Labour unions and employers in the steel sector are back at the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council for the second round of 2024 wage talks.
Workers belonging to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) are pushing for a cost-of-living wage increase of 7% among other things.
The Steel and Engineering Industrial Federation of Southern Africa, which represents employers in the sector, wants the parties to consider extending the current agreement, using the current 6% agreement as a basis for negotiations.
The industry was hit by a major strike action over wages in 2021.
Num spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu says, “Today is the second round of wage negotiations and the last round will be on the 8th of May 2024. We are participating and we are demanding a 2-year agreement and wage increases, the first year is R25 an hour, the second year is R20/hour and we are also demanding a R2500 housing allowance. We feel that workers deserve to have houses in this industry.”
