Extension of the 2014/2017 Main Agreement
On 24 December the Minister of Labour gazetted the 2014/2017 Main Agreement and extended it to the rest of the metals and engineering sector with effect from 5 January 2015. The gazettal effectively binds not only the Parties to the Agreement, but also all the Non-Parties to the terms and conditions of the Agreement concluded in 2014. The Main Agreement concluded on 29 July 2014 is now applicable throughout our sector.
The Main Agreement has now been gazetted and we at SEIFSA will continue do our very best to represent you, our members, and your interests in everything that we do. Please feel free to reach out to our Industrial Relations team or our Legal Division with any requests for assistance on any matters, including those related to the provisions of the 2014-17 Main Agreement.
Extension of the 2014/2017 Main Agreement
On 24 December the Minister of Labour gazetted the 2014/2017 Main Agreement and extended it to the rest of the metals and engineering sector with effect from 5 January 2015. The gazettal effectively binds not only the Parties to the Agreement, but also all the Non-Parties to the terms and conditions of the Agreement concluded in 2014. The Main Agreement concluded on 29 July 2014 is now applicable throughout our sector.
The Main Agreement has now been gazetted and we at SEIFSA will continue do our very best to represent you, our members, and your interests in everything that we do. Please feel free to reach out to our Industrial Relations team or our Legal Division with any requests for assistance on any matters, including those related to the provisions of the 2014-17 Main Agreement.
INDUSTRY WAGE AND EMPLOYMENT NEGOTIATIONS SUCCESSFULLY CONCLUDED
SEIFSA signed an agreement with all the trade unions in our industries on Tuesday, 29 July 2014 on the terms and conditions of employment for a three-year period ending 30 June 2017.
This agreement follows a difficult negotiation and dispute-resolution process which comprised over 60 formal, informal and bilateral meetings, commencing on 26 March this year and ending when all the trade unions signed the Settlement Agreement on 29 July, following a four-week strike predominantly by members of Numsa.
For the full information find attached documents & forms
- Management Brief Explanatory Circular 2014 FINAL
- New Main Agreement 2014 2015 Web Ad
- 2014August4_subscription_form
MEIBC SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
Dear Members
The MEIBC Settlement Agreement: 1 July 2014 - 30 June 2017 was signed by all six party trade unions at a Main Agreement Negotiating Plenary meeting yesterday.
SEIFSA signed on behalf of the 24 federated Associations and confirmed that two Associations were still involved in internal mandating processes.
The Border Industries Employers Association (BIEA) representative was not present at the meeting. NEASA did not sign the Settlement Agreement.
The Bargaining Council will, in the next two weeks, convene a Management Committee Meeting to ratify the Settlement Agreement, confirm the position of the two outstanding SEIFSA Associations and adopt a resolution to have the Agreement extended to all non-party employers and employees in the industry.
SEIFSA recommends that the increases be implemented from 1 July 2014 for all scheduled employees who worked during the strike and, in the case of those employees who participated in the strike, from the date of signature of the Settlement Agreement, namely 29 July and/or from the date of their return to work.
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MA Negs 2014 MEIBC Signed Settlement Agreement.pdf | |
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MA Negs 2014 All Wage Tables 2014.pdf | |
Press Release - 2014/07/28: SEIFSA WELCOMES END OF METAL AND ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES STRIKE
Speaking after the end of a special meeting of the Federation’s Council – which is made up of the chairpersons of Associations affiliated to SEIFSA, Mr Nyatsumba expressed relief that employers and labour finally reached an agreement on outstanding matters, particularly on Section 37 which was the major point of difference in the past few weeks.
“We are immensely relieved that the strike is finally over. It is now incumbent on all stakeholders in the metals and engineering sector to work cooperatively together to grow the sector and to ensure that it is internationally competitive. The sector has a very important role to play in the delivery of the Government’s ambitious infrastructure development programme over the next few years, and that can happen only when a strong partnership exists between business and labour,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
He explained that although SEIFSA’s preferred wording on Section 37 was not accepted by the union, the Federation’s Council was satisfied that a compromise wording reached over the weekend would protect companies from two-tier bargaining.
The wording agreed upon reads as follows: “The parties agree that, subject to the full and final settlement clause, Section 37 remains unchanged.
“The 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2017 MEIBC Settlement Agreement amends existing terms and conditions of employment of all employees covered by the Main Agreement and is in full and final settlement of wages and conditions of employment for the period of the agreement.”
Mr Nyatsumba expressed appreciation to Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and her team for the major role that they had played in brokering the agreement. He said that the Minister and her team had engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the parties, but especially SEIFSA and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa.
“We are grateful to Minister Oliphant for the leadership that she showed in this matter. It is no exaggeration to say that, had she and her team not been involved in the process, the strike may well be continuing,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
PRESS RELEASE - 2014/07/23: EMPLOYERS’ ORGANISATIONS WARN AGAINST DOUBLE DIPPING AND DENOUNCE VIOLENCE ACCOMPANYING THE CURRENT STRIKE (2)
In an unprecedented move, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) Chief Executive Officer Kaizer Nyatsumba and his counterpart at the National Employers Association of South Africa (NEASA), Gerhard Papenfus, expressed grave concerns about recent Labour Court judgments regarding Section 37. They demanded that the section be amended to confirm its original intention, when the clause was introduced into the Main Agreement in 1992, that all matters which could materially add to the cost of employment would be negotiated collectively in the Bargaining Council.
Section 37 protects employers from having to engage in substantive negotiations at plant level, once a deal has been concluded on wages and related conditions of employment at national level.
The two CEOs said that the words that they wanted added into the clause were the ones in bold: "…The Council is the sole forum for negotiating matters contained in the Main Agreement and those related to the cost of employment. During the currency of the agreement, no matter contained in the agreement or which may impact on the cost of employment may be an issue in dispute for the purposes of a strike or lock-out or any conduct in contemplation of a strike or lock-out.”
“SEIFSA and its member Associations are proponents of collective bargaining and remain implacably opposed to double dipping through two-tier bargaining. We believe that the challenge posed by the Van Niekerk judgments require all of us to reconfirm our commitment to collective bargaining by strengthening the original intentions of Section 37,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
NEASA and SEIFSA also strongly condemned the violence that has been perpetrated by some of the employees currently on strike. Mr Papenfus said that while workers’ rights to go on strike were respected, there was absolutely no room for violence.
“We condemn the current violence in the strongest possible terms and call on the police to arrest those perpetrating it and protect those on whom it is visited. We also call on the leadership of the unions to call on their members to desist from violence,” Mr Papenfus said.
“All rights go with responsibilities, and the same applies to the right to strike. Violence and other reprehensible, criminal acts during a strike action cannot be condoned and should be punishable by law,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
PRESS RELEASE - 2014/07/22: SEIFSA CLARIFIES ITS ACCEPTANCE OF THE MINISTER'S PROPOSAL
JOHANNESBURG, 22 JULY 2014 – The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) wishes to clarify that the employers’ acceptance of the Minister’s proposal is conditional upon a resolution of Section 37, and its acceptance by the unions no later than Friday (25 July).
Several social media reports have stated that SEIFSA has accepted the Minister’s proposal unconditionally – this is not true and it is clearly articulated in the press release (issued this morning) that employers have accepted the Minister’s proposal on wages but not on Section 37.
FEEDBACK ON VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION OF ONGOING NUMSA STRIKE
SEIFSA met with the National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Riah Phiyega, last week to discuss the ongoing violence. The Commissioner is very concerned about the situation and as of Friday last week 103 arrests had been made and 40 cases opened by individual employers. With the strike still contuing, more arrests are expected to be made and the SAPS is determined to ensure the prosecution of these perpetrators of violence. The business community needs to participate in assisting the police to do this, and we encourage you to keep clear recording of all acts of violence and intimidation so that on conclusion of the strike you have the option to implement disciplinary or criminal proceedings against the perpetrators.
The SAPS will be addressing the SEIFSA Council on the 4 August 2014 with a view to cementing a general partnership with business.
For your information, statistics as at 16 July 2014 based on your responses are attached as Annexure 1 and Annexure 2.
In closing, please do endeavour to ensure the safety of your employees and yourself at all times during this difficult period and avoid doing anything that may be perceived as provoking the workers on strike.
Please accept my thanks, in advance, for your support and cooperation.
Please click here for the Statistics from Companies in Associations federated to SEIFSA
Yours Sincerely
Adelia Pimentel
Marketing & Communications Executive
Press Release - 2014/07/13:SEIFSA DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED AT NUMSA'S REJECTION OF ITS VERY GOOD FINAL OFFER
Mr Nyatsumba said that it was deeply regrettable that the union had rejected a "very good final offer" that was intended to end the strike, and which was made following a meeting with the leadership of NUMSA, which had indicated that it believed the offer could end the strike.
"We have now done everything that we could possibly have done to end the strike and we deeply regret the fact that all our efforts have been in vain. It is very unfortunate that a strike which has already caused much damage to our economy appears set to continue indefinitely," Mr Nyatsumba said.
He said that NUMSA had scheduled a meeting with the SEIFSA leadership for tomorrow morning, where it would officially communicate its response to the Federation's offer. Mr Nyatsumba said that it was unfortunate that SEIFSA first heard about NUMSA's response to its final offer through the media.
Mr Nyatsumba thanked the SEIFSA Council for the clear mandate that it had given him and the SEIFSA negotiating team, but expressed regret that the final offer approved by the vast majority of employer Associations affiliated to SEIFSA had been rejected by NUMSA.
Mr Nyatsumba also expressed SEIFSA's thanks and appreciation to Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant and her team for their efforts in brokering a settlement between the Federation and NUMSA.
He said that the SEIFSA leadership had made the best possible offer that it could have made to end the strike and had now exhausted its mandate.
Outcome of CCMA Facilitated Matter Between Employer Parties and Trade Unions on Strike and Picketing Rules
The industry picketing rules were finalise between all the parties yesterday at a facilitated session involving the CCMA. All of the issues which are important for employers have been retained in the final version. Click here to download the picketing rules.