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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) welcomes the decision of the Labour court to dismiss the application by Arcelor Mittal South Africa to interdict the national strike at all its plants. Our members have been on strike since the 11th of May to demand a 10% across the board wage increase. We know that AMSA can afford our demands, they are just being greedy by refusing to compromise. On the first day of the strike AMSA brought an urgent application to the Labour court in Johannesburg to interdict the strike of workers’ rendering services at blast furnaces, coke batteries and steel plants. AMSA made the application on the basis that it had referred two disputes with the Essential Services Committee (ESC).

One of the disputes was for the ESC to investigate whether the operation of coke batteries and blast furnaces used in the production of steel, should be designated an essential service. The second dispute was for certain aspects in the steel production to be designated as a maintenance service (maintenance service application). If AMSA succeeds with these applications, it will mean that workers in these divisions of AMSA will be blocked from participating in any legal strike action in the future.

We argued in court that there is a pending investigation on this matter, and it is well-established that a court will not interdict a strike based on a pending ESC investigation. AMSA was being opportunistic. The goal was simply to undermine the right to strike and, we view it as an attempt to divide workers. NUMSA opposed the application on the ground that because the committee had not yet made a ruling on the matter the court should not even consider this as grounds to interdict the strike, because the right to strike is a sacred constitutional right, which should not be tampered with. 

NUMSA also argued that if AMSA is granted an interdict purely on the fact that it referred a case of a maintenance services dispute to the ESC, it would create a bad precedence because then any other employer can simply make an application to the ESC in order to frustrate the constitutional right to strike. The right to strike can only be limited when the ESC has already made a determination that the whole or part of the service provided by an employer, is in fact a maintenance service. On the 11th May, Justice Mahosi of the Labour court interdicted the strike temporarily but only for workers in the blast furnaces, coke batteries and the steel plant, until a final judgment was made. 

A final decision on this was finally handed down and it confirmed that all employees, without exception, have the right to strike. The labour court found that the matter of the ESC is still in its ‘infancy’ and there are determinations, which have yet to be made. The court agreed with us that the right to strike is an entrenched right which should be limited only when absolutely necessary to do so. 

We have been vindicated by the court. All workers at AMSA have the right to strike and as a union, we will always do whatever it takes to defend this right. The mediation that the CCMA had with us and the employer to try and resolve the strike, failed on Friday the 19th May, because we are dealing with an inflexible CEO in the form of Kobus Verster who would rather run to court, than engage us meaningfully.

That is why from Monday, we will be intensifying the strike at all AMSA plants nationally. We are calling on all workers to unite behind their demands in order to ensure a total shut down of all production. AMSA seemingly has unlimited funds with which to bash and undermine workers’ rights. They have forced us into this position. We have also noted that their share price has been down by five points since the strike began. Clearly, even the markets are not reacting favourably to the strike. The strike is clearly affecting their bottom line and this negative trend is likely to continue if it drags out any longer. We therefore urge the management to be reasonable and put a meaningful offer on the table in order to resolve the strike. 

On Tuesday the 24rd of May NUMSA will march to the offices of AMSA in Vanderbijlark and we will hand over a memorandum of demands. We invite all media houses to attend the march. 

Aluta continua!

The struggle continues!

Issued by NUMSA Regional Secretary Sedibeng Kabelo Ramokhathali