Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has tabled a revised above-inflation wage offer to unions, which are now set to embark on a mandate-seeking process ahead of a report-back session scheduled for Monday.
Lucio Trentini, CEO of Seifsa, the sector’s largest employer body representing 19 organisations with about 170,000 workers, told Business Day: “We met today [Wednesday]. It was a very constructive and engaging session. We tabled a revised settlement agreement.”
He said Seifsa’s position on wages is very close to what unions, particularly the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), were looking for.
“We have an undertaking from all unions that they will take the draft settlement agreement with them and embark on a mandate-seeking process over the weekend,” he said.
Trentini said parties would meet again at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council on Monday at 10am for a report back. “We remain optimistic that an agreement is within reach. We remain confident that we can conclude [this round of wage negotiations].”
Solidarity had been demanding a 6% wage increase each year for three years but wanted the increases to be based on the actual rate of pay. Numsa, SA’s largest trade union with more than 450,000 members, is demanding increases of 7% in the first year and 6% for the second and third years.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said: “We seem to be finding each other. We are going to engage our members over the weekend. We agreed to come back on Monday with a mandate.”
However, Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis said the final wage offer Seifsa made on behalf of several employer organisations “is structured in such a way that the increases, as was the case in the previous 2021-24 agreement, are calculated on the minimum wage scales per job category”, and not on the actual rates of pay.
“The end result is that skilled artisans who are at the higher wage scales are hugely disadvantaged,” said Du Plessis. “The final offer for the first year of the agreement varies between 7% for unskilled employees and 6% for skilled employees, but ... the increases are calculated according to the lowest wage scales.”
Stats SA reported recently that the consumer inflation rate eased to 5.3% in March from 5.6% in February. The SA Reserve Bank and some economists expect inflation to average about 5% for the year.
Du Plessis said: “For the second and third years of the agreement, the offer for unskilled employees is 6% and 5% for skilled employees, also calculated according to the lowest wage scales.
“As the wage increases are not calculated according to the real wages, the increases for artisans and other skilled employees will be between 2% and 3%, and after statutory deductions the increase will actually amount to an increase of just above 1%.”
Du Plessis said Solidarity’s final demand of a minimum increase of 5% on actual wages was rejected by the employers.
“Solidarity’s Metal and Engineering Industries Council therefore requested the Solidarity negotiators not to sign the artisan-unfriendly agreement, even if the other trade unions involved in the negotiations decide to accept the employers’ offer,” he said.
“Solidarity will probably have to follow the prescribed dispute route, but in the meantime it appeals to employers to demonstrate regard for the value of their skilled employees.
“We ask that increase be calculated on artisans’ actual wage rates, as was the case before 2021. Not only will this make an end to the disadvantaging, but it will also stem the exodus of skilled employees,” Du Plessis said.
The steel sector, which has been a victim of declining prices due to an increase in cheap imports, accounts for about 1.5% of GDP and employs about 190,000 people.
Update: May 8 2024
This article has been updated with new information throughout.
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