The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) chastised employer body the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) yesterday for publicly communicating a wage offer to end the strike in the metals and engineering sector.
Numsa said this “hasty” decision had been taken without offering the union an opportunity to report back to its members, as was its right.
“This flies in the face of the union’s own democratic principles and processes to gain feedback and mandates from our members, the real custodians of the strike. We call on Seifsa to hold back and allow our members to reflect on the proposed settlement offer,” Castro Ngobese, the national spokesman for Numsa, said.
He said Numsa had held a special national executive committee meeting on Tuesday night, attended by office bearers, worker leaders from the nine regions and the national bargaining team.
The aim was to deliberate on the Department of Labour’s 10 percent wage increase proposal. He said the final decision would only be communicated once a mandate had been received from the members.
He said a special national executive committee meeting would be convened at an appropriate time to receive feedback and a renewed mandate.
“This is in line with our established traditions, as a worker-controlled, transparent and democratic union,” he said.
The strike has hit vehicle manufacturers because of industrial action at car parts manufacturers. Toyota has halted production, while Ford and General Motors have suspended some operations.
In contrast, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said in his budget vote speech the government would raise support to bolster the automotive and clothing and textile sectors over the next year.
He said support packages to the sector had yielded positive results and boosted the government’s industrialisation drive.
“Firstly, we see acceleration in the automotive sector where the Automotive Production Development Programme (ACDP) has already supported significant new investment,” Davies said. “Projected capital expenditure for 2014 is anticipated to reach a record level of R7.9bn.”
An early review would establish how the industry could achieve even greater growth.