Johannesburg - The Labour Court in Johannesburg will hear final arguments on Friday in an urgent application brought by the National Employers' Association of SA (Neasa) relating to a wage agreement.
Earlier this month, the court extended a court order preventing the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) from asking the labour minister to extend the July wage agreement in the sector.
This followed Neasa's urgent application to prevent the agreement - between the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa) and trade unions - being extended to parties or employers not party to it.
“Apart from the fact that the Seifsa/trade union agreement is detrimental to the metal industry, all attempts by the MEIBC thus far to extend it were illegal and unconstitutional,” Neasa chief executive Gerhard Papenfus said in a statement.
Neasa wanted the Labour Court to declare invalid the management committee appointed by the MEIBC's annual general meeting, and all decisions taken by the committee relating to the extension.
This followed a strike in the metals industry, which started on July 1 and lasted four weeks.
Seifsa signed the agreement on July 29, on behalf of the 24 federated associations and two associations which were still involved in internal mandating processes.
In terms of the three-year agreement, workers are to get increases of between eight and 10 percent in the first year, 7.5 percent and 10 percent in the second year, and seven to 10 percent in the third year.
Neasa announced it would lock-out union members who participated in the strike, because its demands had not been considered during the wage negotiations.
Neasa members wanted a standardised entry-level wage and a revamped exemptions policy.
It has offered an eight percent across-the-board salary increase.
In September, an application to the Labour Court by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA to declare Neasa's lock-out of employees illegal was dismissed with costs. - Sapa