For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: Solidarity files complaint with UN’s ILO over SA’s ‘racial abuses’; Health association takes legal action against NHI Act; And, Trump reinstates US travel ban, bars citizens of 12 countries

Solidarity files complaint with UN’s ILO over SA’s ‘racial abuses

Trade union Solidarity argued that government’s April publication of employment equity regulations and sectoral targets contradicted a 2023 settlement between the two parties, as it failed to acknowledge the need for a nuanced approach to implementing affirmative action.

Solidarity announced today that it had filed an urgent complaint with a UN agency regarding South African government’s breach of the terms of its agreement with Solidarity on race laws, calling on the International Labour Organisation to urgently intervene in the “racial abuses” in South Africa.

The settlement, ratified by a court order in 2023, agrees that AA must be applied in a nuanced way, that no absolute barrier to employment may be imposed on persons from any group and no terminations of employment may be effected as a consequence of AA.

Solidarity argues that the provisions of this agreement are not reflected in the regulations published by the Department of Employment and Labour in the April Government Gazette.

Solidarity’s deputy chief executive Anton van der Bijl said Solidarity had already charged Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth with contempt of court in relation to the court order, saying it would now also request intervention from the ILO to ensure that the settlement was honoured.

Health association takes legal action against NHI Act

The Health Funders Association has launched a legal challenge against key aspects of the National Health Insurance Act, citing the Act as “unaffordable, unworkable and unconstitutional”.

The Act was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year in May.

The association noted that while it supported the goal of universal health coverage, it believed that, in its current form and without private-sector collaboration, the NHI Act was “fiscally impossible and operationally unworkable, and threatened the stability of the economy and health system impacting everyone in South Africa”.

HFA CEO Thoneshan Naidoo said the organisation was taking the legal step not to delay progress, but to help ensure that national health reform was grounded in constitutional principles, financial realism, and patient choice.

The association said it will continue to advocate for a more inclusive, hybrid funding model that incorporates medical schemes in NHI, noting that such a model would expand access to care while protecting the rights of all South Africans.

And, Trump reinstates US travel ban, bars citizens of 12 countries

US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against "foreign terrorists" and other security threats.

The directive is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has also included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students and deport others.

The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA