A national strike may be on the cards for the metal and engineering industry after three rounds of wage negotiations have reached a deadlock.

National Employers’ Association of South Africa (NEASA) Chief Executive Gerhard Papenfus announced that no progress has been made during negotiations and a national strike is likely to commence in July if a consensus is not reached.

“During the month of June negotiating employers will do everything in their power to reach a common position with the unions, without further compromising the sustainability of the industry,” said Papenfus.

According to NEASA, the metal and engineering industry is already at least 30% more expensive than other industries in which collective bargaining arrangements exist, and up to 60% more expensive than industries covered by sectoral determinations issued by the Minister of Labour.

The metal and engineering industry has become completely uncompetitive, resulting in the loss of more than 250 000 jobs just over the last five years, said Papenfus. “We are competing in a global environment and unless we drastically adapt the cost structure of the metal and engineering industry, manufacturers in this industry will eventually become extinct.”

NEASA has pointed out that the current dispensation forces employers to mechanise or export manufacturing elsewhere. Unless this industry is totally revamped, employers will become distributors of goods manufactured abroad – something which South Africa can’t afford.