The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has reached an above-inflation wage increase of 8% across the board for Gautrain workers, two weeks after threatening to embark on a strike.
The union, SA’s largest with a membership of more than 400,000, had been in wage talks with the Gautrain management since April. Parties reached a deadlock in June, spurring union members to ballot for a strike last Friday.
“Fortunately, management requested a meeting over the weekend, and made an offer to settle this round of wage talks,” Numsa’s general secretary, Irvin Jim, said.
The one-year wage deal, which expires in June 2024, sees workers getting the following benefits: An 8% wage increase across the board (Numsa demanded 8%); a housing allowance increase of 10% to R1,210 (Numsa demanded R1,750); transport allowance increase of 5% to R105 (Numsa demanded R125 per shift or R2,100 per month); performance bonus increases of R500, to R9,000 (Numsa demanded R15,000; night shift allowance of R35 per hour (Numsa demanded R38); the Gautrain staff card will remain in place (Numsa wanted the status quo to remain on free train rides for all employees coming to work and going back home).
“Numsa welcomes the agreement because it resolves the burning issues that sparked the dispute with the employer. We secured an above-inflation increase of 8% at a time when most employers are not granting any increases, and we secured a double-digit percent increase on the housing allowance,” Jim said.
“Initially the employer wanted to abolish the housing allowance but we managed to retain and increase it. We also managed to persuade the employer to reinstate the staff cards for all employees. This is a positive development because our members would have been forced to pay to use the Gautrain when travelling to and from work, and this issue almost made workers resort to strike action.”
The Gautrain, which is operated by the Bombela Operating Company, is important to Gauteng’s economy as it links SA’s economic and financial hub of Johannesburg to the capital city of Tshwane, which boasts the Ford, BMW and Nissan manufacturing plants.
The train, which travels at speeds of up to 160km/h, transports about 40,000 passengers per day and about 12,000 by bus.
However, the Gautrain project, which cost more than R30bn to construct, has been criticised by labour unions for not serving the province’s township areas, where the majority of workers live.
Jim said it was the unity of workers that shifted the Gautrain management and “compelled them to make the necessary compromises” in settling the pay deal.
Gautrain spokesperson Kesagee Nayager said: "We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Numsa that is mutually beneficial for both employees and the company. As the Bombela Operating Company, we are cognisant of high transport costs and the impact it has on employees and therefore, in consultation with our stakeholders, agreed to provide our employees with the benefit of travelling to and from work free of charge."
Numsa has clinched several wage deals across the various sectors.
In June, the union, which is affiliated to the SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), signed a multiyear wage agreement with Eskom that will see all nonmanagerial staff getting increases of 7% each year for three years.
In May, Numsa signed a multi-term wage agreement with ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) that will result in workers in the multibillion rand industry receiving increases of 6.5%.
The wage deal, effective from April 1 2023 to March 31 2026, came barely three weeks after the union threatened to embark on the “mother of all strikes” at Amsa, Africa’s largest steelmaker, in support of its demands for higher wages.
In November 2022, Numsa signed a multi-term wage deal with employers in the motor sector — comprising components manufacturing companies, fuel stations, car dealerships, car cleaning companies, auto parts assembly and panel-beating workshops — for a 7.5% increase in the first year, followed by increases of 6% in the second and third years.
In October 2022, Numsa signed a three-year wage deal with the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo), which represents Toyota Motors SA, Nissan, Isuzu, Ford, VW SA, BMW SA and Mercedes-Benz, that saw workers getting rises of 8.5% in the first year backdated to July 1 2022.
The union squeezed out a further R10,000 in one-off taxable cash gratuity from the employers. In the outer years of the deal, workers will get increases of 7% or consumer price inflation, whichever is greater.
Headline inflation eased to a 13-month low of 6.3% in May, down from 6.8% in April, 7.1% in March and 7% in February.
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