invested over R400 million in programmes focusing on learner interventions from early childhood development through to PhDs, also leveraging the company’s Corporate Social Investments, to provide vital teacher development initiatives.

“With the spot-light again on disappointing Grade 12 and maths and science results, along with ongoing skills shortages, we believe a multi-sectoral approach that includes South African business is vital in helping education in South Africa turn the corner towards success. With these objectives, we at Sasol are committed to our ongoing investment in skills development through practical training and support of learners, educators and educational institutions”, Fakude said.

“The Sasol Inzalo Foundation, with its focus on science, maths and technology, is an important mechanism to ensure that the impact Sasol is seeking to make on skills development is tangible and sustainable,” she concluded.

Success flowing from this multi-sectoral approach is evident in Sasol’s partnership with three other petroleum companies to train artisans for the petroleum industry. This partnership forms part of the oil, gas and electrical manufacturing project and, through this initiative, Sasol trained 1050 artisans in 2009, with an investment of R140 million.

Sasol will continue to invest in the attraction of young talent through its sought-after bursary scheme that is largely focused on science and technology disciplines.

Students wishing to study towards maths and science degrees such as Engineering, Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Commerce in the 2011 academic year are invited to apply. Candidates can apply online at www.sasolbursaries.com, call 0860 106 235 or SMS ’sasol bursaries’ to 33130. Applications close 5 March 2010.