Giving Credit Where It's Due

Steel Industry
GIVING CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE

We have come a long way in the fight against the business hostile dispensation in the Steel Industry:

• we have proved that, before 2011, the MEIBC was not properly constituted and therefore, from a legal point of view, actually did not exist. However, this did not deter these perpetrators from extending unlawful agreements to the Industry;
• we were successful in setting aside the extension of every main agreement since 2011;
• we will continue to propagate against agreements between Seifsa, Numsa and other trade unions being extended to non-parties;
• we have arrested the flow of ‘collective bargaining levies’ to the parties, consequently, the enemies of business are suffering severely;
• we have stopped the payment of administrative levies to the Council; it has left this bully in dire financial straits; and
• we have evolved from a position where Seifsa occupied (albeit unlawfully) 19 out of 20 seats on the MEIBC Management Committee to where they currently occupy only 4 of the current 21 seats.

We will continue with our actions until fundamental change is brought about in the Council, changes which will ensure that what has happened in the past will never be repeated, changes which will unleash the potential sustainability, growth and job creation possibilities inherent in this Industry. Thus far Seifsa, Numsa and other trade unions have rejected the changes we are demanding and we, in turn, won’t finance their scheme.

We have made huge progress; we have already enforced huge change. But, who are the ‘we’ referred to? NEASA hereby wishes to recognize the organisations without whose support none of this would have been possible, especially:

Plastic Convertors’ Association of SA (PCASA) – we were partners in this fight from the outset. We fought side by side for every inch of this journey. Their contributions were, and continues to be, invaluable.

South African Engineers’ and Founders’ Association (SAEFA) – their defederation from Seifsa was courageous – and they paid a price for it. Their repositioning on the side of business and their own members – as opposed to Seifsa – has cost them members; members falling for Seifsa’s propaganda and resigning from SAEFA. SAEFA siding with those who fight for the changes which this Industry so desperately requires, was a major game changer.

Consolidated Employers’ Association of SA (CEO) – although they are still relatively new to the MEIBC-environment, their support for the right cause is invaluable.

NEASA expresses our gratitude and credits each of these organisations for their contribution.

However, the fight in this Industry is not over yet – far from it! And yes, it is a fight. It is a fight where the interest of selfish weaklings (Industry nobles supported by a few misled SMME’s and a socialist trade union) is positioned directly in opposition to those of Industry’s SMME’s. This is a fight the SMME’s are going to win – our cause is just and we are are not going to capitulate!

Kind regards