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The
National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa,) said
yesterday it was considering new proposals made by steel giant
Iscor after a dispute was declared during wage negotiations.
Numsa spokesperson Dumisa Ntuli said the proposals were made when
the parties met on Wednesday.
"The Iscor company made substantial proposals to be considered by
Numsa. The union will consult all workers at Iscor to seriously
consider proposals made by the company," he said.
Ntuli said the proposals included that each worker would be paid
R500 as a once-off compensation for the effects of restructuring,
Iscor would fully consult the union in case of outsourcing and
restructuring, and that both parties would look at affordable and
rising medical aid costs. The company would give R26-million spread
over 18 000 workers as an adjustment towards new grading structures
and the collective wage agreement would be extended to two
years.
"Numsa wants to emphasise that if all the proposals taken together
after vehement rejection, there is a will to find concrete,
practical and meaningful ways to address issues.
"The union will consult members for a final decision on the
proposals made by Iscor company," Ntuli said.
However he warned that the threatened strike by the union remained
a possibility, but was not Numsa's ultimate goal.
Iscor confirmed that it had made new proposals.
The company's human resources executive director Abe Thebyane said:
"In Wednesday's discussions Iscor re iterated to Numsa that there
was no legal obligation on the company for back pay in respect of
the restructuring, but that the company would consider an ex-gratia
payment to unionised employees for the difficult times during the
restructuring and their support of the process," he said.
He also confirmed that talks had taken place on a new salary
structure to be implemented at Iscor, and since this would add some
R26-million to the wage bill, Iscor had gone a long way to improve
the salaries of its workforce.
"The proposals are now with the union and we expect a response from
them in the not too distant future". – Sapa.
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