Unica accuses Numsa of negotiating in bad faith at their operations in Babelegi
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Photo: Page3 Reporter
Iron & Steel company Unica has put the blame on National Union of Metal South Africa (Numsa) for the prolonged tools down of it’s employees at one of it’s plants in Babelegi Industrial park.
Employees at the said plant have been on a strike since 23 Aug 2021 because the two parties ae yet reach an agreement on the salary increment percentage that the union requested.
This is while the company accuses the union of negotiating in bad faith having not signed on the contractual agreement that was supposed to be signed exactly a month the strike started and also not giving informative feedback to their members.
While on the other hand the union representing the workers, Numsa say they are and have always been willing to sit on the table with the employer and sign on a reasonable percentage increment.
Numsa shop stewart Ike Mgoma said to their surprise, when they were supposed to sign as agreed, they found new content on the contract that was not part of the negotiations.
“Signing this current contract with the employer will automatically nullify previous contractual agreement which were discussed with the employer, not this other content we know nothing about. For us to sign the contract they just need to remove parts which says some employees must work 38 hours while others work 44 hours” said Mgoma.
He also said the employer is being opportunistic of the fact that employees have been out of work for more than a month now and because they use “no work no pay” principle, some employees are forced to go back to work even when they are not happy with the company.
Unica said that they have not been doing well recently as they have not been able to maximize on profits with it’s current business model. As a result for them to remain viable and competitive they had to reinvent their operations, some to automation which meant some of the employees would be affected.
Company’s HR Manager Thulani Mfusi said because they didn’t want to find themselves in a position where they had to let go of certain employees, they approached the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for guidance, to which an agreement and settlement was made between the employer and the union.
“I’m happy to say our objective to save any job losses was achieved but having said that, the agreement meant working hours for certain employees would be minimized. Some employees will have to work 44 hours in a week which is Monday to Thursday while others worked 38.5 hours which Friday to Sunday.”
Mfusi added that to their surprise, not long after the agreement was signed Numsa came back with demands that were not in the settlement where they were now requesting for 44 hours for other employees as well.
“They are requesting something very impossible which is not even practical. They want us to add an eighth day for other employees to also work 44 hours.”
When asked why not consider employees working on rotation, week-in week-out he said it should be something brought forward by either the union or employees themselves
He also said that although the strike is a lawful and protected one, they are just not happy with acts of violence they had to suffer from the protesters during the negotiations.
Some union members also said they are not happy to hear that there some employees who returned to work while they are outside fighting for something which will be beneficial for both of them, but on the hand they also understand that people have to work to provide for their families.
The company said they have about 40 employees who are back at work out of 250 employees.
CCMA Settlement Agreement
*extracts of the agreement*
• Unica is not maximizing on profit making in the market with it’s present business model and that the steel industry remains to be strained and therefore requiring the company to reinvent it’s operations to remain viable and competitive.
• Unica has as a result endeavoured to explore operations models and/or avenues available, which will induce business viability and allow the company to remain competitive in it’s pricing. As such, Unica is contemplating automizing it’s operations in Unit 1 in order to enable itself to offer it’s products in the market at competitive rates and ensure return on investment to the shareholders. It is also clear that with automation as a cheaper option which in turn will lead to the maximization on revenue generation for the business, which will in turn increase sustainability chances of the business to compete further in the market.
• Based on the reasons for the contemplated restructuring, Unica is of the view that retrenchments can be avoided. Unica has resolved to terminate all existing service level agreements with all it’s contractor companies performing work at its operations at Unit 1 and Unit 2 before and/or at the date of implementation of this agreement.
• Unica has also undertaken to terminate all casual workers in view of ensuring that none of the affected permanent employees are dismissed flowing from the restructuring of it’s operations at Unit 1.