The National union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has called for all parties involved in alleged fraud within the BMW Employees Medical Aid Scheme (Bemas) to face the music.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said while the union doesn’t condone criminal activity, “one should have a holistic approach to the entire issue at hand and deal with all involved equally and there should be no holy cows”.
Workers at the German carmaker in SA downed tools on Monday after accusing the company of wanting to implement the mass dismissal of about 700 staff.
BMW denied the allegations, saying the protest was in response to a fraud investigation at Bemas.
“BMW Group SA will not tolerate any acts of bribery, fraud or corruption by its employees. All internal policies and procedures are being followed, and the necessary disciplinary action will be taken for any employee found in transgression of our disciplinary code,” the company said in a statement.
“The rumours of workforce reduction to cut a shift are untrue and, should there be any termination of an associate’s contract due to the fraud investigation, we will recruit and upskill new associates, ensuring business continuity.
“The integrity of Bemas is critical to our value proposition as an employer. Its core function is to guarantee that our employees and their families have access to the best possible health care.”
Jim said: “If workers were indeed involved in the alleged criminal conduct this could have only occurred with the participation of various other stakeholders, including corrupt service providers appointed by the medical aid scheme.
“Workers cannot take the brunt without these criminals, who benefited the most, also being exposed and acted against.”
Numsa said it appeared BMW SA was “aware of these irregularities since 2019 and not only elected to take no action then, which renders its current action legally incompetent and unfair, but apparently now utilises this issue to effect the mass dismissal of workers, in order to avoid a formal retrenchment process with concomitant payment of severance pay”.
Jim said the union would insist on full exposure of all facets of the saga and all rights are reserved as there was much at stake.
“I have written to the senior leadership of BMW ... We have called on the senior leadership of both Numsa and BMW to be prepared to meet and dialogue on these matters including reaching a permanent solution, in the best interests of both parties and broader society as a whole,” he said.
When contacted for comment on Wednesday, BMW SA said it did not have a response “at the moment”.
The automotive sector is one of the country’s biggest, contributing 5.3% to GDP in 2023 — with 3.2% coming from manufacturing and from 2.1% retail. It is also among the largest export sectors in the country and employs more than 100,000 people.
The export value of vehicles and automotive components increased by R43.5bn, or 19.1%, to a record R270.8bn in 2023, representing 14.7% of total SA exports.
SA remains the dominant market for vehicles in Africa, accounting for 54.1% of the continent’s total production of just over 1.71-million units in 2023.
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