Wage confirmation talks, which constitute the three-year agreement between the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organisation (AMEO), hit a snag this week after the parties failed to reach an agreement on wage increases.
Numsa spokesperson Dumisa Ntuli said employers demanded that the union should pay back the 0,6% extra wages that were erroneously given to workers as a result of Statistics South Africa’s miscalculation of the CPIX by 0,6% last year.
The employers argue that workers were overpaid last year by several million rand.
The trade union said that in terms of the three-year wage agreement the employer organisation was supposed to confirm in May consumer price index (CPIX) plus a 1% improvement factor. Numsa argues that effectively the wage increase for this year is supposed to be 8,7% across the board.
Ntuli said based on the 8,7% wage increase, employers want to minus 0,6% and give an increase of 8,1% across the board. The union rejected the 8,1% wage offer because it said it violated and undermined the three-year wage agreement signed in 2001.
The parties will meet on Friday to further discuss the demands of employers.
Ntuli said if employers continued to insist on the 8,1% increase, the union would be left with no other option but to declare a dispute in the meeting on Friday and mobilise for a potential strike action which would take place in two weeks.
“We argue strongly that the 0,6% demand has no underlying basis and legitimate justification. Firstly, the employer organisation and NAAMSA raised vehicle prices by 18% to make up for the inflation increase.”
“Are they planning to return that money to the consumers? Consumers in South Africa were robbed and cheated by Statistics South Africa’s miscalculated inflation figures,” he added. – I-Net Bridge