In previous correspondence to members, we advised that in October last year, the Director of Collective Bargaining at the Department of Labour refused to process the request for the extension of the 2017 – 2020 Settlement Agreement on the basis that it was riddled with "shortcomings". In response, on the 15th of January, NUMSA submitted the attached demands to the MEIBC. As is evident from their letter, NUMSA now wish to initiate negotiations to amend their employer-unfriendly settlement agreement so that they can foist it on the 90% of employers in the industry who want no part of it. This is all despite the SA Engineers and Founders Association continuously requesting NUMSA and the other trade unions to do what is right and return to the negotiating table, since August 2017.
Negotiations are set to commence on 20 February 2019. Please note that we will be seeking a mandate from members at our Association meeting on 19 February 2019. It is therefore vital that you attend so that you may have your voice heard.
Unfortunately, we are yet again experiencing load shedding throughout the country. In 2008, the Collective Main Agreement was specifically amended to cater for this. Despite the fact that there is currently no binding Main Agreement in place, section 7 of the previous Agreement provided that in the event of an employer not being able to work due to unforeseen load shedding, and management takes a decision to send employees home as a result, the employees are entitled to a minimum of four hours' pay for the day. If employees remain at work until power is restored, then they are entitled to be paid in full for the day.