Numsa has made a decision to have 400 000 members by the next congress in 2016.
If each Numsa motor member could just organize one more motor member, then we would easily reach our target! Numsa Bulletin asked motor sector coordinator, Elias Kubeka to explain the plan to revive the motor sector.
The motor sector continues to be under-organised and under-represented. Almost two out of every three motor workers are not organized into any union. This is exactly the same situation as 2001 even though the number of workers employed have increased by close to 70% from 175 000 motor workers then to close to 300 000 now.
According to Motor Industry Bargaining Council figures from October 2013, Numsa has 72 237 members in the motor industry. Numsa’s own figures show an extra 5 000 members that are paying directly to Numsa.
The most under-organised Numsa region is Sedibeng with 72% unorganized motor workers, followed closely by Hlanganani (71%), Ekurhuleni (70%), JC Bez (69%). The best organized is the Eastern Cape region which represents almost one out of every two motor workers.
Uitenhage is the top local representing 57% of motor workers. King Williamstown comes next with 54%.
“We do organize motor workers but we don’t keep track of them properly,” says motor sector coordinator, Elias Kubeka. So you will find Numsa locals “saying that they have more members but they cannot prove that those members belong to Numsa and who are the shop stewards.” At times workers will wait a long time for the organizer to come and do union introduction with the members.
Within Mibco the system can also be slow – “there are those members that have not been activated and have not been registered by Mibco.” Sometimes it is because the company itself is not registered with Mibco; other times it’s because the workers themselves that join Numsa are not registered with Mibco. “When Mibco does register those workers, the numbers employed go up but they don’t record that they are Numsa members,” says Kubeka.
Although the department of labour can still extend the agreement because trade unions are sufficiently representative, because we are poorly organized and represented we cannot win all the issues that we want.
The National Executive Committee in July 2013 adopted a plan to revive and rejuvenate the motor sector.
See the box on page 51 to find out what you must do at a regional, local and workplace level to increase membership and to make the motor sector a strongly organized sector.
Motor rejuvenation plan
Regions and locals
• Regional Motor Organisers must develop a data base of companies in the region with a Numsa membership of more than 10 employees per area.
• Local organisers/local office bearers (LOBs)/campaigns committees to run shop steward elections in all these companies.
• Local education committees (Ledcoms) to ensure that the new shop stewards receive education on their duties, rights and responsibilities.
• LOBs and staff to ensure that there are regular motor shop steward councils or that motor issues form an integral part of LSSC agendas.
• The focus of shop stewards’ work at a plant level should be:
– Representing workers with their grievances etc
– Negotiating an agency shop agreement
– Dealing with health and safety issues
– Negotiating wages on actual rates of pay in Sector 6
– Negotiating employment equity in designated employers
– Negotiating skills development of the workforce
• Recruitment
– Every local must set themselves reasonable targets to move towards majority membership in their local.
– The recruitment of workers in Sector 6 companies (car dealers) must be a key focus in all locals.
• Each region must present a motor rejuvenation report for the first NEC in 2014 which must detail;
– Shop steward elections
– Recruitment to increase membership
– Building strong area committees in all locals
– Communication with motor members in the region
– Effectively engaging with national processes
Unorganized motor workers – October 2013
Employers 21,907
Employees 296,437
Misa Members 31,466
Numsa Members 72,237
Non Union 192,729
How representative is motor in your local!
Region Local Employers Employees Misa Numsa Non percentage percentage
Members Members Union unorganised Numsa organised
EASTERN CAPE REGION BUTTERWORTH 93 1,522 16 717 789 52% 47%
EASTERN CAPE REGION EAST LONDON 473 7,807 1,000 2,732 4,075 52% 35%
EASTERN CAPE REGION KING WILLIAMS TOWN 76 1,053 129 564 360 34% 54%
EASTERN CAPE REGION PORT ELIZABETH 514 12,275 913 5,289 6,073 49% 43%
EASTERN CAPE REGION QUEENSTOWN 162 1,808 264 677 867 48% 37%
EASTERN CAPE REGION UITENHAGE 143 3,871 183 2,193 1,495 39% 57%
EASTERN CAPE REGION Region Totals 1,461 28,336 2,505 12,172 13,659 48% 43%
EKURHULENI REGION DAN KUBHEKA 289 3,300 383 577 2,340 71% 17%
EKURHULENI REGION FANIE MOLEFE 86 1,018 82 241 695 68% 24%
EKURHULENI REGION FUZILE KHESWA 278 5,042 481 1,043 3,518 70% 21%
EKURHULENI REGION LADLOKOVA 205 4,207 304 1,001 2,902 69% 24%
EKURHULENI REGION MAKHUDU PHEKO 289 3,832 367 621 2,844 74% 16%
EKURHULENI REGION MANYATHI 94 2,466 111 786 1,569 64% 32%
EKURHULENI REGION Region Totals 1,241 19,865 1,728 4,269 13,868 70% 21%
HLANGANANI REGION BABELEGI 139 1,497 57 447 993 66% 30%
HLANGANANI REGION GREAT NORTH 953 10,938 976 2,374 7,588 69% 22%
HLANGANANI REGION MADIBENG 129 3,093 80 1,199 1,814 59% 39%
HLANGANANI REGION ROSSLYN 299 8,960 114 2,859 5,987 67% 32%
HLANGANANI REGION RUSTENBURG 376 4,349 432 846 3,071 71% 19%
HLANGANANI REGION TSHWANE 1,735 25,763 2,818 3,687 19,254 75% 14%
HLANGANANI REGION Region Totals 3,631 54,600 4,477 11,412 38,707 71% 21%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION JHB CENTRAL 518 5,791 498 980 4,313 74% 17%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION JHB NORTH 1,030 16,844 2,661 2,852 11,331 67% 17%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION KEMPTON PARK 604 9,253 1,198 1,911 6,144 66% 21%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION MANGESANA 688 9,770 709 1,924 7,136 73% 20%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION TEMBISA 341 5,369 560 1,101 3,708 69% 21%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION WESTRAND 703 10,042 1,496 1,719 6,827 68% 17%
JC BEZUIDENHOUT REGION Region Totals 3,884 57,069 7,122 10,487 39,459 69% 18%
KZN REGION ISIPINGO 180 4,567 128 2,184 2,255 49% 48%
KZN REGION ISITHEBE 183 3,454 68 1,750 1,636 47% 51%
KZN REGION LADYSMITH 167 1,846 190 469 1,187 64% 25%
KZN REGION NEWCASTLE 256 2,365 247 594 1,524 64% 25%
KZN REGION PIETERMARITZBURG 533 5,847 484 1,493 3,870 66% 26%
KZN REGION PINETOWN 518 9,653 745 2,670 6,238 65% 28%
KZN REGION PORT SHEPSTONE 272 2,993 234 1,008 1,751 59% 34%
KZN REGION RICHARDSBAY 291 3,621 242 554 2,825 78% 15%
KZN REGION THEKWINI 1,207 15,628 1,277 3,296 11,055 71% 21%
KZN REGION Region Totals 3,607 49,974 3,615 14,018 32,341 65% 28%
MPUMALANGA REGION BOTSHABELO 190 2,191 207 548 1,436 66% 25%
MPUMALANGA REGION BURGERSFORT 281 3,019 271 674 2,074 69% 22%
MPUMALANGA REGION EHLANZENI 485 5,763 795 1,095 3,873 67% 19%
MPUMALANGA REGION EMALAHLENI 226 2,887 291 718 1,878 65% 25%
MPUMALANGA REGION EMBALENHLE 289 3,858 516 704 2,638 68% 18%
MPUMALANGA REGION Region Totals 1,471 17,718 2,080 3,739 11,899 67% 21%
NORTHERN CAPE REGION BLOEMFONTEIN 692 8,163 1,637 1,997 4,529 55% 24%
NORTHERN CAPE REGION KIMBERLEY 582 5,220 873 1,217 3,130 60% 23%
NORTHERN CAPE REGION WELKOM 664 6,250 1,189 1,843 3,218 51% 29%
NORTHERN CAPE REGION Region Totals 1,938 19,633 3,699 5,057 10,877 55% 26%
SEDIBENG REGION MATLOSANA 670 5,504 665 592 4,247 77% 11%
SEDIBENG REGION MEYERTON 166 1,911 91 465 1,355 71% 24%
SEDIBENG REGION VANDERBIJLPARK 241 1,861 196 415 1,250 67% 22%
SEDIBENG REGION VEREENIGING 332 3,060 561 442 2,057 67% 14%
SEDIBENG REGION Region Totals 1,409 12,336 1,513 1,914 8,909 72% 16%
WESTERN CAPE REGION ATLANTIS 241 2,813 250 815 1,748 62% 29%
WESTERN CAPE REGION BELLVILLE 1,102 13,824 1,605 2,865 9,354 68% 21%
WESTERN CAPE REGION BOLAND 614 5,990 966 1,462 3,562 59% 24%
WESTERN CAPE REGION CAPE TOWN 940 10,702 1,403 3,021 6,278 59% 28%
WESTERN CAPE REGION SWD-GEORGE 368 3,577 503 1,006 2,068 58% 28%
WESTERN CAPE REGION Region Totals 3,265 36,906 4,727 9,169 23,010 62% 25%
Report Totals 21,907 296,437 31,466 72,237 192,729 65% 24%