Solidarity fights to keep factories running in the metal and engineering industry while Seifsa fights to shut them down

Employer agency Seifsa appears committed to continue with its lockout of non-striking workers as well as striking workers at more than a thousand Seifsa affiliated companies, thereby completely suspending the activities of all businesses concerned.

According to Solidarity General Secretary Gideon du Plessis, it is ironic that it is Solidarity who has to put up the fight to let non-striking workers keep operations fully or partly running as the coming strike and negotiations continue, while Seifsa's actions threaten to bring operations to a halt. "The result of Seifsa's ill-considered lockout action is that the impact of the strike is amplified, thus ensuring maximum damage to the economy."

Du Plessis says that Seifsa's actions will with no doubt negatively affect future co-operation between Solidarity and Seifsa. "And this while Seifsa is fighting for its survival because its status as bona fide representative of employers within the MEIBC (Metal and Engineering Bargaining Council) is being questioned from many quarters."

In contrast, Du Plessis applauds Neasa (National Employers Association of South Africa) as it will lock out only striking workers from its members' workplaces, thus giving the members of Solidarity as a non-striking trade union, as well as Neasa's affiliated employers the opportunity to continue production while negotiations are under way. "Most employers and other striking trade unions, with the exception of Numsa, have, however, heeded Solidarity's call to continue with negotiations. Negotiations will already resume on Monday, 30 June. The strike by Numsa and the four other trade unions will nonetheless still commence on Tuesday, 1 June."

Solidarity will once again maintain at the negotiations the position that the salary increase should be at least 2 percentage points above CPI for it to be aligned with the actual price inflation employees are experiencing. Du Plessis says that Solidarity will oppose the employers' demand that the minimum entry level salary for new entrants to the industry be halved, "as the union is concerned that, among other things, it would add to tension, especially within Numsa's ranks and could thereby destabilise labour relations. In this regard, employers are encouraged to follow the existing exemption process should they experience trouble complying with agreed entry level remuneration."

Meanwhile, Solidarity will continue to prepare an urgent court application to oppose Seifsa's lockout of non-striking workers, "especially in light of the support Solidarity enjoys from a considerable number of Seifsa members who, due to the negative impact of the platinum strike, cannot afford to undergo unnecessary interruptions in production and also do not want to alienate their loyal employees," says Du Plessis.

Statement issued by Gideon du Plessis, General secretary: Solidarity, June 29 2014

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