The Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) this week called on employees and employers to exercise restraint as the metals and engineering industries resumed operations following a four-week strike, stating that it regretted the strike’s enormous impact on production, and the potential impact it would still have on the industry. 

The council said the industry was in dire need of leadership on all sides as relationships in the workplace had to be rebuilt, trust restored and the interests of the industry and the country placed centre stage.

“Now is not the time for retribution and the apportionment of blame,” the MEIBC stated.

It added that it was up to employer and trade union leaders to restore confidence into the collective bargaining system and they had to begin the important task of meeting the high expectations of employers, employees and all other stakeholders over the next three years.

Meanwhile, the National Employers’ Association of South Africa’s (Neasa’s) members continued to lock out workers that participated in the strike, as it was not party to the signed wage agreement.

Neasa had not signed the agreement because of the “unsustainable level of the wage increase” and as the unions had refused to address its demands for the creation of a new entry-level wage for newcomers, which it believed was an “absolute must” for job creation and the creation of a more flexible dispensation.

The association on Thursday asserted that it was adamant that its lock-out decision would stand despite threats from the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

Neasa said that Cosatu in the Western Cape had threatened to close down companies that were participating in the lock-out, while Numsa threatened Neasa with court action if the lock-out was not suspended.

“The current differences between Neasa and Numsa will not be resolved through threats and legal action, but through the appropriate channels – something Neasa was denied during the most crucial portion of the recent round of wage negotiations,” the association said.