Johannesburg - Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant is studying a Labour Court decision on a metal industry labour agreement, her spokesman said on Friday.
“She will study the judgment and respond appropriately in due course,” Mokgadi Pela said in a statement.
On Thursday, the Labour Court in Johannesburg set aside the 2011-2014 metal sector wage agreement, following Neasa's filing of an urgent notice to appeal the agreement's extension until 2017.
The National Employers' Association of SA (Neasa) contended the agreement was illegal and displayed “administrative incompetence”.
The 2011-2014 wage deal was the result of an agreement between the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa) and trade unions.
The labour minister then extended that agreement to employers, like Neasa, not party to the agreement.
Neasa lost a court application on December 1, which formed part of its bid to stop the extension of a wage agreement to other unions.
In terms of the three-year agreement workers would get increases of between eight and 10 percent in the first year, 7.5 to 10
percent in the second year, and seven to 10 percent in the third year.
Neasa members want a standardised entry-level wage and a revamped exemptions policy. It offered an eight percent across-the-board salary.
On Friday, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and Neasa blamed each other for trouble in the sector.
Neasa said in a statement that the Numsa/Seifsa alliance had led to the decline of the metal industry.
Numsa deputy general secretary Karl Cloete said Neasa had to take responsibility for the collapse of industrial relations. - Sapa