The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA) has tabled a revised conditional wage offer aimed at securing an agreement for the Metals and Engineering (M&E) sector.
The offer was made to trade unions representing workers during Metals and Engineering Bargaining Council negotiations held yesterday. The trade unions participating in the negotiations include the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, Solidarity, Uasa, the Metal and Electrical Workers’ Union of South Africa and the South African Equity Workers Association.
SEIFSA is offering a 4.4% (April CPI) increase across the board for year one, CPI plus 0,5% in year two and CPI plus 1% in year three.
SEIFSA Operations Director Lucio Trentini said that in given the state of the sector, company’s continuing to find it difficult to stabilise their businesses in the face of on-going challenges and in an attempt to slow down the haemorrhaging of job losses, this terms agreement is presented with a view to awarding increases on schedule rates as opposed to the past practice of implementing increases on actual rates of pay.
Linked to the offer is a special phase-in dispensation aimed at encouraging small and medium sized employers who over the last 10 years have elected not to be covered by the main agreement to come on board and participate on a 15-year phase in dispensation aimed at achieving parity with the main agreement rates while continuing to enjoy the remaining benefits associated with the agreement.
The unions and the employer associations affiliated to SEIFSA have undertaken to revert back to their respective constituencies and all sides will return to the negotiating table on 28 July 2021.