Moneyweb reports that according to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), meetings were scheduled to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday with the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) and the Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) in the hopes of unlocking a wage dispute which was declared on 30 June.
The parties will meet under the authority of the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) of the Motor Industries Bargaining Council (MIBCO). Picketing rules will also be on the agenda. The union indicated: “It is in our interests as Numsa to try and find one another and to prevent a strike. The sector employs approximately 306,000 workers nationally and a strike would have a negative impact on the economy, and on our members because a ‘no work no pay’ policy is likely to be imposed.” The union’s demands include a 12% across the board increase. Numsa said its demands related directly to the dire socioeconomic conditions experienced by the working class and its members, and that employers from the motor industry had not yet made a meaningful offer. “Our members are struggling especially because they do not have [a] transport allowance, and they spend almost their entire salary on public transportation in order to get to work,” it added. According to the union, the FRA has offered a 4% across the board increase for all forecourt workers and 3% for chars and cashiers for a three-year agreement. “What is even worse, is that this proposal by the FRA is on condition that Numsa drop all the other demands. The RMI was expected to make an offer, but [it has] not yet done so,” it added. The union said it hoped employers would bring an improved offer to the table.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nondumiso Lehutso at Moneyweb
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