Statement of the Numsa Special National Executive Committee (NEC) held on 15th September 2013 in Kopanong Conference Centre, Benoni, Johannesburg

Numsa convened a Special Numsa National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Sunday 15^th September to consider the following important matters;

1. Settlement of the Auto Industry strike

2. Briefing and update on the Numsa negotiations with motor industry employers

3. Deadlock in the Tyre Manufacturing Industry

4. Wage deadlock in Eskom

5. Legal processes and preparation for the Cosatu CEC scheduled for 16-18 September 2013

6. Numsa's reply to the utterances of the ANC SG and SACP GS which sought to attack Numsa from the platform of the recent Popcru Political School

7. Media statements attributed to the Numsa President

This Special NEC is not out of the ordinary because it is a custom and practice within Numsa to convene national constitutional structures to resolve on industry strikes. In this instance the Special NEC was convened prior to the Cosatu CEC scheduled for 16-18 September 2013 to look at Numsa organised industry strikes and to prepare for the CEC.

1. Settlement of the Auto industry strike:

The NEC took note of the disciplined manner in which Numsa members employed in the Auto manufacturing industry heeded the call by the NEC of 4^th September 2013 to end the 3 week strike and returned to work on 9^th September 2013.

The plant specific challenges at Toyota in Durban and BMW in Pretoria was successfully navigated by the national leadership and as such Numsa members at these plants appreciated plant specific improvements negotiated by the leadership.

2. Briefing and update on the Numsa negotiations with motor industry employers:

The NEC agreed that motor employers are very reckless by ignoring the reasonable demands of striking Numsa members in the motor industry strike. Low paying motor workers are angry and frustrated with how their employers are treating their reasonable demands. As the strike enters the second week, the NEC resolved that;

The Numsa National Office Bearers together with the Numsa national legal department must look at a secondary strike in support of motor industry workers. The secondary strike should look at drawing iron and steel (engineering) industry workers who are Numsa members to support their Comrades against the intransigent bosses.

Convene further marches following the very successful nation-wide marches on 9, 11 and 12 September 2013 across the country. The Numsa national strike committee has been tasked to organise the logistics for the second march.

The parties have agreed to return to the negotiating table on Monday 16^th September 2013 and possibly Tuesday 17^th September 2013.

3. Deadlock in the Tyre Manufacturing Industry:

The Special NEC received a report that Numsa and Tyre manufacturing employers reached a deadlock on 11^th September 2013 in respect of the following core issues;

• wage increases and;
• payment for weekend work

Many employers have embarked on a tactic to place workers in the Tyre manufacturing sector on short time in an endeavor to disarm strike action. The NEC resolved that we shall carefully look at the timing of issuing the strike notice in the Tyre manufacturing sector. For now Numsa's efforts is going into the resolution of the motor industry strike.

4. Wage deadlock in Eskom:

The NEC mandated the Numsa National Office Bearers to work towards the following action steps to make know the frustration of Numsa members employed in Eskom;

Escalate communication with Numsa members on the deadlock and our plans to fight Eskom management

Meeting with the Eskom CEO and Minister of Public Enterprises to avert wild cat action in Eskom

5. Legal processes and preparation for the Cosatu CEC scheduled for 16-18 September 2013:

The NEC received a briefing from the Numsa National Office Bearers on the High Court challenge to have the decisions of the 14^th August 2013 Cosatu meeting set aside. The NEC appreciated that the Numsa NOB decision to afford other affiliates and the Cosatu NOB an opportunity time to file their papers was proper. The NEC also noted the suspended Cosatu General Secretary's filing of papers in support of the Numsa application. The NEC expressed appreciation for how the National Office Bearers of Numsa had been able to carry out all Numsa NEC and CC decisions with respect to developments in Cosatu and the Alliance.

The NEC noted that the agenda of the Cosatu CEC of 16-18 September 2013 is the same agenda for which Numsa had been ready and given a mandate by the Numsa constitutional structures since February 2013 and May 2013. The NEC expressed the hope that the central task of the Cosatu CEC of 16-18 September 2013 shall be the implementation of the Cosatu 11^th National Congress and the Cosatu March 2013 National Organising, Campaigns and Collective Bargaining Conference resolutions.

6. Numsa's reply to the utterances of the ANC SG and SACP GS which sought to attack Numsa from the platform of the recent Popcru Political School:

The NEC received a Secretariat discussion document setting out an ideological analyses and response to the recent attacks by the ANC SG and SACP GS. The NEC adopted the discussion and resolved that it should be publicly released.

7. Media statements attributed to the Numsa President:

The Numsa NEC noted that media speculation has it that the Numsa Special NEC was convened to deal with the Numsa President's statements in the Sowetan and Business Day and that therefore the Numsa President would either be censured or suspended. This is very far from the truth and is at best reckless, divisive and sensational by media houses that carried that agenda.

The Numsa NEC confirmed that;

• Numsa is not divided
• All Numsa Regions expressed confidence in how the Numsa National Office Bearers carried out the decisions of the Numsa NEC and CC

Here are the facts and decisions of the Numsa Special NEC held on 15^th September 2013;

(a) The Numsa Special National Executive Committee (NEC) was never convened to suspend the Numsa President;

(b) The Numsa President took ill and could therefore not attend a Numsa National Office Bearers meeting held on Saturday 14^thSeptember 2013 which was meant to prepare for the prepare for the Numsa Special NEC on Sunday 15^th September 2013 and to hear the President's side of the story in relation to the media reports attributed to the Numsa President.

(c) In view of the President's ill health and the inability to have the media statements verified, the NEC gave the Numsa National Office Bearers a mandate to engage with the Numsa President once he has recovered from ill health to hear the Numsa President's side of the story and report back to the next Numsa national constitutional meeting.

The media is cautioned to refrain from making pronouncements on matters that Numsa has not decided or resolved upon.

Statement issued by Castro Ngobese, NUMSA National Spokesperson, September 16 2013

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