15 May 2012

Legal

 

Employers, employees, and social media

According to Johan Botes, director in the employment practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr business law firm, an employer may be able to fire an employee who has slagged off the company, or an individual or two, on some social media platform. However, employers might be on shaky ground if they demand from an employee, or an applicant for employment, their personal, private usernames and passwords.

So, employers need to be aware that legislation protects employees against social media prying, and issues in that area need to be handled with great care.

Back in 2010, the DA awarded a tender to advertising agency TBWA/Hunt Lascaris to centralise communications. Questions were raised about the deal, and now Theunis Botha, leader of the Christian Democratic party, says Western Cape premier Helen Zille must resign after the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found the tender award to be provisionally invalid.

In a boost for manufacturing, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies will today be launching a R5.8bn manufacturing competitiveness enhancement program (MCEP). The program is aimed at addressing the South African manufacturing industry's ability to compete against imports and against its competitors for other export markets.

Here are two trick questions for you: What have the BRICS members got in common? Answer: coastlines. Which is the odd man out? Answer: us - because we're the only member of BRICS that does not have a merchant fleet.

In fact, we don't even have a single ship... not one... to carry our imports and exports - and it's costing this country billions every year to use foreign-owned ships to carry goods to and from SA.

Henrie Geyser, our Obelix in the driver's seat, unleashes his inner Frenchman and waxes romantic over the new Citroën DS5, which he reckons might have a little German influence and is the kind of car that demands a second look. And a third.

Rod Baker, content director

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Top stories


Editorial news

Legal


Mbombela name-change row heads to high court
Citizens have been asked to donate money towards the legal battle to change the name of the province's capital city back to Nelspruit, who was officially renamed Mbombela on October 16, 2009, The New Age reports. Read more >>

Commercial Law


DuPont to appeal Competition Tribunal's Pannar decision
According to Business Day, the multinational company DuPont has filed papers with the Competition Appeal Court in a bid to overturn a decision by the Competition Tribunal to disallow a merger between its US-based subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International and local company Pannar Seed. The tribunal said it disallowed the merger in order to protect South Africa's seed industry from being dominated by two international organisations, the other being Monsanto. Read more >>

Criminal Law


SANEF comments on proposed POIB changes
The SA National Editors' Forum (SANEF) has issued a brief preliminary statement on changes proposed to the Protection of State Information Bill. Read more >>

POIB: ANC seeing sense?
NEWSWATCH: You see? It does pay to make a noise... According to reports in Times Live and IOL, the governing party has bowed to pressure from a whole range of groups and individuals and proposed a raft of changes to the contentious bill. Meanwhile, the Sunday Independent has been ordered to print an apology to Julius Malema for some inaccurate reporting, and Times Live reports that, thanks to smartphones, our use of the internet has risen. Read more >>

Zim exiles threaten to take the Hawks to The Hague
Times Live reports that Johannesburg-based Zimbabwe Exile Forum have threatened to refer several members of the Hawks to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for crimes against humanity, if they are not brought to justice in South Africa. Read more >>

Rhino CSI, a South African reality
High tech has been brought in to hammer rhino poachers... Composed and gently spoken, veterinarian and genetics specialist, Dr Cindy Harper, tells the extraordinary story of RhODIS: South Africa's two-year-old rhino DNA index system that was first believed to be an impossible project, but is now playing a major role in prosecuting rhino poachers through forensic DNA testing. Read more >>

Last round for Simelane in ConCourt
The Constitutional Court will hear an application today on whether the appointment of Menzi Simelane as the country's chief prosecutor was valid. Read more >>

Labour Law


ConCourt to rule on strike notices
The Constitutional Court will hear on Thursday, 10 May 2012, whether the Labour Relations Act (LRA) requires every employee who goes on strike to give notice to the employer beforehand, Fin24.com reports. Read more >>

Legislation protects employee against social media prying
South African employees can take comfort in protection offered by our labour legislation should their employers ask them for their social media user names and profiles as has been happening in the United States. Read more >>

'Ethical wine seal' shows labour rights support
According to Business Day, wine producers and trade unions gave their support to a programme encouraging fair labour practices on wine farms, after a damning Human Rights Watch report exposed incidents of exploitation of Western Cape workers. Read more >>


Government
Zille must resign over communications tender: CDP
DA leader Helen Zille must resign after a communications tender was provisionally found to be invalid by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, the Christian Democratic Party said yesterday. Read more >>

Home Affairs intensifies efforts to stamp out duplicate IDs
The Department of Home Affairs will this week intensify its campaign to eradicate more than 29 000 duplicate identity documents. Read more >>

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