At least 1 000 workers at Denel’s ammunition division, including contract workers have downed tools on Wednesday (August 30, 2006) in support of their demand for reduction of huge salary gaps between lowest paid general workers and management.
The embattled arms dealer Denel and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) are set on a bumpy relationship as strikers grounded operations to virtual halt and is feared to be running out of control at the Pretoria Metals Pressings (PMP) – manufacturer of military and commercial air defence guns and other ammunitions.
This follows the ammunition division’s refusal to consider effecting corrective measures agreed to improve employee’s wages by 20% who were on the bottom end of the average grading systems.
And the salary disparities between the lowest paid, supervisory and management job categories at PMP range between R2 000 for labourers, R20 000 supervisors and R100 000 a month for senior managers.
Irate Numsa officials have pushed over and over again for the ammunition plant to adhere to an earlier agreement, obliging management to make consistent assessment of the financial performances in order to bridge salary differentials holistically in all job categories.
The company reneged on the latest agreement and this forced Numsa to withdraw from honouring the agreement and declared a dispute, followed by a 24 hour strike notice.
To our surprise the management approach breached union and management relationship trust further after it offered further increases to most white managers and supervisors last year in order to halt “skills flight”, Bafana Ndebele, Numsa chief bargaining sector coordinator said yesterday.
“This left us with no other option, therefore, but to conclude that that the essence of the agreement which required both parties to revise salary differentials and decide after 24 months on the course of addressing disparities, was no longer necessary and gave us the right to embark on a legal strike,” he said.
There has been bitter and sweet relationship between Numsa and Denel since Denel announced its radical restructuring programme to downsize staff in order to recoup profits from its disintegrating operations.
Numsa remain open to finding amicable resolution to the industrial strike action, something which was not necessary had the management handled this sensitive issue with discreet.
For more information contact:
Mziwakhe Hlangani, NUMSA national information officer
Mobile: 082 9407116.
E-mail address: mziwakheh@numsa.org.za
Website:www.numsa.org.za