Nxesi calls for 'cool heads' to prevail amid labour strikes

7th October 2021

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

Font size: - +

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi on October 7 called for calm as employer organisation the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) and union the National Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) remain in a deadlock over wage increases.

Additionally, one of the country’s biggest federations the Congress of South African Trade Unions has called for workers to come out in their millions this week to protest South Africa's weak economic performance.

Nxesi urged all parties to resolve their industrial issues urgently through social dialogue, especially "during this sensitive period of massive unemployment and retrenchments".

He appealed to all social partners entering the wage negotiations to work through their issues on the table. Hostility would not solve differences and, instead, it risks escalating the severe economic and social damages that have been brought about by Covid-19, the Minister said.

“It is common cause that the country is now going through one of the most difficult periods occasioned by the pandemic on one hand and the inclement economic conditions that prevailed even before Covid-19 on the other.

"It is against this background that we appeal to all the players, workers and employers, union federations and employer bodies, to handle the sensitive talks with the necessary caution,” he added.

“Cool heads should prevail and the good of the country and our economy should always be top of mind. After protracted industrial action, we still have to come and sit around the table to resolve our differences, but it is not wise or advisable to play a zero-sum game. We are all invested in this country,” Nxesi said.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION