MIBCO NEGOTIATIONS : 2013
RMI MANDATING MEETINGS
Strike Wave
 January to March 2012: Mining (Impala)
 August 2012: (lonmin – Marikana)
 September 2012: (Mining – Goldfields, Anglo & others)
 November 2012– January 2013: (Farmworkers)
 March 2013 (Postal Services)
 April 2013 – Busses
 The future???
Lonmin Strike - Marikana
 Wage Demands – R12 500 per month
 Protests against housing, water supply and running
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water (Socio-economic issues)
Migrant workers – higher living costs
AMCU members
Disgruntled NUM members
Effects on COSATU and its affiliates and subsequent
negotiations
Farmworkers strike
 Sectoral Determination
 Violent strikes and damages
 R69 per day to R105 per day
Challenges in Collective Bargaining
 Violent and protracted strikes
 Political and party structure based negotiations rather
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than membership needs
Increased disregard for rule of law
Increasing legal challenges
Lack of capacity in negotiating teams
Unrealistic demands/unreasonable expectations
Ineffective feedback/communication/dissatisfaction at
grassroots level
Lack of leadership/negotiators play messenger
Pursuance of short term gains at the expense of
sustainability
Adversarial and positional bargaining
Violence during strikes
 Total disregard to rule of law
 Striking minority who want to impose will on the
majority?
 Business proposals to re-introduce balloting prior to
strikes during labour market policy review process
 Picketing – strengthening of picketing rules
Legal Challenges with the
Collective Bargaining Arena
 MEIBC – Challenge by NEASA - Employer party to the
Bargaining Council that did not sign the MEIBC
Agreement (Extension to non Parties)
 Clothing Workers Bargaining Council (Extension to
non-parties
 Free market Foundation
 Capes vs. Minister of Labour, Motor Industry
Bargaining Council and Parties to Council
Extension in terms of S32 of LRA
Bargaining Council may ask the Minister in writing to
extend a collective agreement if:
(a) One or more registered trade unions whose
members constitute the majority of the members
of the trade unions that are party to the Bargaining
Council vote in favour of the extension; and
(b) One or more registered Employers’ Organisations
whose members employ the majority of the employees
employed by the members of the Employers’
Organisations that are party to the Bargaining
Council, vote in favour of the extension
Representativeness
 The importance of representativeness
 MIBCO - Certificate of representativeness
The Role of MISA
 On two previous occasions MISA has not signed the
collective agreement
 The ramifications of MISA not signing the collective
agreement, in the light of recent legal challenges
Bases for Wage Demands - Labour
 CPI for low income earners
 Minimum living wage demands
 Equal pay for work of equal value
Wages – Business Benchmarks
Historically - CPI + improvement
CPI – Jan 2013
:
5.47%
February 2013
:
5.86%
March 2013
:
5.9%
April 2013
:
Not released as yet
Economic Prospects
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Economic Growth: Low level 2011 – 2014 (2.5% - 3.8%)
Rate of Unemployment: 23.5% - 25%
Moderate employment Growth expected over next 3 years
Job creation prospects depend largely on private sector
Consumer inflation projected to remain within 3-6% target
band (next three years)
 Consumer consumption will stay under pressure
 Pressure will stay on Rand Exchange rate to depreciate
 Real decrease in house prices
Rebalance Investments, Dr Chris Harmse
Cycle and Duration of Agreements
 The importance of multi-year agreements
 The cycle – The implications of changing the cycle to
be in line with the Auto Sector and MEIBC
Pre-amble and Peace Clause
The implications of the current pre-amble and peace
clauses in the Main Agreement for the Motor Industry
Threshold and Scope
 Meaning of Scope
 Purpose of Threshold
 Demand to remove the threshold of earnings clause
and the implications thereof
Demands for the Banning of
Labour Brokers (T.E.S)
 Determination of who is the employer
 Wage and related benefits
 Organisational rights
 Rights to fair labour practice
 Social Security issues
 Job Security
Current Provisions of the Main Agreement on
Temporary Employment Services (labour
brokers)
 Registration of T.E.S with MIBCO
 Wages and Conditions of Employment Applicable
 Joint and Several liability
 Restricted use of T.E.S. with complete ban in Sector 5
establishments (Fuel dealers)
New Proposed Amendments to Labour
Relations Act on T.E.S
• Joint and several liability or deeming provision
• Employee may institute proceedings against
either the temporary employment service or
the client or both the temporary employment
service and the client;
• Any order or award made against a
temporary employment service or client in
terms of this subsection may be enforced
against either.
New Proposed Amendments to
Labour Relations Act on T.E.S
Employees earning below earnings threshold:
”Temporary services” means work for a client by an employee
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 (a) for a period not exceeding 6 months;
 (b) as a substitute for an employee of the client who is
temporarily absent; or
 (c) in a category of work and for any period of time which is
determined to be temporary services by a collective
agreement concluded in a Bargaining council, a sectoral
determination or a notice published by the Minister
Demand for a 40 Hour Working
Week – without loss of pay
Labour
Business
More rest and family time –
Better quality of work
Insufficient transport system,
safety issues
Creation of More Jobs
Shortage of skilled labour
Higher labour costs especially
related to overtime payments
RMI – NEEDS BASED PROPOSALS
 Viability and long term sustainability of businesses
 The sustainability of MIBCO as a Bargaining Council
 Flexibility for employers
 Less administration
 Increased Productivity
 Enabling Environment for Business
 Workplace discipline
 Long term labour peace
NUMSA DEMANDS
 Increase scope to include Automotive value chain i.e.
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automotive assembly and tyre & rubber
One year duration – July to June cycle
R6000 Per month or R30 per hour to be achieved by 1
July 2016.
Actual increases of R30 per hour for all employees
earning above R6000 per month
Removal of area differentials (Area A wages only)
Cashier rate of pay to be at Grade 5
Threshold of earnings to be removed
 Grading: Skills based, reduction to five grades, with
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10% differential between grades
Benchmarking of lowest earning to be 60% of the
market highest grade rate
Removal of Peace Clause
Four levels of bargaining
Remove Division C and replace with Division D
Safe maternity environment and 6 months paid
maternity leave
4 weeks remuneration for every year of service with no
ceiling
 Transport pay and allowances for all workers
 Transport allowance, night shift allowance, afternoon
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shift allowances, underground allowances and call out
allowances and increases where they exist
40 Hour working week
Labour brokers to be banned
100% payment during lay-off or stress relief fund
Shop stewards and office bearers to be granted 30 days
paid leave
Voluntary overtime for all workers
Normal Sunday rate to be double
 All other overtime to be paid at 1 ½ for all employees
 Payment for work on public holidays to be three times
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the ordinary rate of pay to all workers
All training and education to be paid for and conduct
during normal working hours
Social Security Fund Contribution Increases
Normal retirement age to be 60 years
Employment Equity and removal of discriminatory
clauses (list provided) – (Not listed grounds as per EE)
MISA DEMANDS
 Three year agreement
 13.5% increases on minima and equivalent monetary
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increases for all employees regardless of income
13.5% increases on threshold, holiday bonus, AHP,
Provident Fund contributions on Commission on
earnings, standby and call out allowances, tool
allowances and payment of earnings
Retrenchment pay to be paid on earnings and not
wages
Short-Time
Uniforms
Do we need a war for the
attainment of longer term peace
and sustainability?
Business Imperatives
 Business viability and sustainability
 Employer flexibility
 Peace Clauses
 Cycle of Agreement
 Duration of Agreement
 Temporary Employment Services (Labour Brokers)
 Productivity - Hours of Work
 Extension of Agreements
 No Mega-Bargaining Council
IMPORTANT:
MIBCO NEGOTIATIONS
PROGRAMME
 1ST Round of Negotiations : 29 & 30 May 2013
 2nd Round of Negotiations: 11 – 13 June 2013
 3rd Round of Negotiations: 27 & 28 June 2013
Further Processes in the event of non-resolution:
 Dispute Declaration
 One Dispute Meeting within two weeks
 Compulsory Mediation
 Strike Notice – 48 Hour Notice
“South Africa will only achieve its ambitious poverty-reduction
and development goals by accelerating economic growth and
ensuring that the economy absorbs more labour” – CDE Report
…
this can only be achievable if there is an
enabling environment for business