OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 4.00PM.
LABOUR unions this year managed to negotiate high wage settlement despite a low inflation rate, Johannesburg-based industrial relations and labour law consultancy Andrew Levy and Associates said on Tuesday.
Releasing the results of a survey polling 200 companies, the consultancy said that while the inflation rate January to May sat around 5,3%, wage settlements of an average of 9,2% were reached over a similar period of January and June. The survey predicts that “the average level of settlement will drop further in the next quarter at around the nine percent level”.
Pressure from employers, the survey said, is to keep wage rises in line with the average inflation. “Employers endeavouring to reach a more realistic agreement find themselves up against strong resistance from the unions, often leading to the declaration of a dispute and industrial action of some kind.”
The survey also found that settlements ranged from 6% in the municipal sector to 18% in the transport sector. While initial union demands ranged from 9% to 150%, they averaged out at 33%.
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