GroundUp reports that about 40 employees of conveyor belt manufacturer ContiTech picketed outside the company’s Uitenhage factory on Friday to show their dissatisfaction with its payroll system which they claimed was deducting too much from their earnings.  

The workers, affiliated to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), called for an independent auditor to scrutinise their salaries ever since 2016 when the new system first came into place.  ContiTech, a subsidiary of Continental, manufactures heavy conveyor belts for the mining industry.  It employs 130 workers at its Uitenhage plant.  Machine operator Thandisizwe Dyakumeni has worked at ContiTech since 2007 and earns a weekly wage of R1,300.  He said his net earnings have been less since the new payroll system was put in place.  “The old system separated annual bonus, monthly wage, public holidays and overtime allowances.  Bonus should be taxed on its own,” said Dyakumeni.  Numsa regional secretary Mziyanda Twani indicated:  “We are bringing in auditors and SARS to do verification of the system because our members feel they are not being paid enough.”

• Read Joseph Chirume’s report on this story in full at GroundUp

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