Johannesburg – The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has signed a wage increase agreement with the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMEO).
The union and the Auto sector signed the agreement on Friday in the Bargaining Forum.
NUMSA said it “welcomes the agreement”.
NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim described the agreement as “progressive in that we secured an 8.5% increase in the first year, which is an above-inflation increase”.
Consumer inflation was 7.6% in August.
Jim said in the last round (2019 wage negotiations) NUMSA secured across-the-board increases of 23% for three years.
“Now in 2022, the union managed to secure 22.5% in the post-Covid-19 era, and against the poor economic outlook,” Jim said.
“It is significant that we have maintained the standard for the sake of workers and their families when other unions are encouraging members to sign agreements and settle with 3%.
“This agreement is binding on all parties and it settles this round of wage negotiations. It is valid from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2025.”
The agreement in detail:
1. Workers will receive an across-the-board increase
Year 1 = 8.5%, backdated to 1 July 2022;
Year 2 = 7%, or CPI whichever is the greater
Year 3 = 7%, or CPI whichever is the greater.
2. Once-off Gratuity Payment
In addition to the across-the-board for Year 1, a once-off taxable gratuity amount of R10 000.00 (Ten thousand rand) will be paid to each employee in the bargaining unit in the next payroll cycle.
3. Short-Time (B9)
Before in the previous agreement, for a short time, an employee would be paid 50% of his/her basic daily wage in the first twenty 20 days, and the remaining 25 days at 30%.
“Today with the signing of the agreement, we see a significant improvement whereby employees will enjoy 50% of their basic wages which will be paid for 50 days of short time,” Jim said on Friday.
Skills-Based Grading (D6)
In terms of the new agreement, workers will finally be able to break the ceiling and move from level 4 to level 5.
This will result in an increase in earnings because for every level that you improve on, your wages improve as well. This has been a burning issue for many years, and we have finally settled it in this round of negotiations.
Housing
In 2016 members for the first time achieved the housing subsidy of R500 per month with a once-off R5000 for first-time home buyers.
Now with the new agreement, we see an improvement of R500 to R1 000 for qualifying employees, and the once-off to R7 500 to be used as a deposit for first-time homeowners towards the purchase of a property.
The agreement will be backdated and this means that workers can expect back pay from July to September to be paid at the end of the month.
At the same time, the once-off gratuity of R10 000 is truly welcome for members because it will bring financial relief to our members and their families.
“We want to thank our officials at all levels for working extremely hard to negotiate this agreement, particularly because we did not have to resort to strike action to achieve this,” said Jim.
