BRENTWOOD

2021-05-13

NUMSA tables Metal Industry demands for 2021 negotiations.

NUMSA sent their demands for the Metal and Engineering Industries’ 2021’s wage negotiations on 10 May 2021.

The demands include:

WAGE INCREASES: 15% across the board.

DURATION OF AGREEMENT: 1 year. The previous agreements have been 3-year agreements.

SHIFT ALLOWANCE TO BE INCREASED
- Night shift allowance to be increased to 25%, from the current 15%
- Afternoon shift to be increased to 15%, from the current 8%
- Morning shift to be 10%.

COVID RELATED MATTERS
- all employees with comorbidities to be paid full salary, or they must qualify for disability from the provident or pension fund;
- Employers must pay for Covid-19 tests;
- Employers must pay the full salary for employees who are quarantined.

PATERNITY LEAVE:
- Sick benefit must be amended to include Paternity leave.
- Ten days paid Paternity Leave, currently included in Family Responsibility Leave.

FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY LEAVE
- 5 days per occurrence for family responsibility leave. Currently Family Responsibility Leave is 3 days per annum. It accumulates for three years specifically for Compassionate Leave.
- Shifts must not be affected by the leave.

ANNUAL LEAVE
Annual Leave to be increased to 25 days after 24 Months of employment of service. Currently Annual Leave is 3 consecutive weeks (15 working days/21 consecutive days). In the fourth year and additional week is added.

RETRENCHMENT SEVERANCE PAY: Increase severance pay to four weeks per each completed year of service.  Currently severance pay is 1 week per year of completed service.  6 months is considered a completed year.  There are additional ex gratia payments:
- 5 – 10 years’ service: extra one week’s severance pay.
- 11 – 15 years’ service: extra two week’s severance pay.
- More than 16 years: extra three week’s severance pay.

RETIREMENT EX GRATIA PAYMENT: Ex-gratia service pay must be paid to employee when they retire from the industry.

TRAVEL ALLOWANCE:
- The employer must assist the employees that could not be at work due to public transport non availability, and the employer must provide the transport, including its costs; or
- An across the board monthly payment of R1000.
- The employer must also provide transport for awkward shifts and to pay 100% towards transport.

UNDERGROUND ALLOWANCES: An underground allowance of R1000.

YOUTH WAGE SUBSIDY: Reject the youth wage subsidy.

PROVIDENT FUND: Include insured Benefits i.e. Funeral cover.

SHAREHOLDING IN COMPANIES: Employees to be shareholders in the companies where they work.

EXTENSION TO NON-PARTIES
- Extend to non-parties,
- If negotiations are concluded after the end of June, it must secure back pay to cover the period that might have been lost during negotiations.

DISASTER FUND: An agreement that will cover/protect workers not to lose out during lockdown, short time and lay-off.