The National Union of Metalworkers of SA and representatives of South Africa’s motor industry have agreed to meet the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on Friday afternoon to find a solution to end the strike.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and representatives of South Africa’s car manufacturers have agreed to meet the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in a bid to find a solution to end the strike.
Numsa spokesman Dumisa Ntuli said his union was expected to hold formal negotiations with the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (Ameo) on Friday afternoon in an attempt to end the dispute. The strike continues on Friday after halting for Thursday’s public holiday.
The CCMA offered to step in on Wednesday and help break the wage negotiation deadlock after 21 000 workers downed tools on Monday. Ameo accepted the CCMA’s offer on Wednesday, but Numsa wanted to consult its members first.
Numsa wants a 12 per cent pay rise, while the employers initially offered 7,5 per cent. This was later revised to eight per cent.
Another union, MWU-Solidarity, earlier this week accepted an eight per cent wage increase from Ameo. But MWU-Solidarity said on Wednesday it would stop doing the jobs of striking workers from Friday.
The union’s spokesman, Dirk Hermann, appealed to Numsa and the employers to reach an agreement. He said: “We simply cannot keep up with the extra work and this is not fair.”
Ameo spokesman Dave Kirby said on Wednesday that the cost of the strike has been huge. “Since the strike started (on Monday) we have lost about 3 500 units in terms of production, which brings the turnover loss to about R350 million,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to Volkswagen SA, less than 30 per cent of their hourly paid workforce have participated in the strike and production has continued throughout the week at their plant in Uitenhage.
The company said that the export of press and engine parts has continued as normal throughout the week and vehicle production is running at approximately 70 per cent of schedule. Production had not been originally scheduled for Friday, but in light of losses earlier in the week, the company said certain key production lines being kept running.
“The company has plans in place to ensure we continue with production next week, however for the benefit of the industry and all employees working in the industry, we hope the current intervention by the CCMA results in a settlement of the dispute between Ameo and Numsa and an end to this damaging strike,” said Matt Gennrich, VWSA General Manager Communications.