Parties look to mediation as Numsa strike enters third week

As Numsa’s wage strike in the steel and engineering sector enters its third week, parties are looking to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to break the impasse.

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) last week rejected a revised 6% pay offer by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa), which first offered 4.4%.

Seifsa CEO Lucio Trentini said on Friday the proposed raises of 5% for artisans and 6% for general labourers were final.

Seifsa said the offer was fair, equitable and sustainable. Numsa said it was prepared to settle on 6%, but certain conditions must be met. On Monday, Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said: “The mandate our members gave us in response to the 6% is that ... they want the 6% to be ... based on what they are actually earning and not based on the minimum rate [R49.55]. This, for us, remains a sticking point between us and Seifsa.

“There have been no talks with Seifsa since the press conference on Thursday. All employers, with the exception of Seifsa, are participating in CCMA mediation. It started on Thursday afternoon [and] the next session is likely to be some time this week,” said Hlubi-Majola.

The R15bn metals and engineering sector lost about R500m in output and workers lost R100m in pay in the first week of the strike. Numsa initially demanded a one-year, 15% pay increase across the board but in August revised it down to 8% after declaring a dispute at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council.

The steel sector employs about 190,000 people and is a mainstay of the manufacturing sector, which contributes 10%13% to GDP. The World Steel Association said in its report that global crude steel production accounted for 1.878-billion in 2020. SA produced 3.9-million tonnes of steel in the period under review.

S&P Global Market Intelligence forecast 2021 global ironore supply at 2.4-billion tonnes and crude steel production at 1.98-billion tonnes, with ironore prices around $100 a tonne.