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BusinessLive reports that trade union Solidarity has lashed out at the proposal of steel and engineering sector bosses to base wage increases on minimum rates of pay and not on actual wages, saying this would disadvantage skilled and experienced artisans.
Unions, including Solidarity and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), met industry bosses for a second round of wage talks at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) on Wednesday. They have called on employer bodies such as the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa), the National Employers Association of SA (Neasa) and the SA Engineers and Founders Association (Saefa) to table a meaningful wage offer based on the actual rates of pay – not on the minimum rate of pay – in the sector, where the lowest-paid employee earns R59.10 per hour. “The deceptive wage offer presented by the various employer organisations ranges between 6% for the lowest level (Grade H) employees and 5% for skilled (Grade A) employees, but the offer is tied to the minimum rates of pay per job category, and not based on the actual wages earned by employees, a stance that Solidarity has rejected outright,” said Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis. Solidarity is demanding a 6% wage increase each year for three years based on the actual rate of pay. Du Plessis called on employer organisations to review their wage increase offer and “base it on the actual wage rates as was the case until 2021, and to not further disadvantage skilled employees”. Numsa is demanding increases of 7% in the first year and 6% for the second and third years. The final round of talks is set to be held on 8 May.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive
- Read Solidarity’s press statement on this matter at Politicsweb
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page