SHOPFLOOR
Vigilance spells victory!After consultation with our Rosslyn local organiser, we as ZF Lemforder Shop Stewards in Rosslyn lodged a complaint against our Company ZF LEMFORDER SA on January 25 2008. We complained that the company had extended lay-off by three days without notifying the Union and the MEIBC.
The complaint was finally resolved on March 12 2009 after the bargaining council agent, local organiser and the shop stewards engaged management on the matter. Workers were then paid for the three days during which they were unfairly laid-off.Viva Numsa Viva!Paul Mosehle, shop steward, ZF Lemforder
Dismissed worker gets his job backThokozani Ndlovu
Almon Gabuza was dismissed early in 2008. He had approached his manager on a Friday afternoon as he was going home, asking for a loan to further his studies.
The manager refused and Gabuza raised his voice at him.On the Monday Gabuza apologised to the manager who accepted his apology.
The same day Gabuza was issued with a notice to attend a disciplinary enquiry for insubordination and poor performance.Gabuza knew nothing about the allegations. His manager advised him to plead guilty to save his job. He did so without knowing that he was put into a trap.
He was dismissed a few days later. Even his appeal was unsuccessful.Numsa took up his case and at arbitration under the auspices of the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council, he won reinstatement with three months back pay amounting to more than R10 000.Gabuza thanked Numsa's hard-working officials for winning his case. Pietermaritzburg
WORKPLACE SKILLS PLANNote for shop stewards:Merseta Mandatory Grants 2009/10If your company pays skills levies to the Merseta, it must submit its Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report by June 30 2009.Make sure your company is preparing for submission – your future is at stake!Remember – the Workplace Skills Plan sets out the company's training plans for 2009/10. The Annual Training Report spells out what training your company has completed in the last year.
First ‘accelerated artisans’ qualifyIn June 2007, the Accelerated Artisan Training Programme (AATP) was launched with funding from the Merseta and the National Skills Fund.The aim of the programme was to speed up the training of artisans so that they could complete their training in 18 months instead of more than two years.
The first 22 apprentices out of 1643 have just passed their trade tests on their first attempt.Numsa companies like Alstom, Genrec, Nissan, Sandvik, August Lapple have all been involved in the project.(Thanks to Merseta for information)
Clothing companies pay starvation wagesA recent inspection in Qwa Qwa by the Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry found that of the 66 factories employing 6 624 workers, the vast majority were paying way below the legal mininum wage of R399 per week.
More than half the workers were being paid less than R200 per week. Only one manufacturer was paying the legal minimum wage.Most of the clothes made by these workers were headed for Pep, Jet Stores, Mr Price, Edgars and Woolworths via a sourcing agent.
Deputy general secretary of the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union said that “During the recent Nedlac deliberations, it had been agreed as a matter of principle, that any stakeholder within the clothing and textile value chain who was found to be directly or indirectly involved in non-compliant sourcing, would be disqualified from any publicly funded support measure and/or benefit to the sector.â€
Source
Numsa News
