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Labour Court dismisses urgent application by Macsteel to interdict the strike

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Steel Manufacturer, Macsteel, has failed in its bid to halt the week-long strike at its operations in Bellville in Cape Town.

On Wednesday, the Labour Court dismissed the urgent application filed by Macsteel to interdict the strike.

Workers downed tools last Thursday, over reduced workers’ salaries by 20% without proper consultation.

The  National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa’s (NUMSA) spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says management refused to guarantee payment of the full salaries of employees, even though they worked throughout the lockdown.

“The company had been operating at a 50% capacity since the lockdown and it argued in court that the salary reductions were necessary given the severe impact that COVID-19 has had on its revenue. The company, therefore, took the decision to cut salaries for the months of May, June and July without workers agreeing to this. In handing down the judgment, the judge found that the unilateral decision to reduce salaries constituted a change in terms of conditions of employment,” says Hlubi-Majola.

Last week, Macsteel Group CEO Mike Benfield said, “The process we have followed in implementing the 20% salary reduction has been transparent as we have consistently communicated each step of the process with our staff and entered into discussions around them.”

Benfield also said they have in fact applied to the UIF  COVID-19 Temporary Employer / Employee Relief Scheme.

“We have applied for the Covid-19 UIF TERS, our staff will be paid the UIF support amount. We expect that this will compensate the majority of staff fully for the 20% reduction.”

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