Employer body says they want to return to negotiating table
CAPE TOWN - Thousands of National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) members embarked on a nationwide strike after they reached a deadlock with employer associations in engineering over wage increases.
Employees are calling for a 8% increase across the board for the first year, and CPI + 2% improvement factor for the second and third year. If CPI + 2% falls below 6%, Numsa said employers must offer 6% or re-open negotiations, to break the deadlock.
“Bosses in the engineering sector do not want to give anything back to workers. They selfishly benefited from the sacrifice which workers made last year, when a Standstill agreement was signed, and no increases were given, in order to cushion the industry against the ravages of the Covid-19 virus. Now that we are re-negotiating this year and it is time for them to give back, the bosses have conveniently forgotten about the painful sacrifices which workers and their families made for the engineering sector. They will not budge to make a meaningful offer,” Numsa said in a statement.
The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) said they had received Numsa’s memorandum and wanted to get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
Seifsa chief executive Lucio Trentini said: “The strike is regrettable, it is the last thing we need given the ravages of Covid-19 and a weak economy. The sooner we can get back to the negotiating table the better. No doubt, we have to engage one another and encourage compromise on both sides. The longer the strike continues the more difficult it is to end. The demands are unreasonable but we understand where they are coming from, it has been a difficult environment. We have offered 4.4%, there has to be movement on both sides because it will be limited and has to be carefully managed. The industry is under threat by foreign imports.”
He said they were hoping to meet with Numsa today or tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) said they were opposed to the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
“It is for every individual business to determine the levels of remuneration of its employees, based on its unique circumstances and financial ability. Neasa remains principally opposed to the centralised collective bargaining model of the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC), where mainly big businesses, and primarily Numsa, negotiate wage deals which they then attempt to extend to SMMEs operating under entirely different economic and operational circumstances throughout the country,” chief executive, Gerhard Papenfus said.
Cape Times