Steel Industry - Donations towards additional legal costs

Request for extension of Seifsa/Numsa agreement to non-parties

THIS IS NOT A FIGHT NEASA WILL LET GO OF
HOWEVER, EXPENSIVE COURT CASES LIE AHEAD

Donations towards additional legal costs

Dear Steel Industry employer

Since 2011 NEASA has spent in excess of 23 million Rand on legal fees defending the Steel Industry against the unconstitutional and unlawful, even fraudulent, conduct of the Meibc and certain parties. In doing this we have managed to protect the Industry against Seifsa’s weak and self-serving wage deals over many years. We have done this without imposing any additional financial burden on employers in the Steel Industry.

However, Seifsa (in partnership with particularly NUMSA), is about to launch a massive attack on the Steel Industry’s SMMEs by attempting to extend their 2017-settlement agreement to the rest of the Industry. In our previous newsletter this matter was dealt with in great detail.

As a result of the above, NEASA (on behalf of our members) will be required to lodge a very important challenge in the Labour Court. We expect that this matter will eventually escalate to the Constitutional Court.

THIS MAY WELL PROVE TO BE THE WATERSHED MOMENT FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY.

As a result of the refusal by NEASA and SAEFA to sign the Administrative Levies Agreement and our ability to, thus far, successfully block the extension thereof, the Meibc finds itself in a perilous situation.

NEASA’s position in this regard is driven by the following factors:

• the unconstitutional/unlawful conduct by the Meibc and prominent parties over many years;
• financial mismanagement; and
• the fact that the contributions of SMMEs are used against them.

The Meibc is no longer able to extend agreements within the framework of its constitution. As a result, they now attempt to achieve this outside of that framework – similar to multiple, albeit unsuccessful, attempts in the past. Their latest attempt is, in our view, simply a new version of attempted unlawful conduct.

In order to fulfil this very important obligation towards our constituency, NEASA requires the financial assistance of our members. The financial demands caused by these legal challenges are of such a nature that it can no longer be justified to be covered by the normal subscription fees paid by members.

To this end, and subject to the paragraph below, NEASA will, for the initial periods of 1 October and 1 November 2018, raise donations on the following basis:

• for companies with 10 and less employees: R 500.00 (excl. VAT)
• for companies with between 11 and 50 employees: R 1 000.00 (excl. VAT)
• for companies with 51 and more employees: R 1 500.00 (excl. VAT)

Employer-members, who, for whatever reason, are not in a position to make this added contribution, are requested to inform us by completing this form. No deductions will be made from these employers.

Those employers who are in a position and willing to make an additional donation, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Kind Regards,

“Nations who go down fighting, rise again, and those who surrender is destroyed”
From the film ‘Darkest Hour’