The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the country’s largest union representing more than 400,000 workers, is demanding a 10% wage increase in the motor sector.
The motor sector covers more than 300,000 workers, who fall under the Motor Industries Bargaining Council. Employer organisations that are part of the council include the Fuel Retailers Association and the Retail Motor Industry Organisation.
The motor sector comprises employees in component manufacturing companies, fuel stations, car dealerships, tyre shops, aftermarket sales, glass-fitment centres, car cleaning, car parts assembly and panel-beating workshops. It employs about 306,000 workers nationally, of whom about 90,000 are Numsa members.
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union tabled its wage demands during the first round of wage talks, held on Thursday and Friday, under the auspices of the Motor Industries Bargaining Council.
The current three-year wage agreement signed in November 2022, in which workers received a 7.5% increase in the first year, followed by increases of 6% in the second and third years, ends on August 31.
The wage talks come after Numsa held its national bargaining conference in Johannesburg in March, where it consolidated its wage demands across the sectors in which it operates.
Besides the 10% across-the-board wage demands, Numsa demands medical aid/insurance for all workers, night shift allowances, transport allowances and closing the wage gap. Inflation is hovering at about 3%.
Cost of living
Hlubi-Majola said the rationale for the demands was that “our members are earning very low wages”.
“Our demands are informed by the reality of the negative impact of the cost of living. The facts are that the majority of black and African workers continue to earn the lowest wages.
“Research by Stats SA found that about half of the 13-million workers in SA earn below R5,400 a month, meaning most of the earnings are concentrated at the top.
“And there is a racial discrepancy where white workers still earn much more than coloured, Indian and African workers, with Africans being the lowest paid,” she said.
“The report published by Stats SA on May 7 2024, states: ‘In terms of racial distribution, the median salary among white workers is R21,000, versus the lowest median of R4,700 among black South Africans’.”
Numsa members struggled to survive on their wages, Hlubi-Majola said.
“They spend the bulk of their wages on food, rent, electricity and transport to and from work. This has been confirmed by research by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group, which found that workers spend as much as 57% of their wages on transport and electricity, whilst underspending on food.”
The union believed its demands were reasonable as workers were suffering amid the rising cost of living that had pushed many below the breadline. Their wages have not improved much over the years.
“While we accept that the CPI [consumer price index] is currently at around 3%, an inflation-based increase is unrealistic because our members simply cannot afford to survive on it,” Hlubi-Majola said.
Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) spokesperson Sonja Carstens said: “Misa won’t be responding to Numsa’s demands. Misa is the majority union in Mibco [Motor Industries Bargaining Council], representing more than 70,000 members. We are still busy with the first round of negotiations.”
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