Seifsa brings metal and engineering industry to a halt with a lockout notice -Solidarity requests confidential ballot among Seifsa members
In response to Solidarity's request yesterday that the dispute round in the metal and engineering industry should be extended by 21 days so that a negotiated settlement could be reached, the employers' organisation Seifsa served Solidarity and the other trade unions involved in the Metal and Engineering Industry Bargaining Council with a lockout notice this morning. This lockout notice served by Seifsa, the largest employers' organisation in the bargaining council, means that the employer organisation itself has now brought the industry to a halt, and with it a great deal of harm to its members and the economy in general.
In terms of the notice, Solidarity and all the other unions will be locked out of the various places of employment as from Tuesday, 1 July 2014, when the strike by Numsa members announced yesterday commences.
Solidarity General Secretary Gideon du Plessis said that Solidarity's 22 000 members in the industry are now prohibited to work and continue with production, even though they never intended to go on strike. "Seifsa has already been placed on terms by Solidarity, that the lockout notice will be contested since it has never been Solidarity's intention to strike. We want collective bargaining to succeed because the people of South Africa simply cannot afford another devastating strike."
Du Plessis said that Seifsa's actions are so out of touch with their own members that Solidarity requests a confidential ballot within the employer organisation. "Since Seifsa's lockout notice was served, Solidarity has been inundated by Seifsa members who want to distance themselves from Seifsa and who want to collaborate with Solidarity on an individual basis in order to continue with production. We believe that Seifsa's leadership does not have a proper mandate for its current actions and that a confidential ballot will expose this state of affairs."
Du Plessis expressed his disapproval of the fact that, contrary to MEIBC dispute rules, Thulani Mthiyane, new head of the MEIBC, prematurely issued a certificate to all parties declaring a final deadlock. This certificate now gives Numsa and Seifsa the opportunity to strike instead of engaging in further negotiations while production continues.
Update:
Seifsa confirms intention to lock out non-striking workers
Recent statements by Seifsa indicate that the employer organisation, through its ill-considered actions and decisions that will destabilise the industry and heighten the tension in an already fragile labour relations environment, is becoming the Amcu of the metal and engineering industry. Seifsa acknowledged in its statement that the federation has issued a lockout notice to members of the four unions which have indicated that they do not intend to embark on industrial action.
Solidarity General Secretary Gideon du Plessis says that by doing so, Seifsa has opted for strong-arm tactics that speak of little respect for collective bargaining and unions, their members and loyal employees who want to keep their workplaces fully functional and operational.
"Solidarity calls upon all Seifsa members to ignore the lockout notice issued by their employer organisation and to allow their loyal employees to continue with production to avoid a situation which could plunge the country into a recession, given the recent damage caused by the Amcu platinum strike. A significant number of Seifsa's members are downstream companies that are recovering from the platinum strike, and Seifsa ought to have known better before having opted to shut down the industry through a lock-out notice."
"Solidarity also calls upon Seifsa members to re-consider their membership with an employer's organisation which does not have the best interests of the industry at heart," Du Plessis continued.
Du Plessis notes that Seifsa further compromised their position by declaring in a press release earlier today that it has given unions a 24 hour lockout notice, while the Labour Relations Act clearly stipulates that a lockout notice should be accompanied by a minimum 48 hour notice period to respondent parties.
Solidarity will continue to negotiate with those employer organisations which have confirmed their willingness to continue with collective bargaining in good faith. Solidarity will also further engage with those Seifsa members that have approached the union today for bilateral discussions.
Statements issued by Gideon du Plessis, General Secretary, Solidarity, June 27 2014
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