The proposed agreement provides this year that employees will receive the following guaranteed personal increase in their actual hourly rate per hour in margins and cents: Under the agreement, employers who currently pay less than the current plan rates and who are not members of an employer organization that is a party to the master agreement will be offered a special phased-in exemption. Employers who pay on July 1, 2021 at a rate equal to or greater than 60% of the current planned rates have ten (10) years to gradually reach 100% of the planned rates, and employers who pay less than 60% of the current planned rates on July 1, 2021 have 5 (five) years to gradually increase to 60% of the planned rates, then ten (10) years at 100% of the planned rates. Seifsa continues to offer the first special phase-in exemption for employers and employees who have worked outside the scope of the main agreement. The agreement, he says, is the result of a collective bargaining partnership based on understanding, respect and trust. The five unions that have signed this agreement are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, Solidarity, the United Association of South Africa, the Metal and Electricity Workers Union of South Africa and the South African Equity Workers Association. The collective agreement, which was adopted in accordance with the Industrial Relations Act, now enjoys the status of a sectoral collective agreement and marks a turning point where companies and workers have collectively recognised the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on companies and workers in the metals and engineering (M&E) sector, Seifsa said. Numsa and the South African Metal and Electricity Workers` Union (Mewusa) remain on strike. ”The agreement gives our industry the opportunity to preserve jobs while looking for solutions that will help change not only the fate of the sector, but the economy as a whole,” Trentini notes. The 19 employers` associations affiliated to the Federation of Southern African Steel and Engineering Industries (Seifsa) and the five industry unions formally adopted on 1 September the main standstill agreement reached in August 2020-2021. ”The multi-year agreements with Seifsa and employers on the Metals and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council will contribute to the industry`s recovery and benefit workers who provide them with higher incomes and opportunities.” Seifsa`s chief operating officer, Lucio Trentini, says the deal is important because it recognises from all parties to the negotiations the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses and employee livelihoods in an economy that was already in recession before the pandemic. Seifsa, the unions adopt the main status quo agreement The constitution also provides for the requirement and issuance of a certificate of non-dissolution in the event that a party considers that the ongoing negotiations during the thirty-day window are unnecessary. Today`s meeting has helped all parties to better understand their respective positions and, with the follow-up meeting scheduled for 2 September, all parties will have one last opportunity to take stock of their respective positions. The settlement offer of the associations affiliated to seifsa is based on four interconnected pillars: 1.

Duration; 2. Salary increases and salary model; 3. Enlargement; and 4. A special derogation to promote increased support for centralised collective bargaining, which is more necessary than ever to ensure the survival, recovery, growth and sustainability of the industry in an environment of industrial peace, stability and security. If the companies decide to implement the new offer, it means that all planned employees, with the exception of numsa and Mewusa members, will receive the increase unless a single Numsa or Mewusa member chooses to renounce their participation in the strike and sign a pledge. This offer provides for workers to receive an increase of 4.4% this year, a CPI plus 0.5% in 2022 and a CPI plus 1% in 2023, with a lower and upper limit of 3% and 6% in years 2 and 3, which guarantees workers an increase of at least 3% or 6% plus the cost of living adjustment of 0.5% and 1% in years 2 and 3, respectively. Edited by: Chanel de BruynCreamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE ENQUIRY This manual also contains the eight different salary scales that will apply from July 1, 2021 to July 30, 2021. June 2022, as well as the different conditions of employment that apply to all hired employees. ”We are at a crossroads and the lines in the sand have been drawn. It`s unfortunate and unfortunate, but we have a duty to protect our industry from the ever-increasing trade costs that only make the sector increasingly anti-competitive,” said Seifsa. To register subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za email or click here To apply E-Mail-advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here ”In response, we have all agreed to suspend existing terms of employment for a period of 12 months and freeze current wage rates until June 30, 2021, so that the industry can adapt to a post-Covid-19 reality.

This is unprecedented not only in this sector, but throughout the country,” Trentini said. DISPUTES BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND TRADE UNIONS CONTINUE IN ORDER TO CONCLUDE AN AGREEMENT Collectively, the members of these unions represent 49.8% of all employees employed by employers` organizations in the Collective Bargaining Council. Negotiations will continue seriously between all parties and all reasonable efforts will be made to avoid a complete breakdown of negotiations, which will pave the way for strikes and lockouts in the industry. . . .