The number of man days lost to strikes this year rose from 200Â 000 at the end of the first quarter to 700Â 000 at the end of June, according to Andrew Levy & Associates.
The major strike trigger was wages, which accounted for 99% of the total number of man days lost in the country. But this, according to Andrew Levy, employment adviser for Andrew Levy & Associates, was unlikely to become a trend.
“This is short-term data. The trend line is still falling, although this figure lies above the trend line.
“There is absolutely no reason to suppose a fundamental shift in the trend. All this is as a result of centralised level bargaining in a falling consumer price index environment. It is not sinister, unhealthy or worrisome. The actual number of strikes remain small, although obviously the revenues involved are large,” said Levy.
Wage settlement rates have been on the decrease over the past few years. In 2003 the average wage settlement rate was 8,7%, last year it was 7,9% and, according to the Reserve Bank, the average for the first quarter of 2005 was 6%.
“It is difficult for workers to adjust to lower inflation because not long ago they used to get a double digit-increase. But this year we are starting to run in a low inflation environment and workers will need to adjust to that,” said Brian Angus, the chief negotiator for the Steel Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa).
Although the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa accepted Seifsa’s 6,8% wage offer for the lowest grades and 5,2% for higher categories, Solidarity has rejected the offer. The trade union said on Wednesday that its 24 000 members in the metal and engineering industry would begin with protest action from Thursday.
Meanwhile, the South African Municipal Workers Union threatened more protest action if its call for higher salaries was not heeded. Thousands of municipal workers downed tools this week in a nationwide strike to protest against the South African Local Government Association’s 6% wage increase offer, privatisation of services and municipal bosses’ high wages. The union is demanding an increase of 9%.
According to Neva Makgetla, an economist for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), over the past 20 years the share of wages and salaries in the national income has declined, while the share of profits has risen.
“The structure of pay inherited from 1994 has still not been transformed. Twenty-five percent of workers still earn under R1 000 a month. As long as pay for senior executives is soaring, employers cannot expect workers to accept no real improvements in conditions,” said Makgetla.