Stern warning by Commissioner before MIBCO Collective Bargaining resumes

 

Moe Ally, Senior Commissioner of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and the facilitator of the Motor Industry Bargaining Council (MIBCO) 2022-Wage Negotiations, resumed the process today with a stern message to all parties.

 

Ally has been involved in the process to try to reach a settlement in the Sibanye-Stillwater’ strike that is in its third month for an increase as little as R200 per month.

 

“People can take two routes when they try to negotiate an agreement. The one route is a long, hard route with severe consequences like we have seen with the Sibanye-Stillwater’s strike,” says Ally.

 

Thousands of striking mineworkers have camped outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria for the past week, demanding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s intervention.

 

“It is feared that all hell can break lose at any moment and then we would have another Marikana massacre on our hands,” says Ally.

 

The South African Police Service (SAPS) killed 34 miners on 16 August 2012, during a wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, in the North West.

 

“The hard route ended up in blood, sweat and tears. Let’s not go there, but have constructive negotiations finding resolutions sooner than later,” says Ally.

 

MISA’s Negotiation Team led by the Union’s Chief Negotiator Ngoni Goba, Senior Labour Advisor in MISA’s Legal Department spent the day in bilateral meetings with other parties while Ally met with parties individually to discuss their demands.

 

Goba is assisted by Hermann Köstens, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Strategy and Development, Tumi Ntshekang, Labour Relations Officer and Deputy-Negotiator, Leesha Koobair, Strategy & Development Specialist and Sonja Carstens, Media, Liaison and Communication Specialist.

 

Köstens says the Union demands a minimum wage increase of 9,5% and that the real take-home pay should be back to pre-pandemic levels.

 

According to Köstens, the short-time clause must be amended because the current wording is creating challenges in the industry.

 

“MISA wants a review of the calculation of retrenchment pay, accrued leave pay and the suspension of commission earners. The current calculations excludes commission and incentives.”

 

Köstens says MISA included draft measures on the elimination of violence and harassment in the wage demands to ensure the provision of safe workplaces for all.

 

“MISA members must realise that negotiations are a lengthy process and a package deal consisting of MISA’s various demands. The current MIBCO Main Agreement expires on 31 August 2022. The negotiations will determine the agreement that will be applied for the next three years,” says Köstens.

 

The negotiations will resume tomorrow.

 

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Issued on behalf of MISA by Sonja Carstens, Media, Liaison and Communication Specialist.