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Johannesburg - Delays at petrol stations for motorists and a loss in vehicle exports will be the key effects of a transport industry workers' strike set to start on Wednesday.
Petrol station workers and component manufacturing employees are planning to stop work on Wednesday, unless their trade organisation - the National Union of Metalworkers in SA (Numsa) - negotiates an end to the wage dispute with employer groups the Fuel Retailers Organisation (FRA) and Retail Motor Industry.
Numsa - which represents 70 000 employees across the motor industry, including garages, components and workshops - is asking for a 15% wage increase versus the 6.6% offered.
"All petrol stations will be impacted although by different degrees of extremity," said FRA CEO Reggie Sibiya. "It all depends on whether Numsa gets non-unionised workers to join in as well," said Sibiya, adding that motorists will need to exercise patience at petrol stations.
The demands of the garage workers include raising the hourly wage from R13 to R20 as well as increases in night and afternoon shift allowances, higher annual bonuses and lowering the working week to 40 hours from the current 45 hours.
"This translates into an effective 89% increase in total wages," said Sibiya. This number takes into account cost increases associated with restructuring working conditions.
"I don't think their demands are reasonable because who, seriously, gets an 89% wage increase?" said Sibiya.
He added that petrol station workers received a 68% wage adjustment in 2007. This rise was followed by wage increases of about 8% in both 2008 and 2009.
Meanwhile, the component workers will also down tools on Wednesday and industry bodies predict a huge blow to the local industry if the strike is prolonged.
"It's difficult enough to run a local manufacturing plant with the rand as strong as it is; this just makes it worse," said Stewart Jennings, president of the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (Naacam).
Jennings said the industry had also been hurt by port closures and various other work stoppages so far this year, aside from losing competitiveness in the export market as a result of the strong local currency.
"Our international clients are already starting to look for suppliers in other regions," he said.
Moving production abroad
Local car manufacturers who rely on the component industry are anticipating operational disruptions.
BMW's plant in Rosslyn, outside Pretoria, has cancelled the second shifts on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday without pay which will result in a production loss of about 500 units.
If the strike continues through to next week, the plant will not be able to produce at all.
"BMW Plant Rosslyn has already had to decline a request for additional volume in 2010," said Guy Kilfoil, general manager of group communications at BMW SA.
"The lost volume will be reallocated to other BMW 3 Series plants in Germany and represents a loss of export volume from South Africa," he said.
Ford South Africa also expected to lose out on export opportunities due to strike action, said the group's corporate communication manager Lloyd Marlowe.
"We are trying to devise a plan to minimise disruption, but we are concerned our international clients will look for alternatives," said Marlowe.
Ford manufactures vehicles and engines for export at its plant in Port Elizabeth.
Sibiya said the FRA is now engaging senior Numsa management after talks with the negotiations team had failed.
However, in all likelihood the strike will go ahead, according to Numsa spokesperson Castro Ngobese.
"The only thing that will make us stop striking is a tsunami," said Ngobese.
Tyre and rubber workers - employed by tyre makers Dunlop, Bridgestone and Continental - have already stopped working.
- Fin24.com
Petrol station workers and component manufacturing employees are planning to stop work on Wednesday, unless their trade organisation - the National Union of Metalworkers in SA (Numsa) - negotiates an end to the wage dispute with employer groups the Fuel Retailers Organisation (FRA) and Retail Motor Industry.
Numsa - which represents 70 000 employees across the motor industry, including garages, components and workshops - is asking for a 15% wage increase versus the 6.6% offered.
"All petrol stations will be impacted although by different degrees of extremity," said FRA CEO Reggie Sibiya. "It all depends on whether Numsa gets non-unionised workers to join in as well," said Sibiya, adding that motorists will need to exercise patience at petrol stations.
The demands of the garage workers include raising the hourly wage from R13 to R20 as well as increases in night and afternoon shift allowances, higher annual bonuses and lowering the working week to 40 hours from the current 45 hours.
"This translates into an effective 89% increase in total wages," said Sibiya. This number takes into account cost increases associated with restructuring working conditions.
"I don't think their demands are reasonable because who, seriously, gets an 89% wage increase?" said Sibiya.
He added that petrol station workers received a 68% wage adjustment in 2007. This rise was followed by wage increases of about 8% in both 2008 and 2009.
Meanwhile, the component workers will also down tools on Wednesday and industry bodies predict a huge blow to the local industry if the strike is prolonged.
"It's difficult enough to run a local manufacturing plant with the rand as strong as it is; this just makes it worse," said Stewart Jennings, president of the National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (Naacam).
Jennings said the industry had also been hurt by port closures and various other work stoppages so far this year, aside from losing competitiveness in the export market as a result of the strong local currency.
"Our international clients are already starting to look for suppliers in other regions," he said.
Moving production abroad
Local car manufacturers who rely on the component industry are anticipating operational disruptions.
BMW's plant in Rosslyn, outside Pretoria, has cancelled the second shifts on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday without pay which will result in a production loss of about 500 units.
If the strike continues through to next week, the plant will not be able to produce at all.
"BMW Plant Rosslyn has already had to decline a request for additional volume in 2010," said Guy Kilfoil, general manager of group communications at BMW SA.
"The lost volume will be reallocated to other BMW 3 Series plants in Germany and represents a loss of export volume from South Africa," he said.
Ford South Africa also expected to lose out on export opportunities due to strike action, said the group's corporate communication manager Lloyd Marlowe.
"We are trying to devise a plan to minimise disruption, but we are concerned our international clients will look for alternatives," said Marlowe.
Ford manufactures vehicles and engines for export at its plant in Port Elizabeth.
Sibiya said the FRA is now engaging senior Numsa management after talks with the negotiations team had failed.
However, in all likelihood the strike will go ahead, according to Numsa spokesperson Castro Ngobese.
"The only thing that will make us stop striking is a tsunami," said Ngobese.
Tyre and rubber workers - employed by tyre makers Dunlop, Bridgestone and Continental - have already stopped working.
- Fin24.com
