negotiations
Ferial Haffajee
TOUGH talking will be the order of the day as crucial wage rounds involving South Africa’s biggest employers in the mining, motor, engineering and clothing sectors get under way.
“It’s going to be a difficult year for negotiations,” predicts Jackie Kelly of Andrew Levy & Associates. In its most recent quarterly bulletin of wage talks, the consultancy found that many negotiations this year had ended in dispute.
National strikes at Nestl, Sappi, 3M and Mondi all started because of wage disputes.
Increases this year are likely to beat inflation – to date workers have won increases hovering between 9% and 10%.
A look at this year’s wage demands displays growing sophistication from trade unions. As has been the pattern for a few years now, many unions are no longer pushing for an across-the-board increase, but are looking for higher wage increases for workers in lower categories, while settling for lower increases for more senior workers.
This is a feature of talks in the public sector as well as in the mining and engineering sectors.
This week, the Mail & Guardian previews wage talks likely to keep employers and unionists busy for the next few months.
MINING
Workers: About 300 000 workers – belonging to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the Mynwerkers Unie, two officials unions and the Electrical Workers Union
Wage demand: The NUM, which bargains on behalf of 211 000 workers, wants a living wage of R1 800, with a minimum wage of R1 200. Wages above R1 800 are to be increased by 20%.
The other unions have tabled demands ranging between 15% and 20%.
Offer: The Chamber of Mines is still considering labour’s demands.
Other demands:
* Collapse number of wage grades.
* End remaining discrimination. The NUM says there are still race-based wages and practices such as separate hoisting cages, medical aid schemes and retirement provisions in the industry.
* Medical care for miners and their dependants at the mine. The union wants the industry to fund rural health-care networks, including mobile clinics and regional medical centres.
* Extension of agency shop agreement, a type of closed shop.
Comment: Employers say wage demands do not take account of struggling gold mining sector.
ENGINEERING
Workers: 285 000
Wage demand: 16% to 22%.
Wage offer: 7%
Other demands:
* A 40-hour working week, against the current 44 hours.
* The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) wants six months’ notification of technological change. Employers willing to give 60 days.
* Extend the industry agreement to former homelands. Employers have no problem in practice, but fear job losses in those areas where pay is lower and working conditions less regulated.
Comment: Employers say negotiations have been cordial though Numsa is concerned that the wage offer is below inflation.
MOTOR
Workers: About 60 000 Numsa members
Wage demand: Basic increase of 9%, with improvements ranging between 15% and 25,5%.
Offer: The Motor Industries Federation has not tabled a wage offer.
Other demands:
* Night-shift allowance of 15% plus improved long-service award.
* Parental rights for those with adopted children; 10 days’ paternity leave and childcare facilities at work.
* A 40-hour week.
* Extension of closed-shop agreement.
Comment: Negotiations have reached an impasse. Employers say Numsa is in breach of the agreement. They allege the union committed itself last year to negotiating only wage demands.
The union says it never agreed not to negotiate on other labour issues. The motor sector covers workers in garages, mechanics and employees in related industries.
PUBLIC SECTOR
Workers: 1,2-million
Wage demand: Total budget of R6,5-billion for salaries for 1997/1998.
Wage offer: There is a short-fall of R323- million.
Negotiations this year will focus on a wage increase. The Public Servants Association (PSA), which has about 138 000 members, says the government last year promised R6,5-billion for increases. But the government says the public service has not shed the numbers it needs to justify the increase.
The National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (Nehawu), which has about 100 000 members in the public service, wants a freeze on salaries for top civil servants from director-level upward.
Savings made should be paid to doctors, nurses, police officers and teachers, they say.
Comments: The state is the country’s largest employer. Negotiations, which continue in June, are going to be fraught. The government’s committed to cut public spending, while trade unions in the sector will fight for larger increases.
The PSA has written to the government asking for details on why the “right- sizing” of the public service has not yielded results it had hoped for. Nehawu will request a similar audit.
The union also wants to know how public service increases are spent. One aspect it wants probed is research showing that the top five percent of public servants take home between 60 and 70% of the budgeted increase.