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BusinessLive reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) is gearing up for a strike at chrome mining and smelting company Samancor Chrome over its demand for a 15% across-the-board wage increase. The employer is offering 6%.
Numsa has lodged a wage dispute at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) and the union’s general secretary Irvin Jim said in a statement: “We are waiting for the strike certificate to be issued. In the meantime we will be mobilising our members for a total shut down of all smelters at Samancor. We remain open to negotiations if they [management] want to talk and engage us in a meaningful manner so that we do not have to resort to strike action.” According to Jim, the lowest-paid worker at Samancor earned “approximately R7,000 after deductions”. Numsa’s other demands include a 100% medical aid contribution from Samancor. In the statement, Jim accused Samancor of failing to negotiate in good faith as the union had submitted its demands in April, but the employer “did not respond and did not table dates for negotiations, which is the standard practice”. He went on to report: “They were silent and they then later dangled the carrot of 6% [wage offer] directly to members and did not table it formally inside the negotiation forum. They took it members, and it was accepted by Solidarity and NUM.” Solidarity’s Cornelius van Leeuwen reported: “We didn’t go to wage negotiations at Samancor. What happened is that Samancor made an offer of 6%, they said if workers don’t accept, then we can submit our demands and negotiate. We took the offer to our members and they accepted it.”
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
- Read too, Numsa on the cusp of a strike at Samancor as deadlock simmers, at Fin24
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page