Cosatu is threatening mass action if the Labour Court rules next month that a wage deal signed in the metal and engineering sector cannot be extended to all employers.
Cosatu spokesman Patrick Craven said yesterday that the federation would down tools and it would also consider lodging a complaint at the International Labour Organisation if the extension was dismissed.
The National Employers’ Association of SA (Neasa) approached the court to stop the Metal and Engineering Bargaining Council from asking Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant to extend the wage deal to all parties, as legally required.
While unions and the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) agreed to a 10 percent pay hike, Neasa said it would only pay 8 percent.
The council believes it has enough numbers on its side without Neasa to have the agreement extended to all employers.
But Neasa argues that the number of firms represented in Seifsa is far below what is defined in the Labour Relations Act as representative of the entire sector.
Neasa argues that Seifsa cannot sign the wage deal as it is a federation of employer groups, and not an employer group itself, which is not allowed in the council’s constitution.
Neasa stands a good chance of winning the court case.
It previously took a similar matter to court and was successful.
Also a legal attempt by the National Union of Metalworkers of SA, a Cosatu affiliate, to stop Neasa from locking out its members who did not want to accept an 8 percent raise failed.
But Cosatu stands firm, saying if necessary the laws must change because a ruling in favour of Neasa will hurt collective bargaining and the hard-won rights of labour.
Neasa is being backed by the Free Market Foundation (FMF) which believes it is unconstitutional for Oliphant to extend bargaining council collective agreements to non-party employers.
“The federation repeats its call for all its members, and the tripartite alliance, to reject this attack on our worker rights. If the courts uphold Neasa’s and/or the FMF’s interpretation of the law, then the law must be changed to bring it into line with section 23 of the bill of rights,” Craven said.
Section 23 says that every trade union, employers’ organisation and employer has the right to engage in collective bargaining.
Cosatu and Numsa fear that if the court rules in Neasa’s favour, employers could cut wages to well below those set in bargaining councils.
“It will lead to a free-for-all, where employers can pay whatever wages they can get away with. It will… lead to a race to the bottom, as firms compete to cut their labour costs, ending with starvation wages, no protection of workers’ human rights and naked exploitation across the sector,” Craven said.
The Labour Court will hear full arguments on November 4 on whether the interdict it granted Neasa last week should become permanent.