The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has secured an 8% wage increase for workers at Menzies Aviation following lengthy wage talks.
Numsa has for the first time further negotiated an “acting allowance” which will be paid to any employee who is acting in a position for more than seven days.
However, there are also a few unresolved issues.
According to Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim, the negotiations began in March and they concluded an agreement on July 17.
The agreement states that the 8% wage increase is for workers whose rate was R40 an hour and below.
Those earning between R40 and R50 an hour have received a 7.25% wage increase and 6.8% for all workers whose rate per hour was above R50.
“It is a one-year agreement effective from May 1 to April 30, 2024. It was signed on the 17th of July, therefore it will be backdated. Workers will receive back pay in the next payroll cycle which is in August because we signed after payroll for July had closed.
“The agreement also states that workers on fixed-term contracts will be made permanent, if they have been in those positions for a minimum of three months, in line with section 198(B) of the Labour Relations Act as amended,” said Jim.
Jim said this was a major achievement for the union because it will bring dignity, increased benefits and most importantly, job security.
“We have also negotiated an improvement in the ‘Long Service Award’ to ensure that the employer rewards workers who have been at the company for a long time, starting from five years and ending at 20 years of service,” he said.
The union has committed to deal with some outstanding issues separately. These include converting employees from Permanent Hourly Pay (PHP) to Permanent Monthly Pay (PMP).
“Employees who were transferred from Swissport in March 2023 were changed from PMP to PHP and this was a unilateral change in their terms and conditions of employment. There is a demand for transport allowance. We are committed to resolving these outstanding issues in a manner which is beneficial to members.”
Cape Times