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Johannesburg - The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has denied claims that it has given in to Neasa's 2014 demands.
In a statement posted on the National Employers Association of SA's website, it claimed Numsa had agreed to a 7% across the board wage increase and a 50% reduction of the entry level wage for new employees in respect of the three lowest wage categories.
"This is a gross misrepresentation and deliberate distortion of facts," said Numsa spokesperson Castro Ngobese. "As Numsa, we want to state categorically that we have not capitulated or conceded to any demands by Neasa, in relation to the 2014 collective bargaining wage agreement," he said.
"What we have been doing consistently in the interests of our members and in defence of our hard-won collective bargaining dispensation, is our continuous fight against the lock-out of our members by Neasa-member employers."
The National Employers Association of SA (Neasa) said it would hold Numsa to the agreement.
"Two weeks after Numsa capitulated to Neasa's 2014 demands, the Minister of Labour [Mildred Oliphant] signed a notice by which she extended the July 2014 Seifsa/trade union agreement to non-parties, effective from 5 January 2015," Neasa said the statement.
"However, Numsa, in correspondence directed to Neasa and under oath in Labour Court proceedings in Johannesburg, nationally and unconditionally, in order to have the Neasa lock-out of its members stopped, capitulated to the Neasa demands tabled during the 2014 Metal Industry negotiations and confirmed in Neasa's July 2014 lock-out notice directed to Numsa."
Neasa's chief executive officer Gerhard Papenfus said the metal Industry had found itself in an unprecedented and bizarre situation.
"Numsa capitulates to Neasa's 2014 demands but then attempts to enforce an Industry destructive agreement with the federation Seifsa (Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA) on the other 85% of the metal industry, including Neasa, through the minister of labour and the utilisation of an undemocratic provision in the Labour Relations Act, which completely negates the interests of the overwhelming majority of employers, mainly SMMEs," said Papenfus.
He said Neasa deplored the abuse of the imbalance of power.
"There is not a single similarity between the July 2014 agreement Numsa entered into with Seifsa and Numsa's December 2014 capitulation to Neasa's demands," said Papenfus.
