Category: Forums
LOCAL BUSINESS GETS ITS OWN SERVICES FORUM – BRAKPAN
“The Eastern Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EGCCI) has a long standing history of successfully serving business and industry in Brakpan, Springs and Nigel.
The President of the EGCCI, Mrs Mary Reynolds recently hosted a business breakfast in Brakpan with the purpose of launching the Brakpan Metro/Business Services Forum.
She informed Brakpan business that the Chamber has established a relationship with the Brakpan Customer Care Centre Manager and said that this Forum will meet with the Customer Relations Manager, Rev Rebotile Motau, together with Heads of Departments to lobby and discuss service delivery problems as well as maintenance of infrastructure .
Reynolds further said that the Springs Forum was established two years ago and is successfully contributing towards a better relationship with the Springs Manager. Reynolds stressed that this Forum is beneficial to the businesses because of the direct link that the Chamber has with the management of the Metro.
The MMC for Transport, Clr Petrus Mabunda in his address congratulated the President of the EGCCI on this initiative and expressed his desire that this forum will forge stronger ties with the Metro and improve service delivery overall.
Mary Reynolds introduced Frans Landman, L-Jennett Pharmacy and Lulu Moutafis, JCJ Sweets who are serving on the Chamber’s Executive Committee, representing Brakpan business.
Reynolds encouraged Brakpan business to strongly consider becoming members of the Chamber as the more members we have, the stronger our influence will be when representing business at Local and Regional Government”
Photo:
From left to right: Lulu Moutafis, Rev Rebotile Motau, MMC Clr Petrus Mabunda, Frans Landman
STATEMENT ON THE MINIBUS TAXI PROTEST
Minibus taxi drivers today staged a protest on all major Gauteng routes from the early hours of the morning. This created unprecedented chaos and disruption to the daily commute of all Gauteng commuters.
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) condemns the action.........
Possible NUMSA strike discussed
The Eastern Gauteng Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a meeting on Friday with several companies in Springs on the possibility of a National Union of Metalworkers South Africa (Numsa) strike.
This is due to the end of the three-year cycle in which Numsa’s terms are negotiated.
The last negotiations took place in 2014.
Mike du Toit, chairman of the Springs CPF, started off the meeting by talking about the advantages of instigating a WhatsApp group between all the affected businesses in Springs.
Referring to the 2014 negotiations and strike action, the company representatives all agreed that the WhatsApp group had a positive effect and led to instant communications between the affected parties.
Du Toit says Numsa might agree on eight per cent, but negotiations haven’t started yet.
“In the past, the strike actions usually started in the first week of July – after negotiations if no agreement could be reached.”
If there is to be a strike this year, the companies predict that it may occur on July 3.
“There is no certainty to this at all,” says du Toit.
The companies agreed they need to be well prepared and take preventative action.
Col Doctor Mthimkulu, Visible Policing Commander, says their resources are limited from the station’s side.
“The stress of manpower will affect our resources,” he says.
“If we have enough manpower, we can make arrests if needed.”
The companies discussed the need for a follow-up meeting closer to the time when they have more information regarding Numsa negotiations.
Gerhard Grové says he feels Springs was up to speed and one step ahead of the strikers in the past.
“If we can repeat that, we should be fine.”
The companies also claim the general consensus among their employees is they do not want to take part in strike action.
In 2014, Springs wasn’t exposed to the violent strike action which other towns experienced.
Company representatives complimented the police on their visibility in 2014, saying there was plenty of police presence.
Col Mthimkulu says there are two issues to prevent violent action.
“If the protests get violent, we need to act and we have the necessary equipment to intervene.
“We also have to identify the culprits and react accordingly.”
The company representatives also agreed communication with their staff is vital in this matter and they would like to communicate with their employees throughout the negotiation and possible strike period.
CPF Contact details 2017
Forum – Helping companies with environmental compliance
Environmental Forum
Chamber members from industry are invited to join the Environmental Forum, which meets monthly. Meetings are held to assist industry and smaller companies with environmental compliance. The Ekurhuleni Metro representatives regularly attend the meetings. The Forum attendees and the Metro officials have built a good relationship in that all are informed of the regulatory processes and have open communication channels with the people that review and issue licenses.
From the Forum discussions it is evident that the ever changing legal climate is placing increasing pressure on companies to comply. The cost of compliance and increasing demands on environmental professionals to manage compliance at their respective workplaces were also highlighted. Businesses across the Ekurhuleni are encouraged to attend these meetings seeing that compliance affects us all and no one should be caught unaware of the requirements.
Industry Safety Forum
Industry Safety Forum
Chamber members from industry are invited to join the Industrial Safety Forum, which meets monthly. Meetings are held to assist industry and smaller companies with safety compliance to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHAct). Recent topics included incident management, contractor management and professional professional registration of safety practitioners. Presentations by specialists and institutes are organized when required, as well as site visits to different industries. Chamber members are encouraged to attend the the forums so that they may contribute and improve their own safety systems.