The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) held strategic talks with auto employers’ representatives – the Automobile Manufacturers Employers’ Organisation (AMEO), yesterday Thursday August 22, 2013, until the crack of dawn.

The strategic engagements were held to solicit a settlement offer on the ongoing strike by our highly exploited members in the auto sector.

The engagements were necessitated by our resolve and highly successful strike which has crippled and halted production in the auto sector. A proposed settlement offer was tabled by the employers, after serious and high level soberness by the auto ruling oligarchy. Both employers and union agreed in principle not to reveal the settlement offer until we have concluded our consultation process.

The revised offer is being presented to our members today (Friday August 23, 2013), through General Meetings across all major plants in Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London. The union is not at liberty to publicly disclose the settlement offer until all our striking members have interacted with the offer. We are undertaking this consultation process with our members in line with our long standing traditions and principles of worker control. It should be understood that the strike was called by workers as part of their tactical tool to force the employer to concede to their demands and improved conditions of employment.

In the meantime, the strike has not been suspended, until our members decide to accept or reject the proposed settlement offer. Furthermore, the scheduled marches in Gauteng and Eastern Cape are going ahead as planned. More details on the marches will be communicated over the weekend.

Contact:

Castro Ngobese
National Spokesperson
Mobile: 0810111137
Email: castron@numsa.org.za
Website: www.numsa.org.za
Twitter: @castrongobese