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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is on the verge of a strike at Bell Equipment which has plants in Richardsbay and also in Boksburg because the CEO of the company, Leon Goosen is greedy and is discriminating against workers. At the heart of the dispute is that Bell Equipment and its management are greedy. They made a fortune this year, and the CEO Leon Goosen even communicated to workers that they have achieved ‘encouraging sales growth”. The management has shared the profits through bonus pay out but only to management and white collar workers in the office. Not a cent was given to so-called ‘blue-collar’ workers, who, by the way, are actually the ones who are responsible for the positive financial performance which the company achieved. 

According to media reports, its profit after tax increased by 63% to almost R639 million, which resulted in about an R86 million pay out to shareholders. Bell is valued at about R1.6 billion in the JSE, and it generates almost 60% of its revenue from South Africa while also selling heavy machinery such as dump trucks and forklifts internationally, including in Europe, Asia and also to the rest of the African continent. 

It is a fact that the office workers and management are unable to deliver a single ounce of production. They sit in their air conditioned offices and look at spreadsheets. It is ordinary workers who, through their sweat and their hard work, push production in the plants, enabling the company to achieve their performance targets, but they are persistently deliberately excluded by the greedy management, from benefitting from profit shares. They also happen to be the lowest paid, particularly, those workers who fall under labour brokers. The CEO of Bell Equipment, Leon Goosen should be ashamed of himself for being so greedy and selfish, and for gross exploitation of workers. His actions are provoking workers to mobilize for a total shut down of Bell Equipment at both plants. Only a crippling strike can remind management who the real creators of wealth are! 

The other demands which are a burning issue are: 

• We demand housing allowance of R2000
• We demand transport allowance of R1000 
• We demand that all workers must benefit from the profit share scheme, and for the purposes of this round of negotiations, workers are demanding R2000 each, untaxed, as a bonus payment. 

We reject the abuse of workers through labour brokers and demand that all workers must be insourced. Workers who are permanently employed by Bell often earn double what the temporary workers are receiving from labour brokers. In some cases, there are workers who have been temporary employees for ten years or more – this is disgraceful! 

We demand that the company must provide transport for workers when they attend funerals of co-workers. Workers are willing to contribute 50% to transportation and all they are asking for, is for the management of Bell Equipment to contribute the same.

We need to make it clear that Bell does not even offer housing allowance or transport allowance of any kind, and yet, other companies, which are part of the MEIBC, companies like Foskor and South32 are offering that to workers.

We have already deadlocked and we are currently engaged with conciliation through the CCMA. The last day for the conciliation is tomorrow (Tuesday 4 July) where we will meet for the last time with the employer. If they refuse to put a better offer at that meeting, then we will request picketing rules, as well as the strike certificate from the commissioner so that we can mobilize for a total shut down of Bell equipment. We urge the management to come to the negotiating table with an offer to prevent a strike. 

Aluta continua!

The struggle continues!

Issued by NUMSA General Secretary, Irvin Jim