File picture: Thomas Peter File picture: Thomas Peter
Johannesburg - It appears that an accord between the retail motor industry and the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) about a three-year agreement may be imminent.
Irvin Jim, the general secretary of Numsa, said yesterday that the union met negotiators from the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) and the parties exchanged views and clarified their positions.
Jim said RMI had committed to come back to Numsa yesterday or today. “The meeting was not that bad,” Jim added.
Jakkie Olivier, the chief executive of RMI, which represents 19 000 businesses that collectively employ about 300 000 people, confirmed that a meeting had taken place with Numsa on Monday and the organisation was preparing “a final settlement proposal” that it would submit to Numsa today for the union to consider.
Olivier said the RMI had an in-principle agreement with Numsa on some components of the proposed settlement agreement.
“It will be in the form of an agreement, which will be signed (by both parties) when there is consensus on all the issues. I think we are very close (to reaching agreement),” he said.
Olivier confirmed the RMI had received a counter proposal from Numsa and both parties had to consult their members because of “the movement in the settlement terms and the counter proposals offered”.
“I’m very comfortable at this stage that agreement is highly likely without disruption in the broad industry,” he said.
Value chain
In 2013, almost nine weeks of back-to-back strikes by various sectors in the motor industry and automotive value chain, including the automotive component sector, resulted in the loss of production of 58 000 vehicles worth a total of about R11.6 billion.
Olivier added that if consensus was reached by both parties, the settlement agreement was likely to be ratified by a meeting of the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (Mibco) that was scheduled to take place on November 10.
Numsa’s previous final demand was for a wage increase of 9 percent in the first year of a three-year agreement, with wage hikes of 8 percent in each of the following two years. The RMI had offered a wage increase of 7 percent in each year of the agreement, with the automotive component manufacturing sector offering a wage increase of 8.5 percent in the first year, 7.5 percent in the second and 7 percent in the third year.
However, it is believed that the RMI and Numsa had moved from these positions. The previous three-year agreement between expired at the end of August. Any new agreement reached between the parties cannot be backdated.
The Automotive Manufacturers Employers’ Organisation and Numsa in September agreed on a 10 percent wage increase in the first year of a three-year agreement with an 8 percent wage hike in each of the following two years.
The settlement between the SA Tyre Manufacturing Conference and Numsa was for an 8.5 percent wage increase in the first year and wage hikes of 8 percent in each of the following two years.
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