The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) said it is considering a revised offer from motor sector employers that could see workers receiving increases of between 5% and 7.5% over three years.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said in a statement it had received a revised wage offer from the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) on Friday, which it had taken to its members for a mandate.
In a document, which Business Day has seen, RMI has offered workers employed by component manufacturers increases of 7.5% in the first year, which is above the 6.5% headline inflation rate the Reserve Bank has forecast for 2022. In the second and third years of the agreement, workers will receive increases of 6%.
The RMI proposes in the document that workers in car dealerships receive pay rises of 6.5%, 5% and 5% over three years.
“We will use Monday to give feedback to members at various plants on the proposal so that the union can get a mandated position on the future of this round of wage negotiations,” Jim said. “Once we have concluded the consultation we will update and communicate on the way forward on this round of negotiations.”
Numsa, the biggest union in the country with more than 400,000 members, was demanding a 12% increase from employers including the Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) and RMI, which offered increases of between 3% and 4% for forecourt attendants, cleaners and cashiers.
The FRA was still offering 4%, according to Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola.
The motor sector represents employees in components manufacturing companies, fuel stations, car dealerships, car cleaning companies, auto parts assembly and panel-beating workshops. The sector employs about 306,000 workers nationally, of which about 90,000 are Numsa members.
Numsa has members in crucial sectors including construction, energy, steel and manufacturing, where it has been demanding inflation-beating increases due to the rising cost of living.
The parties had been negotiating at the Motor Industries Bargaining Council’s dispute resolution centre in an effort to break the wage deadlock lodged by Numsa recently, after three rounds of talks failed to reach consensus.
RMI chief negotiator Jacques Viljoen could not be reached immediately for comment.
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