South Africa’s Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) components division says any extension of the country’s massive automotive strike into a fourth week, would be “quite disastrous.”
Around 100,000 striking workers in the component, petrol station, panel-beaters, car and spare parts, fitment workshops, truck body and trailer builders industries, as well as dealer sectors, walked out on 9 September in a dispute concerning pay, but it now appears the latest talks between MIBCO and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) will not take place until this Sunday (29 September).
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“It [strike] was forecast to be two weeks, MIBCO convenor for components of South Africa, Mark Roberts, told just-auto from Durban. “The third week came about, which is quite regrettable and a fourth week would be quite disastrous.
“We are making every effort to stop it happening – four weeks is quite unprecedented. I think at that level they [union] realise the long-term consequences of a fourth week in terms of its global profile.”
Roberts also rejects any suggestion his sector was underpaid, insisting market rates applied.
“Certainly some of the other sectors – retail and engineering working shops – they might be a bit lower,” he said. “But in our industry, a lot of our skills are pretty sought after and are market related.
“In the component industry in Tier 1 and Tier 2, who supply to the motor industry [they] are on a par with the motor manufacturers. Tier 1 suppliers – their rates of pay – pay market forces and because they are so closely aligned to the motor manufacturers – their rates of pay are very comparable.”
MIBCO says NUMSA is demanding a 10%, 10%, 10% rise across three years, in excess of its own 8%, 7%, 7% offer, but the union is insisting the industry body returns with “something tangible on the table” before this Sunday’s meeting.
“It is unfortunate, but employers must stop being intransigent,” NUMSA president, Karl Cloete, told just-auto from South Africa. “It is clear to us for every long-term agreement, it must be that employers put a good offer on the the table.
“When we go on strike, we go, understanding fully it is a pain. The component sector [is] not the best – they have still a long way to go.”
