The MEIBC Wage Extension: Why You Must Act Now.

Dear employer

If you employ workers in the Metal and Engineering Industry, this affects you directly.
 
From 1 July 2026, the minimum prescribed entry-level wage in the sector increases to just under R71 per hour for signatories to this agreement. Add the mandatory on-costs and your total cost-to-company hits R99 per hour for an unskilled, entry-level worker.
 
Most SMMEs in this sector currently pay far less. NEASA has spent fifteen years fighting to keep it that way.
 
But the MEIBC will attempt to, once again, extend this arrangement to non-signatories. To do this, a vote is required. However, it is not one employer, one vote.
 
The system is based on the number of employees behind each vote. The vote of one employer with a thousand workers carries the same weight as the votes of a hundred small employers, each with ten workers.
 
The only counter is volume. NEASA needs enough SMME employers as members to shift the vote.

In the enclosed video, Gerhard Papenfus explains what is at stake, how the vote works, and what you must do before the window closes.
 
If you are not a NEASA member yet, the time to join is now. Click here to join.