Close to 6 000 workers at arms manufacturer Denel will pocket R4-million in lost wages, according to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).
Numsa said in a statement on Thursday that this came after the company applied for all its three operations to be exempted from wage increases agreed on at the Metal and Engineering Bargaining Council in 2003/04.
The union said the matter was referred to arbitration for final settlement, but before the matter could be heard on Wednesday, the company opted to pay workers 50% of what it owed them for the past two years.
The trade union added that the company will pay out R2-million on June 30 this year and another R2-million in December.
All the amounts will be divided equally among Denel employees irrespective of wage categories. It is estimated that each worker will receive not less than R6 000 per payment.
“The exemption application does not mean that Denel workers have not been getting a wage increase. In the past two years, the company has been unilaterally paying 50% of the wage rates to all workers as a result of the pending exemption application,” Numsa said.
Last year alone, the company increased the wages of workers in three divisions for which it had applied for exemption by 4,5%, compared with wage increases of between 9% and 10%, the union stated.
“The metal industries appeal committee turned down Denel’s application for exemption for its divisions from last year’s wage increase. This prompted the company to apply to the Labour Court for exemption. After the Labour Court, the parties agreed to refer the matter back to the Metal and Engineering Bargaining Council.”
Numsa said this is a victory for workers because the company has conceded defeat.
“Workers have been taking a wage cut, and the R4-million rand settlement will make them stand on their feet again. We are excited that after a long run the matter has come to a satisfactory end.”
Denel spokesperson Sam Basch would not comment on the matter, but agreed to give a response later. — I-Net Bridge