The public sector strike has been the biggest strike ever seen in this country. But it may not be the last for the year. As Numsa News went to print, deadlocks were tumbling all around.
Engineering sector
In the engineering sector, both trade unions and employers have declared a dispute. The biggest disagreement is over wages. In the latest meeting (June 18) employers offered 7,5% for Grade H and 7% for Grade A (In year two – 6,5% for Grade H and 6% for Grade A).
Issues agreed:
Three year agreement
Dirty work allowance to increase by 60c per shift
Job creation committee to be established
All wage increase exemptions must be sent to the bargaining council by July 31 each year
Increase in subsistence allowance
to extend section 47 to cover the release of training representatives
to finalise Numsa training demands by June 30 2010
to research new grading structure
tool insurance cover to increase to R2 500 per employee
HIV/Aids – parties will work together to run an educational programme on how to access government’s ARV programme and to investigate whether companies can provide them through their clinics
To continue research into a medical aid for the industry
Notice pay – 1 week’s notice for 6 months or less with same employer; 2 week’s notice for 6 months to 1 year with same employer; 4 week’s notice for one year or more with same employer.
Maternity leave payment for those members of Sick Pay Fund should be 100% (including UIF) for 6 months
Afternoon shift allowance to increase to 8% (but no increase for other shifts)
Issues to negotiate further:
union proposal on labour brokers and amendments of section 20
BEE and Esops
Paid time off for shop stewards
Issues NOT agreed:
family responsibility leave
retirement gratuity
childcare responsibility
leave enhancement pay
increase of annual leave
severance pay
ban labour brokers; LDC s to be permanent after 6 months
MNCs to consult with unions about key decisions taken by mother plants.
Parties were to meet again on June 25 to decide on the next step.
PIC: Engineering negotiations got off to a bad start when employers refused to put any wage offer on the table. Trade unions then staged a walk-out at the Gold Reef City negotiations. Since then employers have increased their offer to 7,5% for the lowest paid and 7% for the highest paid. W Matlala
Auto and tyre sectors
Negotiations update!
Meetings are happening every day and things are changing every day. By the time you receive this newspaper, this information on negotiations may be out of date. Make sure you keep your shop stewards on their toes! Get regular updates from them!
June 23-24 Special RECs
Assess latest reports from negotiations. Get reports on the feeling on the ground. Make proposal on revised demands to special NEC.
July 1 Special NEC
Get reports from regions on their revised demands, assess how far employers have moved towards union demands, gauge state of readiness for a strike and decide whether to strike or settle.
July 9
Possible start of the strike if structures of the region decide.
“Your demands will put up our costs by 200%!” was auto employers’ initial response to trade union demands.
The biggest costs they said were the demand for workers to get a 10% share of the local value of the company and the benchmarking against Level 7 instead of Level 5.
The first demand would push up their labour costs by 100% they claimed. Benchmarking against Level 7 instead of Level 5 would push up their costs by a further 45% before the wage increase had been factored in!
Refusing to put a wage offer higher than the latest CPI-X of 6,3%, employers said that the list of demands was way too long and that unions “must prioritise”.
Unions countered that employers should “just respond” and “we will deal with them in the manner that we were dealing with them all the time,” said Herman Ntatleng, auto and tyre sector coordinator. As Numsa News went to print, parties were meeting again (June 21-22). A further meeting on June 28-29 will either declare that parties are deadlocked or decide to continue negotiating. The tyre sector also flatly rejected the 15% wage demand and the benchmarking issue. They have offered 6,3% and agreed to a three year wage agreement. Meanwhile, MAN Truck and Nissan Diesel who are not part of the National Bargaining Forum (NBF) that covers the auto sector, have indicated that they will be willing to bargain “once we achieve the demand in the NBF that we want a Bargaining Council that will cover all,” says Ntlatleng.
Motor sector
In the first round of negotiations, employers tried to take back what trade unions have won over the last 10 years. Employers want the dreaded penalty clause back! Not only this but to almost every trade union demand, they put a counter demand! Trade unions want any increase that is agreed to, to be backdated to the date when the agreement expired. Employers say that if the agreement is not extended to the entire country, then the agreed increase will just fall away! This is a very real threat to motor unions (see page 13 for the full story!)Employers also want to:
get rid of the shift allowance
take away the right of every contract worker or temporary worker to be a member of the retirement fund
pay Sunday work as normal time
give no increase to motorcycle dealers
pay nothing for short-time
downgrade 10 jobs to a grade below and wheel alignment to two grades below
increase forecourt attendants’ hours to 48 (“This will be like taking away the increase that they will get,” says Sam Tsiane, outgoing motor sector coordinator)
take experiential students for 1 year not 6 months
pay every employee doing on the job training at the lowest rate eg as a petrol attendant even if they are doing a grade 5 or 6 job
Tsiane says that all Numsa locals should hold local shop steward councils all over the country “so that we can assess our strengths and weaknesses”.
As Numsa News went to print, parties were holding a make or break meeting (June 20). If unions declare a dispute then “we will conduct a ballot of all motor workers – trade union members and non-members to gauge their support for a strike”, says Tsiane. The last round of negotiations takes place on July 3-4.
Eskom
Trade unions Numsa, Num and Solidarity have declared a dispute with Eskom. Rejecting Eskom’s 6% wage offer, they said it was like asking workers to accept a wage cut and “sends a message that (workers) are worth less than they were last year.”
Pointing out that Eskom was involved in massive expansion plans, trade unions said that these plans would be under threat if the loyalty of workers was not secured. Trade unions are also in dispute over the following issues:
increase of pension fund contribution. Trade unions reject the unilateral introduction of a defined contribution fund.
Negotiated ministerial determination
Increase of housing subsidy to R1500 per employee.