Membership card progressFred Petersen
Workplaces in Ekurhuleni, Hlanganani, Eastern Cape and Western Cape Regions were the first to receive Numsa membership cards. At Ford we issued cards on site while connected live to our membership system at Numsa Head Office. We were also able from within Ford to add some members that were not in our system before issuing their cards. At this stage progress seems slow but it should pick up soon. Shopstewards can help speed up the process by supplying the required information.They should approach their management to e-mail to Nishan or Fred at nishang@numsa.org.za, fredp@numsa.org.za or cardcenter@numsa.org.za the following minimum fields of Numsa members in Excel-format:
Identity Number
clock/employee number
first name
surname
gender
department
most recent subs deducted of each member
Note: You can send salary and wages information separatelyWe will use the above information to verify that the members are in our membership
system and that the information is correct (ie name of the member is spelt correctly) for a speedier issuing of Membership Cards. If we do not have members in the above list provided, we may require more information for those members (preferably electronically) in order to issue cards for them.We also need to know the following (in order to get cards to you):
company name
company physical address
company telephone
company contact person’s name(who sends the email)
NUMSA Local
Shopsteward name
Pics: Workers at Colcab with their membership cards P KanaFord workers receive their membership cards Nishan Gunawardhana
“What are you doing about us?”
Shop stewards at a Numsa workshop in August on organising white collar workers, told the meeting that white collar Numsa members consistently complain that they join Numsa but the union fails to improve their working conditions.In Numsa’s auto, tyre and engineering sectors, Numsa has no right to bargain for these members. In all these sectors, the trade unions must organise 50% + 1 of the workers before employers are prepared to allow trade unions to bargain for them.While Numsa has made great strides in organising white collar workers because of its ability to represent members successfully, it is still far from achieving the 50% target. Many white collar workers don’t see the value in joining the trade union. They believe that they can win more from their employers as individuals. A VWSA shop steward told how white collar workers who are Numsa members will attend the 4-hour Numsa general meeting, hear the MD speaking but then leave after one hour. “They feel they are not part of Numsa,” he said.Others spoke of the difficulty of organising these workers because of Numsa’s 1% subscription.
“They say they would rather join the Scorpions or Legal Wise!”Or they join rival trade unions like Uasa and Solidarity who offer a wider range of benefits.Despite a long debate by participants on the 1%, no-one could agree on whether to put a cap on the subscriptions or whether to leave them as they are. Such a debate will have to go to the next Numsa congress in 2008!But Numsa’s experience is not unique. Swedish members of the white collar union SIF spoke of similar experiences. Now the third largest trade union in their country, they have worked hard to provide benefits that suit white collar workers’ needs.The union starts when potential workers are still at school. It offers career advice including providing grants for books should members decide to study. Members can also ask for advice on their employment contract and personal development. For high income earners, the union arranges insurance should they become ill. Numsa will continue to debate and discuss the issues around organising white collar workers.
“What are you doing about us?”This is the common complaint from white collar workers that have joined Numsa. Although they pay subscriptions, the collective agreements in the auto, tyre and engineering sectors prevent Numsa from bargaining for these workers until all the unions have organized 50% + 1 in each sector. Participants shared the difficulties that they have organising them and heard what strategies Swedish white collar union, SIF, has used. Numsa will continue to debate and discuss the issues around white collar workers.
“What are you doing about us?” This is the common complaint from white collar workers that have joined Numsa. Although they pay subscriptions, the collective agreements in the auto, tyre and engineering sectors prevent Numsa from bargaining for these workers until all the unions have organized 50% + 1 in each sector. Participants shared the difficulties that they have organising them and heard what strategies Swedish white collar union, SIF, has used. Numsa will continue to debate and discuss the issues around white collar workers
“What are you doing about us?”This is the common complaint from white collar workers that have joined Numsa. Although they pay subscriptions, the collective agreements in the auto, tyre and engineering sectors prevent Numsa from bargaining for these workers until all the unions have organized 50% + 1 in each sector. Participants shared the difficulties that they have organising them and heard what strategies Swedish white collar union, SIF, has used. Numsa will continue to debate and discuss the issues around white collar workers.