Trade union Solidarity will on Friday request the Labour Court to place the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) under administration in a bid to save the bargaining council from bankruptcy.
About 340 000 employees and 10 000 companies fall under the MEIBC.
In a statement released on Thursday, Solidarity said it was approaching the court owing to the ongoing financial crisis in which the bargaining council has been plunged over the past few years, as well as the inability of parties in the council to come to an agreement on several issues.
“The MEIBC’s financial position has deteriorated to such an extent recently that the bargaining council has been unable to perform its dispute resolution function for quite some time,” Solidarity deputy general secretary Marius Croucamp said.
He added that Solidarity will request that an administrator be appointed to see to it that the bargaining council becomes solvent and functional again.
“Urgent steps must be taken to improve the bargaining council’s financial position to ensure its future,” he stated.
Solidarity and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa have, this week, also submitted their wage demands to the MEIBC for this year’s wage negotiations in the metals and engineering sector.