Workers went out on strike, halting production at the vehicle manufacturer’s flagship Silverton plant in Pretoria last Thursday over a lack of 13th cheques. Picture: Supplied
Nicola Mawson
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has stated that it has reached an agreement with Ford South Africa whereby workers will receive a R20 000 bonus, and employees will return to work today.
This comes after more than 3 000 employees failed to return to work this week, in breach of a Labour Court order halting a strike that started last Thursday.
Numsa’s national spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, said the union had negotiated with its members to return to work.
“After days of marathon behind-the-scenes negotiations with Ford management to address the legitimate grievances of workers, Numsa was able to secure an agreement that all workers will be able to return to work and there will be no disciplinary sanction for those who participated in the strike,” she said.
Hlubi-Majola also claimed Numsa negotiated that Ford pays workers R20 000 for each worker as “a deadlock-breaking mechanism and to pay these monies as soon as possible following the return of workers to the workplace”.
Ford SA was not immediately able to comment and verify Numsa’s claims.
Workers went out on strike, halting production at the vehicle manufacturer’s flagship Silverton plant in Pretoria last Thursday over a lack of 13th cheques.
When announcing the strike last week, Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim cited Macrotrends and said that Ford globally had “made a fortune” over the past four years and reported a gross profit of $25.13 billion (R467.2bn) in the year to March 31, 2024 – a 0.45% year-on-year increase.
Jim said, given the profits, Ford could afford to pay workers some sort of bonus.
Of the 3 500 workers at Ford, Numsa represents 3 000.
The union served Ford SA with a 48-hour notice to strike after the two parties failed to reach an agreement during a conciliation process held on June 11 at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration in Pretoria.
The union said this then resulted in a certificate to strike being issued.
Last Thursday, Ford SA was granted an interim interdict by the Labour Court, making the strike unlawful and unprotected.
Ford SA, which produces more than 700 vehicles a day, stated – following the Labour Court ruling – that it encouraged workers to go back to the plant to ensure Ranger production in South Africa can resume.
The company directly employs about 5 000 people in South Africa and indirectly supports about 60 000 jobs in the value chain as of two years ago.
Since 2009, it has invested about R27.4bn into its local operations.
Last Wednesday, Ford spokesperson Minesh Bhagaloo said consistency in production was vital when selecting where to make investments, adding that union action adversely affects South Africa’s global competitiveness.
BUSINESS REPORT