Engineering News
*Metal workers’ 13% wage demand unaffordable, says employer body * *Loni Prinsloo, Engineering News, Johannesburg, 5 July 2011*Metal and engineering workers from five trade unions took to the streets again on Tuesday in a second day of mass action for higher wages.
The unions are asking for a 13% raise, but the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) said that this was unaffordable for its members.
The federation met with industry employers on Monday night to discuss a plan of action relating to the strike, in which it was determined that the 7% currently offered to workers was on the “outer limits” of what the industry could afford, said Seifsa industrial relations manager Gordon Angus.
The unions were also demanding a ban of labour brokers, which it described as “modern slavery”, but Angus said that the industry was not prepared to do away with labour brokers, as they had a necessary function in the industry.
He added that most of the labour brokers were legitimate and compliant with regulation. “Labour brokers are already heavily regulated, but we are not oppose to further regulating the sector if that is required.”
Starting on Wednesday, employers would have the option to lock their gates to striking employees and only allow back those employees who were prepared to accept the Seifsa offer.
Angus said that even though the lockout would not be an industry-wide procedure, it did provide companies with the option to legally keep out striking workers.
He also confirmed that some companies had reported incidences of intimidation, where nonstriking workers were being pulled out of the workplace to join the mass action.
Seifsa represents more than 2 400 companies employing over 193 000 hourly paid workers, which is almost 60% of the industry’s workforce. Member companies range from giant corporations to micro enterprises.
*From: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/metal-workers-13-wage-demand-unaffordable-says-employer-body-seifsa-2011-07-05*
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