Share

Inside Labour: Jooste, Sun Met and union pickets

TRADE union pickets intend to confront the fashionistas and glitterati who turn up tomorrow for one of the premier events in the South African horse racing calendar, the Cape - now Sun - Met in Cape Town. For probably the first time in the 134-year history of this mink and manure fiesta, it will be targeted by the labour movement. 

The reason is Markus Jooste and the implosion of the Steinhoff International empire. For Jooste, the disgraced Steinhoff CEO, is one of the major figures in South Africa’s version of the sport of kings. And, according to the largest public sector union in the country, the Public Servants Association (PSA), his influence through “key horseracing interests” has resulted in the loss of up to 85 000 non-public sector jobs in the racing industry since 1997.

This in addition to what PSA general manager Ivan Fredericks says are “the life-changing financial losses suffered by thousands of workers” because of Steinhoff’s relative collapse. PSA deputy general manager Tahir Maepa estimates that the Government Employees Pension Fund lost up to R12bn. 

The “non-public sector jobs” relate to jobs in the racing and horse breeding sector. According to Maepa, there were 100 000 jobs in 1997 when Jooste’s Phumelela Gaming & Leisure, a limited company listed on the JSE, arrived on the scene.

By 2011, a Racing SA census listed 15 160 employees because of the number of racetracks sold and breeding farms closed.

Jooste's 'vice-like grip'

According to the union, one of the major reasons for this decline was the “vice-like grip” exercised on horse racing by Jooste through his Phumelela vehicle. Since it is estimated that Jooste owns and has in training more than 200 racehorses through his Mayfair Speculators company, now on the brink of apparent liquidation, he obviously has had a great deal of influence.

As a result, the PSA last month attempted to put pressure on the National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa (NHA) to act against Jooste and Mayfair. However, the NHA pointed out that Jooste had not been criminally charged, but that because of “media speculation” it had “requested clarity from Mayfair Speculators”. 

“Not good enough,” says the union. “And we don’t think it is right that Jooste should be able to flaunt his wealth at the Met when so many workers have suffered,” says Federation of Unions general secretary Dennis George. Whether Jooste will attend the Met is not known.

He and Fredericks last Friday led a PSA delegation to the Steinhoff headquarters in Stellenbosch, where they obtained documents relating to the financial and administrative dealings of the company.

When the PSA demanded “full disclosure” from the company last month, there was an attempt to fob the union off on the grounds that it was not a shareholder.

“But we got everything we wanted,” says Maepa. And some of the documents, he says, reveal that the government-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which administers public sector workers’ funds, “failed to play an oversight role in Steinhoff”.

This adds strength to the union’s demand that Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba conduct a transparent forensic audit of investments made by the PIC. Public sector workers are concerned that their pension money may also have been directed into “politically motivated” investments.

This successful move by the PSA came at the same time that the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and its general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, were justly commended for forcing the hand of the National Prosecuting Authority to act on fraud, theft, corruption and money laundering related to power utility Eskom and Transnet.

Late last year, Saftu threatened court action on these issues that involve the Gupta brothers and President Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane. The pressure apparently paid off. Saftu also let it be known that it was again preparing to go to court to have the Eskom board declared as delinquent when last week government acted.

These two instances reveal the important role unions can - and should - play to challenge a system that encourages rampant profiteering, and allows the rich and powerful to bribe and bully organs of the state to do their bidding.

WEF: a carnival of subtle bullying and bribing

It was good news, especially coming at a time when that annual carnival of subtle bullying and bribing, the World Economic Forum (WEF), got under way in the snowbound Swiss resort of Davos.

This yearly gathering of a private club comprising 1 000 of the world’s richest chief executives hosted all the usual suspects under the slogan: “Creating a shared future in a fractured world”. The implication that the toiling masses of the world have anything in common with 1 000 billionaire bosses reeks of hypocrisy.

The WEF sums up a reality the labour movement is slowly starting to deal with and the actions of Saftu and the PSA have provided a small beginning to what may one day become a democratic groundswell, a true “people's tsunami”.

However, there is still a very long way to go.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.90
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,016.25
+1.4%
Gold
2,220.89
+1.2%
Silver
24.88
+1.0%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders