5 Feb 2013

Legal

 



The wages of sin

No business can survive by selling its products for less than it costs to produce those same products. Hence, Agri SA reckons that the just-announced minimum wages for farmworkers will drive farmers to make tough decisions. As Johannes Möller, president of Agri SA says: "The 52% increase in the minimum wage for farmworkers, as announced by the Minister Oliphant ... will have drastic implications for this sector and related industries." It's also as well for farmworkers and Cosatu to realise once and for all, that it is government that sets the minimum wage.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has vowed to strengthen public order policing, and says public order policing in South Africa needs to reflect the ethos of human rights and dignity. Not before time, but it will be an uphill battle, given the somewhat less than stellar record when it comes to police brutality directed at the public, suspects and protesters... Tatane and Marikana spring to mind.

One cannot help but feel that Eskom knows that they will never get the massive hikes they are demanding, but on the basis of go in high and settle for less, the Eskom public hearings kicked off in Gauteng. More than one player pointed out what impact such hikes will have on poverty, investment and a range of other issues, if granted.

Perhaps one of the first things Eskom could do is stop placing ads on TV telling us how great they are and how they care about us.

Chris Moerdyk asks whether there is light at the end of the Telkom tunnel, and points that perhaps... there is... and that is good news for consumers who for decades have been subjected to call and internet costs that are way out of kilter with what is reasonable.

Rod Baker: Content Director

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Dragon Boat Challenge - Have you got what it takes?
[Issued by Corporate Games] This February, 3rd South Africa, Official License Holder of Corporate Games South Africa, is challenging companies to battle it out on the sea for the grand prize of complimentary practice sessions leading up to the Cape Town Corporate Games in June 2013. Read more >>  visit press office >>


Commercial Law

Health insurance policy dispute to drag on
The dispute between what should constitute a health insurance policy and what is the terrain of medical schemes looks set to drag on for some time. Read more >>

SA is selling sub-standard cement say manufacturers
Local cement manufacturers maintain that importers are bringing sub-standard and underweight bags of cement into SA. Read more >>

Malema will oppose liquidation
[Amanda Visser] Former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has instructed his attorneys to oppose the application by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to have his estate sequestrated following his failure to pay a tax debt of R16m. Read more >>

Adjudicator claims 'good progess' on resolving complaints
The Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator is on track to eliminate the backlog in complaints while reducing the turnaround time for all new complaints‚ it said on Thursday (31 January) Read more >>

SARS applies for Malema's sequestration
The SA Revenue Service (SARS) filed papers in the High Court in Pretoria to have expelled African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema sequestrated, it was reported on Thursday (31 January). Read more >>

Confusion over retirement funds remain
When it comes to investment products for retirement, the terminology has often confused investors and even intimidated them. Read more >>

IP Rights and Monopolies: The Due South Case
[Ilse Du Plessis] The North Gauteng High Court handed down an interesting trade mark judgement recently. This is interesting because it touched on the vexed issue of the relationship between intellectual property (IP) rights and competition law. And interesting because it did so within the context of another thorny issue, namely the extent to which a trade mark owner can prevent the use or registration of an identical or similar mark. Read more >>

Minister welcomes North Gauteng High Court decision
The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, has welcomed the decision of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to dismiss, with costs, the application brought by the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) and Circuit Fitment CC (CF CC). Read more >>

New CPA rules entitle a tenant to cancel a lease, but it can be costly
[Wayne Albutt] A fair amount of confusion and dismay has become evident among landlords and tenants following the promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), which, among other things, allows a tenant to cancel a lease immediately, no matter what the original agreement specified. This is on the condition that the CPA is deemed to apply to the lease with regards to supplier (landlord) and consumer (tenant) relationships and its relevance in terms of a lease, being a fixed-term agreement, accordingly. Read more >>

Competition Authorities examine transactions that increase likelihood of information exchange
On 23 January, 2013, the Competition Tribunal issued its reasons in the larger merger involving Absa Bank Limited (Absa) and the Private Label Store Card Portfolio of Edcon (Proprietary) Limited ("Edcon") under case number 70/LM/Jun12, in which the tribunal approved the transaction subject to conditions designed to minimise the potential for co-ordinated effects post-merger. Read more >>

Designs on exclusivity
[Theresa Wright] Law firm Adams & Adams is passionate about all things creative and more importantly the protection of that creativity. The firm is well-versed in championing the cause of the ingenious mind having worked with creatives across a broad spectrum of industry since 1904. Read more >>

Is your Facebook competition legal?
[Tyrone Middleton] A majority of businesses have or are considering using Facebook pages to promote their companies. Many of them resort to tactics such as bribery, encouraging users to 'like their page' in order to enter a competition or win a prize. The aim is to either stir up support or grow a larger fan base. All this is often done without the use of a third party application. Read more >>


Criminal Law

TNA - really pro-ANC?
[Rod Baker] NEWSWATCH: Rebecca Davis, writing in Daily Maverick, tries reading The New Age and asks whether it really is pro-ANC. Meanwhile, it appears there's no hassle for MTN after Lord Hoffman cleared the company over the Iran deal, reports Politics Web; mobile provider Turkcell and its subsidiary, East Asian Consortium (EAC), had lodged a claim against MTN. Read more >>


Labour Law

SANDF recruits allegedly abused
Allegations of recruits being abused at the Oudtshoorn Infantry School have emerged in a letter sent by a parent to the SA National Defence Force Union (Sandu), Beeld reported on Monday. Read more >>

Platmin charged over mining at Pilanesberg
An environmental organisation has laid criminal charges against mining group Platmin for operating an open cast mine on the doorstep of the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, Beeld reported on Monday. Read more >>

CCMA facilitation process in Amplats retrenchments postponed
The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) has postponed the planned facilitation process between itself, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and the respective unions around possible retrenchments. Read more >>

SAA strike drags on
The strike by the National Transport Movement (NTM) at South African Airways (SAA) will continue for a 12th day as the union verifies about 260 new membership forms with the assistance of a commissioner from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Read more >>


Law Practice

Survey finds declining confidence of SA attorneys in their own profession
Confidence levels among South African attorneys regarding their own profession declined towards the end of last year with fewer attorneys believing it would be an appropriate profession for their children, according to a survey conducted by PPS. Read more >>


International
Zimbabwe demands lower interest rates
[Tawanda Karombo] Three foreign-owned banks are facing increased pressure from authorities to comply with the empowerment policy and are among the top Zimbabwean banks that are adequately capitalised. Read more >>

Court suspends Peugeot job cuts
PARIS, FRANCE: A French appeal court has suspended a restructuring plan involving 8,000 job cuts at Peugeot Citroen after court action brought by the CGT union according to the lawyer acting for the workers Fiodor Rilov. Read more >>

More International...


Government
Minimum wage of R105 a day for farm workers
The new minimum wage for farm workers is R105 a day, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant announced on Monday (4 February). Read more >>

SA will miss digital TV conversion deadline
South Africa will miss the 2015 deadline to convert its analog broadcasting signal to digital, according to a report. Read more >>

More Government news...


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