Metal workers were mulling over whether or not to accept the wage increase on offer from the Steel Engineering Industry Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) on Monday.
”Workers in the steel and engineering [industry] are debating the improved wage offer of 7,5% for the lowest paid and 6,5% for the highest paid,” said National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) spokesperson Dumisa Ntuli.
This improved offer, which would affect over 300 000 workers, came out of Friday’s meeting between Numsa and Seifsa.
Previously the employer federation was offering 5,7% to the lowest paid and 6,7% to highest paid members.
Numsa said both parties planned to meet on Wednesday to ”finally determine whether to conclude the wage agreement or not”.
The union would then announce on Thursday whether workers would accept or reject the wage offer.
Workers protested in Johannesburg last Thursday to press demands for a wage increase of between nine and 12% from Seifsa.
”We were able to push employers [in]to a corner by embarking on one-day protest action,” Ntuli said.
”The strike action was a remedy to show employers that workers cannot accept a miserable wage offer in the light [of] huge job losses taking place in the industry.”
He argued: ”If workers are not paid good salaries the economy will not grow because people will buy less.”
If accepted by the unions, the increases would be backdated to July 1, 2004. – Sapa