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BL Premium reports that two minority employer organisations in the steel and engineering sector have applied for leave to appeal a Labour Court ruling that approved the extension of a multi-term wage deal to the entire industry.
In August, the National Employers Association of SA (Neasa) and the SA Engineers’ and Founders’ Association (Saefa) failed in their court bid to interdict the Metals and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) from submitting a request to Department of Employment & Labour (DEL) Minister Thulas Nxesi to gazette and extend a three-year, 6% wage agreement. The pay deal was reached by unions and the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) in October 2021. Acting judge Sean Snyman ruled last month that Neasa and Saefa had not established the requirements for urgency and failed to make a case for interim relief. In their notice of application to appeal the ruling, the two associations questioned Snyman’s judgment, saying he “erred in expressing a preference for the extension of bargaining council agreements in general”. They also argued that Snyman erred in finding that only the MEIBC and its members in favour of extension “would suffer prejudice if interim relief was granted”. They stated: “The learned judge altogether failed to have regard to the prejudice suffered by employers and employees alike on whom an unlawful decision is foisted, and erred in making light of the prospect of employers seeking to recover higher wages from employees ... in the event that the decision to seek extension is retrospectively set aside.” Neasa and Saefa said that if the application for leave to appeal was granted, “we will request that the matter be set down for an urgent appeal”.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page