Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) says it expects no disruptions to operations at King Shaka International Airport amid an impending four to five–day strike action by the KZN E-hailing Council.

The strike is scheduled to start on Monday, 16 September 2024.

“We would like to assure all travellers that contingency plans have been put in place to mitigate any disruptions to airport operations,” Acsa stated.

“To ensure a smooth travel experience, passengers are urged to allow for extra travel time. We also recommend use of the online check-in before departure.”

Acsa said other transport options, such as airport-accredited metered taxi operators, airport shuttles, car rentals, and public transport services, will still be available.

Although the strike action is set to take place at the airport, the KZN E-hailing Council has stated that its protest is against the app companies, namely Uber, Bolt, and inDrive.

The association is demanding higher prices and that the apps take lower commissions. It has also asked that the e-hailing platform providers ensure the safety of drivers and riders.

In a post on Wednesday, the association said that under the current pricing system, it is a struggle to make enough money to cover the high costs of maintenance, insurance, and stolen vehicle recovery tracking.

“We ask that we send a message to these apps that they can’t treat us like slaves,” the association stated.

“These apps will never respect us if we don’t work together to solve this issue.”

The issue of prices and commissions has been a long-standing dispute between e-hailing drivers and platform owners.

E-hailing drivers threatened a national shutdown last year over exactly the same issues.

Public Private Transport Association chairman Vhatuka Mbelengwa said at the time that drivers want regulations in the e-hailing industry.

“Let’s regulate the industry. Let’s ensure that people are making decent money. Let’s reduce the extremely high commission that Uber is taking away from drivers,” he said.

Uber faces severe challenges in South Africa, including cars in a dilapidated state, bad drivers, frequent cancelled trips, driver strikes, and passengers being attacked and robbed.

It has also become increasingly opaque. One example is when it started adding unexplained surcharges to certain airport trips.

On a trip to and from Lanseria Airport, a MyBroadband reader noticed they were charged a R10 surcharge fee on only one of the journey’s legs.

The surcharge was not shown in the initial price estimate for the trip and was deducted from the rider’s credit card after the fact.

Uber continued adding the surcharges despite Acsa and Lanseria stating that they don’t charge ride-hailing services like Uber to pick up or drop off customers.

“ACSA would like to emphasise that the fees for trips undertaken by riders with the various ride-hailing services are agreed upon between the two parties (passenger and e-hailing service),” the airports company stated.

“ACSA is in no way involved in setting e-hailing services’ fees and does not charge any additional fees or surcharges that are payable by e-hailing services for drop-offs and pick-ups at its airports.”

It added that while additional fees may apply for parking, as they would to all motorists, these are irrelevant to ride-hailing services.

“In short, ACSA would like to categorically state that there are no hidden or other surcharge fees that it levies against e-hailing service providers that would then need to be passed on to passengers.”

Lanseria echoed this statement, saying it doesn’t impose supplementary fees for e-hailing drivers regarding airport pick-ups and drop-offs.

“No surcharge is paid to the airport for any such services,” it added.

The short answer
No, Home Affairs may not refuse an application for a marriage certificate for a same sex marriage.
The whole question
I just want to enquire if Home Affairs can refuse an application for a same sex marriage?
I know officials can refuse to marry us but as far as I know they can’t refuse to do the application for a marriage certificate.
The long answer
Thank you for your email asking whether Home Affairs can refuse an application for a same sex marriage.
No, Home Affairs may not refuse an application for a marriage certificate for a same sex marriage. Heterosexual couples can be married under the Marriages Act of 1961, while both heterosexual and same sex partners can be married under the Civil Union Act of 2006. There is no difference in status between them.
There are reports of some Home Affairs officials continuing to block and obstruct the marriages of same sex couples, but this behaviour is against the law, specifically the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, which guarantees equal rights to everyone irrespective of sexual orientation.
To begin the process of getting married, you must register your intention to marry with Home Affairs and apply for a marriage certificate at least three months before you intend to get married. Home Affairs marriage forms are available on request and must be submitted with the following documents:
• ID’s for both partners
• Both passports if one partner is not South African
• A completed form which declares that there is no legal impediment to your marriage. (This form is also available from Home Affairs offices.)
• Official divorce decree, stamped by the court, if one partner has previously been married
• A death certificate, if one partner has been widowed.
421 out of a total of 1,130 Home Affairs marriage officers have been exempted from having to perform same sex marriages under Section 6 of the Civil Union Act, but this will come to an end in 24 months time.
This is because a Private Member’s Bill by Deidre Carter of the Congress of the People (COPE) was passed in December 2018 to repeal Section 6

A surprise inspection at a Pretoria restaurant resulted in the arrest of two foreign national employees who allegedly did not have documentation to be in the country. (Alex Mitchley/News24) • The Department of Labour has conducted a `blitz` inspection at a restaurant in Menlyn. • The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. • One of the restaurant owners dismissed the allegations. The Department of Labour conducted a `blitz` inspection at a restaurant in Menlyn in Pretoria on Sunday night following a complaint about the flouting of labour practices. The inspection followed a complaint by a former employee on social media, who said she had to buy her own uniform and did not have a basic salary. Acting director-general of the Department of Employment and Labour Viwe Mlenzana said they had also received complaints of employees being mistreated and that undocumented foreign nationals were being employed. With the help of the Hawks and immigration officials, the labour department descended on the luxurious Babel restaurant just before 19:00. While labour department officials started checking for compliance, immigration officials moved the employees to the back to check their documentation. The provincial head of home affairs in Gauteng, Albert Matsaung, said officials would check if any of the employees were foreign nationals, and if so, whether they were legally in the country. Matsaung said two employees at the restaurant had been arrested as they did not have the requisite documentation to be in the country. However, the restaurant`s legal advisor, Anniela Maree, who was at the scene, said one of the detained employees had applied for asylum. One of the owners, who identified himself only as Rani, said he employed 70 South Africans, and that the one undocumented foreign national hired by a manager was an unfortunate mistake. Rani was also detained, and would be charged with employing an undocumented foreign national, Matsaung said. Meanwhile, Mlenzana said they had only picked up one contravention at the restaurant, a structural issue that would have to be corrected before the establishment could operate again. Acting director-general of the Department of Employment and Labour Viwe Mlenzana said they had also received complaints of employees being mistreated and that undocumented foreign nationals were being employed. (Alex Mitchley/News24) The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. (Alex Mitchley/News24) Acting director-general of the Department of Employment and Labour Viwe Mlenzana said they had also received complaints of employees being mistreated and that undocumented foreign nationals were being employed. (Alex Mitchley/News24) The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. (Alex Mitchley/News24) Rani said that while he had been in business for more than two decades, Babel had only just been opened. He added that they followed the laws diligently, but that as humans, it was possible to make a mistake. On the social media video, Rani said the former employee was disgruntled because she needed more training, but didn`t like it and left. He rubbished the allegations made against the restaurant that employees were mistreated and said his staff members were well paid. `Social media can make you popular and be very cruel at the same time,` Rani added

BEIJING - China said it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population.
Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically.
The national population fell in 2023 for the second year in a row, with policymakers warning of potentially severe impacts on the economy, healthcare and social welfare systems if action is not taken.
China's retirement age had not been raised for decades and had been among the lowest in the world.
"The statutory retirement age for male workers will be gradually extended from the original 60 years to 63 years," a decision by Beijing officials shared by Xinhua said.
For women workers the retirement age will be extended "from the original 50 or 55 years to 55 and 58 years, respectively", depending on the type of job.
The retirement age will begin to be gradually raised over 15 years from 2025, state media said.
"Starting 2030, the minimum year of basic pension contributions required to receive monthly benefits will be gradually raised from 15 years to 20 years at the pace of an increase of six months annually," Xinhua said.
The new rules will also allow Chinese people "to postpone retirement to an even later date if they reach an agreement with employers", it added.
The move was based on a "comprehensive assessment of the average life expectancy, health conditions, the population structure, the level of education and workforce supply in China", state media said.

- 'An inevitable choice' -
An expert told AFP that "demographic change" was likely the key factor behind the decision.
"The central government first proposed changing the retirement age in 2013, and there has been a lot of social discussion in the decade since," said Li Changan, a labour economist at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
"I think many people are mentally prepared for the announcement."
And prior to Friday's announcement, state media had published articles touting the proposed retirement age.
"This reform will adapt to the objective situation of our country's widespread increase in life expectancy and years of education," an article in the People's Daily newspaper said this week.
It will also "raise the efficiency of the development and utilisation of human resources," the article in the Communist Party-run outlet said.
Mo Rong, director of the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, told the People's Daily that raising the retirement age "is an inevitable choice for our country to adapt to the new normal of population development".
Chinese internet users flocked to social media to discuss the announcement, where related hashtags on the Weibo platform racked up well over 200 million views in less than an hour.
But government censors appeared to scrub many posts from the site -- a common occurrence in a country where open discussions of national policy are often deemed sensitive.
Many responses to posts by state-run media accounts on Friday afternoon said simply, "Got it" or "It's official".
But some hinted obliquely at dismay with the decision, with one user quipping: "As long as we still get to choose whether or not we actually retire, I have no objections".
Others bemoaned a perceived lack of clarity over how much longer those born in the 1990s and 2000s would have to work compared to preceding generations.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Kenya's President William Ruto signed the deal in Berlin
Germany has agreed to open the doors to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers in a controlled and targeted labour migration deal.
Kenya is struggling with increasing difficulties in providing work and sufficient income for its young professionals, while Germany is facing a shortage of skilled labour.
Five Kenyan bus drivers have already been welcomed to Flensburg, in the north of Germany, in a pilot project.
Migration agreements are a central pillar in the German government's efforts to curb immigration.
The agreement will also simplify the repatriation of Kenyans who are in Germany without legal permission.
Immigration is a huge issue in Germany at the moment, following the rise in popularity of the far-right anti-immigration party, Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Successive governments in Berlin have allowed relatively large numbers of asylum seekers to settle in the country in recent years.
Germany took in more than one million people, mostly fleeing war in countries such as Syria, during the 2015-2016 migrant crisis, and has received 1.2 million Ukrainians since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The labour deal was signed in Berlin by Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kenya's President William Ruto.
Germany agreed to ease some of its immigration laws to enable Kenyans to find employment in Europe's biggest economy.
Authorities in Berlin will also consider extending temporary residence permits for Kenyan workers who have secured an approved job.
Kenyans will also be issued with long-term visas to study or do vocational training in Germany.
"On the expiry of the long-stay visa, Kenyans may receive a temporary residence permit for study purposes in Germany for up to two years," the agreement states.
The temporary residence permit may be extended if the purpose of residence has not yet been achieved but is achievable within a "reasonable" period, it adds.
According to the deal, IT specialists from Kenya will be allowed to enter and work in Germany, even if they do not have formal qualifications.
Both governments will support the immigration of skilled workers who have finished vocational training or earned a university degree, as long as their qualifications are recognised by the relevant authorities of the other party.
The European country needs more nurses but critics say it should not deprive Kenya of much-needed medical professionals
The deal also includes provisions for the readmission and return of citizens between the two nations.
It spells out guidelines to prevent and fight against labour exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking.
While welcoming five Kenyan drivers in Flensburg on Thursday, Schleswig-Holstein's Transport Minister Claus Ruhe Madsen said Germany was in need of hard-working hands and clever minds.
"We simply have to position ourselves in Germany in such a way that it is attractive to come here," Mr Madsen added.
The drivers are the first batch of Kenyan workers, who will be trained by the Aktiv bus company in a pilot project, hoping to get a job in Germany.
Doctors, nurses and teachers are among those expected to take part in the programme.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said the deal was expected to significantly increase access to decent foreign jobs for Kenyan workers in Germany and address labour shortages in Germany.
"It includes mechanisms to protect the rights and welfare of Kenyan migrant workers in Germany, ensuring safe, orderly, and productive migration," ILO added in a statement.
But there are concerns about a brain-drain in Kenya with professionals like doctors and nurses going abroad for jobs, leaving local hospitals with a huge shortage of medical workers.
"It is sad that we are going to service other countries at the expense of our own country," Ekuru Aukot, a Kenyan lawyer and politician, told the BBC's Newsday programme.
But Roseline Njogu, a senior foreign affairs official, said Kenya was simply responding to the global labour market demands.
"We have a youth bulge in Kenya and every year we have a million people joining the local labour market. It takes time and resources to create job opportunities at home," she added.