UPDATE ON THE STATE OF THE WAGE NEGOTIATIONS
SEIFSA is awaiting a formal response to the settlement offer presented to NUMSA on 8 July 2014.
Despite numerous differing news reports on the subject, SEIFSA has not yet received any formal response, but will communicate with members as soon as there are any developments.
UPDATE ON THE STATE OF THE WAGE NEGOTIATIONS
SEIFSA is awaiting a formal response to the settlement offer presented to NUMSA on 8 July 2014.
Despite numerous differing news reports on the subject, SEIFSA has not yet received any formal response, but will communicate with members as soon as there are any developments.
Press Release - 2014/07/11:SEIFSA CONDEMNS NEASA’S PROPAGANDA OF DESPERATION, AWAITS OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM NUMSA
SEIFSA Chief Executive Officer Kaizer Nyatsumba dismissed “with the contempt that it deserves” NEASA Chief Executive Officer Gerhard Papenfus’s wild allegation, in a press statement today, that the Federation had betrayed the interests of small business.
“For quite some time now, Papenfus has been making all sorts of allegations against a number of stakeholders, among them us. He appears to be absolutely desperate to attract attention to himself and his organisation, including through making wild and unsubstantiated claims against others,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
He said that over the past few weeks NEASA had alleged repeatedly that the wage offers made by SEIFSA to unions within the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC), in an effort to avoid a protracted strike, represented the interests of big business.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Although some of the largest companies in our sector are also members of Associations affiliated to SEIFSA, by far the majority of our members are small companies employing fewer than 50 people. That constituency makes 63 percent of the companies within the SEIFSA fold and informs everything that SEIFSA does,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
Mr Nyatsumba said that SEIFSA – which was among the founders of the MEIBC 70 years ago – was deeply committed to the collective bargaining process, hence its insistence that it would not sign any resulting agreement unless it was satisfied that matters discussed during the negotiations would not be taken up with member companies at company level in an attempt to double dip. Mr Nyatsumba said SEIFSA stood firm by its demand that an agreement needed to be reached on Section 37 of the Main Agreement.
“What South Africa needs are mature employers’ organisations and unions that put the country’s interests first, and not ones given to puerile tantrums and that seek to behave as if we were still in our despicable, bygone era. Just as making political demands and embarking on strike at the drop of a hat is unacceptable, so, too, is a bull-in-a-china-shop approach that opposes everything for the sake of opposing,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
He said that SEIFSA was very concerned about the damage caused to the economy by the current strike, and the organisation had done everything possible to avoid a strike. Once the strike had started, SEIFSA had again worked very hard to get it ended as soon as possible.
“We are very disappointed that, despite having made our very best offer on Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to end the strike, NUMSA has not yet got back to us with a response. We made it plain to the union that Tuesday’s was the very last offer to be made by SEIFSA, and that it would be removed from the table if it were not accepted,” he said.
Mr Nyatsumba said that, out of concern about the strike’s effect on the economy, the majority of the Federation’s members had approved a final offer of 10% in 2014, 9,5% in 2015 and 9% in 2016 respectively for Rate H workers and an offer of 8% in 2014, 7,5% in 2015 and 7% respectively for Rate A. He said that SEIFSA members had done so in the hope that workers on strike would be back at work next week.
Mr Nyatsumba said that although he had seen reports in the media quoting anonymous sources as saying that NUMSA had rejected SEIFSA’s final offer, he had not received any official response from the metalworkers union.
REPORT ON THE MAIN AGREEMENT SUB-COMMITTEE NEGOTIATIONS: 24, 25 & 26 JUNE 2014
The NUMSA Chief Negotiator indicated that they were in a position to do so, but sought the indulgence of the meeting in order to convene a joint trade union caucus to formulate a consolidated labour position. The meeting agreed to the request and the Facilitator adjourned proceedings.
On the resumption of proceedings, a consolidated labour position was presented to the employers.
Of interest is the revision of the trade unions’ demand on wages from 15% to 12% without conditions (that is, making reference to the 50% reduction on the entry level rates and the link to Section 37).
In response, the employers requested that the position presented on behalf of the trade unions be confirmed in writing so that, on its receipt, they would formulate their response accordingly.
Proceedings on 25 June commenced with a joint employer caucus aimed at formulating a joint employer response to the union position. Apart from the different positions adopted on Wages and Exemptions (and with exemptions the difference is more one of process as opposed to content), unanimity was achieved among all three employer bodies (SEIFSA, NEASA and BIEA) on all remaining matters. On Wages, NEASA is at 7% and BIEA is at 7.4% (both across the board), while SEIFSA is at 7% for Rate A and 8% for Rate H.
On Exemptions, there is unanimity on content (in terms of what employers would like to see incorporated into the existing National Exemptions Policy), but not on process. SEIFSA has accepted the combined union position and the position contained in the Settlement Offer on how the matter should be addressed versus the NEASA and BIEA view that Exemptions and, to a lesser extent, Regional Dispensation must be addressed and resolved as a pre-condition to settlement.
Accordingly it was agreed, after a series of individual and joint employer caucuses, that each employer body would articulate its respective position on both matters.
On returning to the Plenary Session, the SEIFSA position on all the matters – essentially an affirmation of the position set out in the Settlement Offer of 20 June – was presented, with emphasis on Section 37 and our continued desire to conclude discussions on Strike and Picketing Rules.
In response, the unions requested a brief adjournment in order to caucus. On their return from the caucus, the NUMSA Chief Negotiator expressed his disappointment with the employer response and confirmed that, in his view, the parties were still poles apart.
On the linkages to certain conditions, he stressed that from the outset NUMSA had stressed its position on two important principles, namely improving workers’ conditions and no downward variation of conditions of employment. He also indicated that in light of the position adopted by NEASA and BIEA on the matter of Exemptions, it would be pointless to meet on 26 June to deal with IPF Main Agreement Challenges and Exemptions.
He reiterated that the current National Exemptions Policy must be incorporated into the collective agreement as a point of departure, while discussions on Exemptions take place at the IPF. He ended off by confirming that in light of the employer presentations, the process had reached the point where the dispute remained unresolved and the Bargaining Council needed to be requested to issue a certificate on non-resolution of the dispute to the parties.
On the matter of the Strike and Picketing Rules, NUMSA indicated that whilst individual employers were at liberty to conclude individual plant-level agreements, the union would remain available to continue to discuss the possibility of concluding an industry framework even after the certificate on non-resolution has been circulated and 48 hours’ notice of strike action has been issued.
In closing proceedings, the General Secretary of the Bargaining Council confirmed:
- The cancellation of the session of 26 July;
- The issuing of the Certificate of Non-Resolution; and
- The continued availability of the Office and the Facilitator to continue to assist the parties in whatever capacity possible.
The President closed the meeting.
The Main Agreement negotiations now enter the last and most critical stage of the process: that of power play.
The issuing of the Certificate of Non-Resolution of the dispute clearly signals that the unions – but particularly NUMSA – are positioning themselves to embark on industrial action. The Office has received from NUMSA notices of mass marches to the SEIFSA Office and other locations around the country, to take place on Tuesday, 1 July.
At the time of compiling this report, we are expecting to receive the 48-hour notice of strike action to be received before the end of the week. When we receive it, we will, as mandated by the Council, respond with a 48-hour-notice of our intention to implement a lock out.
The sub-committee stage of the negotiations has achieved the objective of closing the gap between the parties. The next move, if any, will determine how quickly we can close the deal and, in so doing, avoid the prospect of a protracted strike action.
As agreed at the Council Meeting on 23 June, it is vitally important for the Chairpersons of the respective Associations to come to the meeting on 30 June with a firm mandate regarding the next stage of the process, in particular the next wage offer that should hopefully avert or end a strike.
PRESS RELEASE - 2014/07/01: SEIFSA REMAINS DETERMINED TO WORK TOWARDS A RESOLUTION OF WAGE IMPASSE
Speaking after receiving a memorandum at Metal Industries House from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, Mr Nyatsumba said the industry was deeply concerned about the damage caused by the strike to the economy. He said that each day on which employees were away from work cost the industry more than R300 million, which the ailing South African economy cannot afford. That is equivalent to 0,014% of the country’s daily Gross Domestic Product.
Mr Nyatsumba said that this was very concerning given the fact that South Africa’s economy had shrunk by 0,6% in the first three months of 2014 and that international ratings agencies have recently downgraded South Africa’s credit rating to just above junk status.
“Ours is a very strategic sector with both upstream and downstream impacts on other important industries like mining, construction and auto manufacturing. Therefore, it is not just companies in the sector that are affected or stand to be affected, but it is also those companies in these other industries,” he said.
Mr Nyatsumba revealed that he had received a call from the CEO of a major car manufacturing company based in South Africa, who expressed concern about the impact of the strike on his company. He said that the CEO had informed him that he was under “considerable pressure” from his head office in America to close operations down in South Africa and to move them to a country with a more stable labour dispensation.
“For the sake of our economy, which has been seriously under-performing and has already taken a considerable hammering as a result of the strike in the platinum sector that ended last week, we hope that it will be possible for us, employers and labour, to find one another over the next few days. This will call for a greater degree of realism on the part of labour in terms of its lofty demands and expectations,” Mr Nyatsumba said.
He said that the industry welcomed the Government’s interest in the current stand-off between business and labour and hoped that it would help to propel the protagonists closer to one another.
The Minister of Labour, Mrs Mildred Oliphant, had a meeting with the leadership of both SEIFSA and NUMSA yesterday evening, with a follow-up meeting tentatively scheduled for Friday. Mr Nyatsumba stressed that the SEIFSA leadership would continue to make itself available for discussions with any stakeholders in an effort to settle the dispute as soon as possible.
NUMSA, MEWUSA, CEPPWAWU, UASA, SAEWA AND GIWUSA ISSUES 48 HOURS NOTICE TO PROCEED ON STRIKE ON 1 JULY 2014
SAEWA ISSUE NOTICE OF STRIKE ACTION