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Mr Sweet workers picketed outside the Department of Labour’s office in Germiston during their 11-week strike. Archive photo: Kimberly Mutandiro / GroundUp

Labour Law & Unions

Mister Sweet workers face disciplinary hearings for strike

Kimberly Mutandiro 2 days

Image source: rawpixel –

Higher Education

Universities must teach students what freedom is – a South African course is trying to do just that

Pedro Tabensky 3 days

Eight months after publishing its last report, the Office of the Chief Justice has finally released the new list of reserved judgments. The High Court in Pretoria had the highest number of late judgments, with 59 matters outstanding for longer than six months. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Law Practice

Hundreds of court judgments are late

Marecia Damons 3 days

Blind and visually impaired people have the right to convert protected works to accessible formats without having to obtain permission, the Constitutional Court has ruled. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

IP Law

Blind people can access copyrighted works, rules Concourt - again

Tania Broughton 17 Dec 2024

Media

‘News influencers’ are racking up billions of views – and not checking their facts

Kelly Fincham 13 Dec 2024

African Penguins (photographed above at the Boulders penguin colony) are critically endangered. Photo: John Yeld/GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Legal delays threaten survival of African Penguins, say conservation groups

John Yeld 12 Dec 2024

Image source: Md Mudassir Hossain from

Circular Economy & Waste Management

5 fairness flaws the UN’s new plastics treaty must change

Anna Barford and Jakob T. Pruess 9 Dec 2024

Adam Harrower from the South African National Botanical Institute and Karel du Toit who was head of the SAPS Springbok Stock Theft and Endangered Species Unit appear in the dock at the regional court in Springbok on Tuesday. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Plant poaching fraud case to be heard in March

Liezl Human 5 Dec 2024

Source: Pexels.

Healthcare

HIV: there’s hope for a cure – where we stand now

3 Dec 2024

Image source: Yogendra Singh from

Circular Economy & Waste Management

‘Forever chemicals’ are polluting African waters: Lake Victoria, SA’s Vaal and Kenya’s Nairobi rivers are hotspots

Patrick Ssebugere, Ashirafu Miiro, and Nelson Odume 3 Dec 2024

People waiting in long lines outside the VFS Global office in Cape Town on Thursday. On Friday morning, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber extended the validity of the original Zimbabwe Exemption Permit to November 2025. Photo: Matthew Hirsch / GroundUp

Immigration & Citizenship Law

Last minute reprieve for Zimbabwe Exemption Permit holders

Matthew Hirsch and Joseph Chirume 29 Nov 2024

Four years after the landmark Concourt Mahalangu ruling, domestic workers are still unable to access compensation. Archive photo: Bernard Chiguvare / GroundUp

Labour Law & Unions

Union criticises employers for not registering domestic workers with UIF. But it’s not so simple

Kimberly Mutandiro and GroundUp Staff 26 Nov 2024

Volkswagen: the end of a German industrial myth?

Dealers

Volkswagen: the end of a German industrial myth?

Frédéric Fréry 22 Nov 2024

A protest organised by the Simunye Workers Forum in 2021. The Labour Appeal Court is to hear an appeal against a ruling that the forum be registered as a trade union. Archive photo: Kimberly Mutandiro / GroundUp

Labour Law

Crucial court battle over future of “new” trade unions

Tania Broughton 21 Nov 2024

The City of Cape Town has been releasing more sewage into the ocean from its Hout Bay marine outfall than its discharge permit allows. But following appeals over the granting of the permit, and a criminal case being laid against the City, environmental minister Dion George has lifted restrictions on the quantity of sewage it is allowed to discharge. Archive photo: Steve Kretzmann / GroundUp

Circular Economy & Waste Management

Cape Town may pump as much sewage into the sea as it likes

Steve Kretzmann 19 Nov 2024

Wage inequality in top ten South African retailers. Graphic: using data from

Remuneration & Payroll

Why wage inequality matters

Kwanele Ngogela and Mathieu Dasnois 15 Nov 2024

Advertising

When ads shock: subtle ways that disgust can shape our buying habits

L.J. Shrum and Elena Fumagalli 15 Nov 2024

The Supreme Court of Appeal has slammed former judge president John Hlophe for meddling in a straightforward eviction case. Photo: Ben Bezuidenhout via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Land & Property Law

John Hlophe’s meddling in eviction matter slammed by appeal court

Tania Broughton 13 Nov 2024

Postbank has started introducing a new Black Card for Sassa beneficiaries. The current Gold Cards were set to expire on 31 December, but Postbank has assured grant recipients that they will be able to access their money into the new year. Photo supplied by Sassa

Health & Welfare

Sassa Gold Cards will remain valid, says Postbank, as deadline looms

Marecia Damons 12 Nov 2024

Workers on strike at Premier’s Mister Sweet factory picketed outside the Department of Labour’s office in Germiston last month to demand a report following an inspection by an official. Archive photo: Kimberly Mutandiro / GroundUp

Occupational Health & Safety

Injured Mister Sweet workers yet to be compensated

Kimberly Mutandiro 11 Nov 2024

South Africa’s classrooms should have a ‘box’ of languages to help children learn: new bilingual education policy is a start

Primary & Secondary Education

South Africa’s classrooms should have a ‘box’ of languages to help children learn: new bilingual education policy is a start

Russell H. Kaschula, Mbali Sunrise Dhlamini 8 Nov 2024

Electric vehicles in Africa: what’s needed to grow the sector

Logistics & Transport

Electric vehicles in Africa: what’s needed to grow the sector

MJ (Thinus) Booysen and Joubert Van Eeden 8 Nov 2024

Fishers in Port Nolloth are opposing TotalEnergies’ bid to explore for gas and oil off the West Coast. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Court bid to block TotalEnergies gas project off West Coast

7 Nov 2024

Climate Change

African countries shouldn’t have to borrow money to fix climate damage they never caused – economist

Carlos Lopes 6 Nov 2024

The Department of Employment and Labour has closed its office in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria, due to safety and security concerns. Photo: Warren Mabona / GroundUp

HR & Management

Mamelodi residents struggle to claim UIF as labour office closed

Warren Mabona 5 Nov 2024

Publishing

African publishing is being revolutionised – report explores trends in 6 countries

Tinashe Mushakavanhu 5 Nov 2024

The 11-week strike at the Mister Sweet plant in Germiston has ended. Archive photo: Kimberly Mutandiro / GroundUp

Labour Law & Unions

Mister Sweet strike ends: Workers to return to work next week

Kimberly Mutandiro 4 Nov 2024

Image source: skigh_tv from

Climate Change

Polluters must pay: How COP29 can make this a reality

Llewellyn Leonard 4 Nov 2024

COP29: AI can help develop climate-resistant crops for Africa – but it shouldn’t be left in the hands of corporates

Agriculture

COP29: AI can help develop climate-resistant crops for Africa – but it shouldn’t be left in the hands of corporates

Muhammad Nakhooda 4 Nov 2024

Community health workers, supported by Nehawu, picketed outside the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Photo: Silver Sibiya/GroundUp

Labour Law & Unions

Community health workers picket outside Labour Court

Silver Sibiya 30 Oct 2024

Activists from the Vaal region protested outside the Department of Mineral Resources in Pretoria against Glubay’s proposed mine. Residents are concerned about water, soil and air pollution from the proposed mine. Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee / GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Opposition to open cast coal mining in Midvaal

Ihsaan Haffejee 29 Oct 2024

Striking workers gather outside the Mister Sweet factory in Germiston. Photo: Kimberly Mutandiro / GroundUp

Occupational Health & Safety

Another worker loses a finger at Mister Sweet

Kimberly Mutandiro 28 Oct 2024

Marketing

Dispatch from Pennsylvania: How marketing affects swing voters as US election looms

Dave Bussiere 28 Oct 2024

The Constitutional Court will hear two applications relating to copyright in South Africa that affect the rights of blind people. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks / GroundUp

Legislation

ConCourt showdown on copyright bill

Tania Broughton 23 Oct 2024

African Penguins at Boulders Beach in Cape Town. Archive photo: Ihsaan Haffejee / GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Talks on penguin litigation fail to break deadlock

John Yeld 22 Oct 2024

Flags indicate how many trees each donor country has planted. Jeremy Allouche,

Climate Change

Africa’s Great Green Wall will only combat desertification and poverty by harnessing local solutions

Jeremy Allouche and Élie Pédarros 18 Oct 2024

The Legal Services Ombud has castigated the Legal Practice Council for failing to act in the public interest and worse by contributing to an injustice. Photo: Brian Turner via (CC BY 2.0)

Law Practice

Ombud lambasts Legal Practice Council

Tony Beamish 17 Oct 2024

The Wits Rhisotope project involves inserting low levels of radioisotopes into the horns of living rhinos to make the horns traceable. Archive photo: Michael Lorentz / GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Using radiation to stop the traffic of rhino horns

Neil Thomas Stacey 16 Oct 2024

Image source: Alexander Dummer from

ESG & Sustainability

Madagascar’s mining rush has caused no more deforestation than farming – new study

Katie Devenish 8 Oct 2024

For more than six weeks the Unemployment Insurance Fund online service has been down. Image: GroundUp

HR Tools & Software

After six weeks UIF online system still down

Mary-Anne Gontsana 4 Oct 2024

Image source: Balazs Simon from

Climate Change

Africa’s famous Serengeti and Maasai Mara are being hit by climate change – a major threat to wildlife and tourism

Joseph Ogutu 4 Oct 2024

More than 17 million people applied for the R370 grant in September

Health & Welfare

More than 17 million people applied for the R370 grant in September

Marecia Damons 3 Oct 2024

While warmer weather might seem beneficial for crops like grapes, which can thrive in higher temperatures, the implications are more complex. Archive photo supplied.

Climate Change

How climate change threatens South Africa’s wine industry

Cole Potgieter, Aisling de Lange and Neil Thomas Stacey 2 Oct 2024

Media

From darkness to light: Changing media narratives about Africa

J Siguru Wahutu and David Cheruiyot 2 Oct 2024

African Penguins at Boulders Beach in Cape Town. Archive photo: Ihsaan Haffejee / GroundUp

Environment & Natural Resources

Former environment minister Creecy under fire from penguin conservation groups

John Yeld 1 Oct 2024

Starting a business after university: young South African entrepreneurs discuss the highs and lows

Entrepreneurship

Starting a business after university: young South African entrepreneurs discuss the highs and lows

Willie Tafadzwa Chinyamurindi 30 Sep 2024

South Africa has a new education law: some love it, some hate it – education expert explains why

Primary & Secondary Education

South Africa has a new education law: some love it, some hate it – education expert explains why

Wayne Hugo 26 Sep 2024