Cape Town - A signing ceremony will be held this week to seal the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s (Numsa) acceptance of a 7% wage increase with employers in the bus sector.
This follows a meeting at the National Bargaining Forum (NBF), which was set up by the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council.
The one-year agreement will be implemented from April 1, 2023, and expire next year on March 31.
The 7% increase across the board includes allowances and the minimum wage, while the outstanding issue of medical aid or medical insurance will be referred to a task team.
The task team is expected to conclude its work by November 2023, in time for wage negotiations for 2024/25.
Numsa general-secretary Irvin Jim, said the union had consulted extensively and received a mandate from its members to accept the proposal.
“When we deadlocked the only offer on the table from the bosses was an offer of 3.5% increase for three years and this is the reason that talks broke down.
“We were on the verge of a national strike in the bus passenger sector over the Easter long weekend, but we managed to avert that, because we were determined to resolve the impasse through meaningful engagement with the employer.
“There will be a signing ceremony to sign the agreement on April 19th and thereafter, the agreement will be implemented,” said Jim.
Cape Times