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26 August, 2001Numsa negotiates a 9 per cent pay increase for its 21,000 members at BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Delta/General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen.
SOUTH AFRICA: The auto strike organised by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, which began on August 6 and saw virtually all production halted for three weeks at BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Delta/General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler (Volkswagen was able to continue production), was suspended "until further notice" on August 26.
Workers agreed to return to their jobs after accepting a wage hike of 9 per cent negotiated between the union and the Automobile Manufacturing Employers Organisation. The pay increase will be backdated to July 1, 2001, with a guaranteed improvement factor of 1 per cent above the inflation rate in years two and three of the agreement, which has not yet been signed as several issues are still being negotiated before a national arbitration panel.
The union commended its members for their unity and strength throughout the dispute, despite continued threats from the employers that they were losing millions of rand in wages and might shift production to other parts of the world.
The strike drew key solidarity support from the international trade union movement. German DaimlerChrysler workers and their General Works Council had declared they would refuse a transfer of production to Germany or any overtime to compensate for production losses due to the strike, as did the Brazilian workers and their Works Council at the Sao Bernardo DaimlerChrysler plant.
Workers agreed to return to their jobs after accepting a wage hike of 9 per cent negotiated between the union and the Automobile Manufacturing Employers Organisation. The pay increase will be backdated to July 1, 2001, with a guaranteed improvement factor of 1 per cent above the inflation rate in years two and three of the agreement, which has not yet been signed as several issues are still being negotiated before a national arbitration panel.
The union commended its members for their unity and strength throughout the dispute, despite continued threats from the employers that they were losing millions of rand in wages and might shift production to other parts of the world.
The strike drew key solidarity support from the international trade union movement. German DaimlerChrysler workers and their General Works Council had declared they would refuse a transfer of production to Germany or any overtime to compensate for production losses due to the strike, as did the Brazilian workers and their Works Council at the Sao Bernardo DaimlerChrysler plant.