The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) will convene a national meeting to determine the way forward on the future of wage negotiations in the engineering sector.

The Numsa Central Committee met from 24 to 28 of July in Johannesburg to discuss several issues, including the looming strike in the engineering sector. The meeting was attended by the national office bearers, regional office bearers and officials from Numsa’s nine regions.

“As a worker driven trade union, we resolved to take the full debate about the status of the current negotiations, including the possibility of a strike to regional shop steward councils and general meetings. Any way forward will be determined by our members,” the union said in a statement.

Looming strike

Numsa has been in wage negotiations with employers in the engineering sector for over a month.

Having rejected a proposed 5.3% wage hike offer in demand of a 15% increase, around 140 000 workers in the engineering sector have threatened to down tools.

A deadlocked with employers was reached on 15 June because Numsa argued the employers put proposals on the table which would worsen the living and working conditions of its members.

“We declared a dispute purely because we strongly believe that we have exhausted all possible avenues for employers to concede to our demands, as mandated by our members. After four dispute meetings we still could not agree. It is quite evident that the employers are imposing a strike onto us. Employers have forced us into this undesirable position because of the absurd offer which they have placed on the table. As Numsa, the strike was never on our agenda, purely because our core demands are affordable,” Numsa said in a statement.

In the event of a strike key sectors including machinery and equipment, automotive components, electrical engineering, basic metals, heavy and light engineering, and construction engineering companies will all be heavily affected.

The demands

Numsa has made the following demands:

1. A 15% wage increase across the board based on the actual rate which a worker is earning, not on the minimum
2. A two-year agreement during which all outstanding issues must be finalised
3. The current agreement to be extended, except in relation to wages
4. The MEIBC Main Collective Agreement be extended to all parties and non-parties. Employers agree to the MEIBC Main Collective Agreement being extended to all employers and employees falling within the jurisdiction of the MEIBC Bargaining Council and, that it be made legally binding on all employers who are not members of an employer organisation. It must also be made binding on scheduled employees who are not members of one of the trade unions cited as signatories to the Settlement Agreement
5. The agreement must be to be backdated, effective 1 July 2017

 

According to Numsa, employers have made the following demands:

1. A 5.3% wage increase on actuals, and 5.5% on minimums
2. For the second and third year of the agreement, a wage increase of 4% if the CPI is less than 4%, otherwise a maximum of 8% if the CPI is higher than 8%
3. A minimum rate of R20 per hour for new entrants to the sector
4. The introduction of area rates where workers in outlying areas earn 10% less than workers in urban areas (KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town and Gauteng are considered urban areas)
5. A reduction in leave for workers who have worked for a company for four years or more from four weeks to three weeks
6. Bonuses based on the actual shifts worked. Workers who do not work all their shifts due to authorised leave, e.g. sick or maternity leave, will forfeit their bonus