Castro Ngobese, spokesperson for Numsa, says that the settlement offer was overwhelmingly and unanimously accepted by their members.
“This is a massive victory given the pittance offer at the point of deadlock, for this we salute metalworkers.
“The settlement package that our members accepted is one which will go some way in addressing the challenges workers face on a daily basis in attempting to provide for their families in the face of the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality faced by the working class in our country today,” he says.
The main features of the settlement package are:
n A 10 per cent wage increase every year for their lowest paid members for the next three years.
n A commitment that employees engaged by labour brokers shall continue to be entitled to all the terms and conditions of employment as contained in the main agreement. In order to enforce this, the Metals Engineering Industry Bargaining Council (MEIBC) will employ labour broker compliance officers who will act on complaints of abuse and non-compliance from labour brokers.
n Furthermore parties have committed to discourage and minimise the use of temporary employment services in the industry.
n The administration of disciplinary action will be done by the secondary employer where the worker is employed rather than by the labour broker.
Improvements have also been secured in some of the following areas:
n On short time, parties have agreed to set up an industry short-time fund, which will be used to compensate workers when they are on short time.
n Time-off for shop stewards to attend to union and industry matters.
n Opportunities for training for members.
“We urge all our members to report for work as July 29, and we call on the employers to allow workers who might not have received this message to report for duty by July 31.” – @CarmenBoksburg
