16 July, 2007NUMSA and five other metal unions in South Africa sign new collective agreement with engineering employers' federation, including a wage rise of 9 per cent for lowest paid workers.
SOUTH AFRICA: A new three-year collective agreement was reached by metal unions and employers in South Africa on July 13, after protracted negotiations and three days of strike action by 260,000 metalworkers across the country.
The agreement was reached by IMF affiliates the National Union of Metal Workers (NUMSA), which represented the majority of the workers, and the Metal and Electrical Workers' Union (MEWUSA) and four other metal unions with the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation (SEIFSA), which represents 9,000 engineering companies.
A significant victory for workers in the engineering, auto, tyre and rubber sectors, the agreement paves the way for the implementation of a new five-grade job structure, an employees share ownership scheme and will generate more employment opportunities and skills development.
The employers' federation also agreed in principle to increase wages, effective from July 1, by 9 per cent for the lowest paid workers and 8 per cent for the advance A grade level, and by 8.1 per cent and 7.1 per cent in the year 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The parties to the agreement will also resume investigations on the structure and timing of apprentice wage rates and annual wage increases.
NUMSA general secretary Silumko Nondwangu described the agreement as an "unprecedented deal which surpasses all other negotiated settlements in most sectors".