Saturday Star reports that staff and management at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) will be sitting around the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) table on Monday in the hopes of finding a solution to avoid a planned picket by disgruntled workers.
At the centre of employees’ grievances is the issue of a 5.8% salary increase offer, which the workers have rejected. An IDC employee said part of their dispute was a once-off financial relief for staff, but there were also complex underlying issues that had led to the dispute. The staffer claimed: “We haven’t received a performance bonus in 3-4 years. For the financial year 2020/2021 as per our financials on our website, it shows we made a profit not just as a group but as IDC itself, better than in 2019/2020. The employee added that staff felt they were “neglected, unappreciated, overworked and somewhat operating under fear.” If the planned picket goes ahead, it will apparently take place during lunch hours in order to not disrupt operations. Head of Corporate Affairs at the IDC, Tshepo Ramodibe, said management was aware of the potential industrial action and remained committed to resolving outstanding issues. Workers will hold a staff meeting on Tuesday to give staff picketing rules and to inform them of when picketing will start. The employee said if the ongoing negotiations remained fruitless, they would proceed to get permission for a full industrial strike.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Norman Cloete at Saturday Star
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