National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) is proud to announce that it has signed a two-year, above-inflation wage agreement with the Glass Industry Employers Association (GIEA) under the National Bargaining Council for the Chemical Industry, (NBCCI). This deal was signed yesterday (28 July), and covers all 13 000 workers in the sector and will be extended to non-parties, ensuring the gains reach every employee. The agreement is from 1 July and expires on the 30th of June 2027. It will be backdated to the 1st of July.

Key Agreement Highlights

• Total increase Year 1: 5.5% across the board
• Total increase Year 2: 6.0% (5.5% + 0.5%)

Additional Gains for Workers

Maternity leave improvement from 50% of basic salary for four months to 85% of the basic wage paid for four months. Pregnant women now have the following options:

• • Option A: 85% of basic wage paid for four months
  • Option B: 55% of basic wage paid for six months

• The NBCCI will set up an unemployment support fund to aid workers who lose their jobs as part of Section 189 processes.
• A ban on labour brokers and temporary services beyond three months, as per section 198 of the Labour Relations Act (LRA); longer-term workers to receive permanent contracts and full benefits the same as permanent employees
• First-time sector-wide negotiations for medical aid coverage, to be finalized by the NBCCI

 Implementation & Next Steps

• The Agreement is back-dated to 1 July 2025
• The Collective Agreement automatically applies to non-parties to the bargaining council
• Plant-level discussions will address:
  • Shift and danger allowances
  • Disaster and emergency leave
  • Housing and heat allowances
  • Long-service awards

NUMSA retains the right to renegotiate any benefit shortfalls at company level.

The NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim said,

“NUMSA remains committed to defending workers’ hard-earned gains and pushing beyond mere inflation adjustments.  This deal sets a new standard in the Glass Sector and sends a clear message: when workers unite, we win.”

Ends

For more information or interview requests, please contact:

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola
NUMSA National Spokesperson
T: 083 376 7725
E: phakamileh@numsa.org.za

NUMSA Head Office
T: 011 689 1700
Facebook: NUMSA Facebook Page
Twitter: @Numsa_Media
Website: https://numsa.org.za

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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) National Gender Structure joined hands with the Red Cross to commemorate Mandela Day in Joe Slovo Township, Mthatha, Eastern Cape. This year’s event centred on solidarity with over 2,000 families devastated by last month’s deadly floods across Mthatha and Butterworth.

At least 100 lives were lost, and over 10,000 families were displaced when torrential rains swept through the region. Among those who perished were loved ones of NUMSA members, making this tragedy both personal and collective for the union.

In response, the National Gender Structure launched an emergency relief campaign, mobilizing donations of urgently needed items. NUMSA provided the following essential support:

• Blankets, dry goods, and toiletries
• School shoes, children’s stationery, and clothing
• Sanitary towels and tinned food
• Food vouchers for bereaved NUMSA families

This support was sourced through robust fundraising efforts driven by NUMSA members and allies across the country. Addressing attendees at the event, NUMSA’s Second Deputy President and Chairperson of the National Gender Structure, Puleng Phaka affirmed:

“As Africans, Ubuntu teaches us that we are because of one another. At NUMSA, our fight is not confined to the shopfloor, it extends to defending the dignity and wellbeing of working class communities. When disaster strikes, we do not turn away. We act. We welcome this opportunity to work with the Red Cross and call on the broader public to continue assisting flood-affected families.”

NUMSA extends heartfelt gratitude to the regional leadership of Eastern Cape and Hlanganani, the National and Regional Gender Structures of the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Hlanganani, the Local office in Mthatha, SAFTU affiliates, and our dedicated Shopstewards, staff and members who rose to this occasion. We also thank NUMSA Financial Services and Kungawobantu and supporting service providers for bolstering our relief efforts.

The campaign continues for the next 30 days. Donations can be dropped off at the nearest NUMSA Regional or Local office. Furthermore, we call on all NUMSA Gender Structures to intervene proactively, not only in the Eastern Cape but in their communities wherever there is a need and to adopt a progressive program to lighten the burden on those who are vulnerable and suffering.

President Phaka went on to say,

“True Socialism is not just ideology, it is compassion in action”.

ENDS.

For more information, please contact:

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola

NUMSA National Spokesperson

0833767725

phakamileh@numsa.org.za

NUMSA Head Office number: 0116891700

NUMSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NumsaSocial

NUMSA Twitter account: @Numsa_Media

NUMSA Website: https://numsa.org.za/

PDF DOWNLOAD: The NUMSA National Gender Structure donated essential relief to 2000 flood victims in Umtata as part of Mandela Day

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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has signed a new wage agreement for one year with the Bombela Operating Company which manages the Gautrain. The agreement was signed yesterday (16 July) and is valid from 1 July 2025 to the 30th of June 2026.

It is broken down in the following way:

1. We have negotiated a 4,25% wage increase across the board
2. Housing allowance from R1300 to R1400.
3. Night work/Transport allowance has increased from R112 to R125.
4. Night Shift allowance increased from R38 to R40 per hour
5. KPI bonus increased in terms of the wage increase at a rate of 4.25% from R9600 to R10 016.
6. The agreement will be backdated to the 1st of July.

NUMSA is satisfied with the agreement because it was negotiated under very difficult conditions of a low March CPI rate of 2.7%. One of the benefits of this agreement is that all of the allowances increased by more than the 4.25% across the board increase.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola

NUMSA National Spokesperson

0833767725

phakamileh@numsa.org.za

NUMSA Head Office number: 0116891700

NUMSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NumsaSocial

NUMSA Twitter account: @Numsa_Media

NUMSA Website: https://numsa.org.za/

PDF DOWNLOAD: NUMSA signs wage agreement at Gautrain

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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) Gender Structure is calling on its members and also its staff in all nine regions to kindly make donations to victims of the floods which recently devastated parts of the Eastern Cape.

At least 90 people died and over 10 000 people have been affected as a result of heavy flooding in the OR Tambo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape. The floods have displaced hundreds of families; damaged homes and settlements; and destroyed infrastructure and caused power cuts. At least four NUMSA members have lost family members as a result of the floods.

We are humbly requesting support for the victims of the flood. We are kindly requesting that all donations be made to the nearest NUMSA Regional or Local office.

Some of the items we are requesting are:

• Tinned food and dry goods such as beans, fish, rice, maize meal, pasta etc
• Sanitary items such as sanitary towels and toothpaste
• Baby food and diapers
• Clothes
• Shoes

We are kindly requesting that comrades use union meetings including LSSC’s and RSSC’s, and REC’s to donate so that we can help as much as possible. Any money which is donated can be given to the Regional office closest to the members.

We will be grateful for any contribution and any assistance will be highly appreciated.

The items received will be handed over to the Umtata Local on the 17th of July because they were heavily affected.

The gender structure wishes to thank trade union the South African Industrial Commercial and Allied Workers Union (SAICWU) our sister union within SAFTU for making a donation. President Rendani Munyai personally handed over clothes and shoes for families devastated by the floods. This is truly socialism and Ubuntu at work. We are deeply grateful to the union for heeding the call.

We also want to call on the public as a whole not to forget the people of the OR Tambo District. Even though this issue is no longer being reported on, the suffering of the community continues. If possible, we urge the public to reach out to organisations in the OR Tambo District to help those families whose lives have been devastated by the floods.

ENDS.

Issued on behalf of NUMSA by:

Puleng Phaka

NUMSA 2nd Deputy President

0617629266

For more information, please contact:

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola

NUMSA National Spokesperson

0833767725

phakamileh@numsa.org.za

NUMSA Head Office number: 0116891700

NUMSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NumsaSocial

NUMSA Twitter account: @Numsa_Media

NUMSA Website: https://numsa.org.za/

PDF DOWNLOAD: The NUMSA Gender Structure is calling on the public not to forget the flood victims in the Eastern Cape who still need our support

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The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) will be balloting its members to determine whether it will be going ahead with a strike at Gautrain. NUMSA has deadlocked with the Bombela Operating Company which manages the Gautrain. The union was granted a certificate to strike, which means we can give the employer 48-hour notice to down tools.

Our members rejected the employer’s offer of 4.2% wage increase Gautrain workers, because this is not a meaningful increase. We are demanding 7% increase across the board. While management clings to the Consumer Price Index as a benchmark, workers are living in a country where the cost of survival has skyrocketed far beyond the CPI.

Let’s talk facts:

• Eskom tariffs have surged by 12.7%, with more hikes looming.
• Fuel prices are R21 per litre, driving up transport and food costs.
• A basic basket of food now exceeds R5,000, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD) which reports that the average cost of a basic household food basket in Pietermaritzburg is R5443.12
• While half of South Africa’s workers earn less than R5,400 a month.
• The average worker supports 5-7 unemployed family members.

Meanwhile, the lowest-paid Gautrain worker, a cleaner, earns approximately R9,000,therefore how are they expected to absorb these increases with a meagre 4.2% offer?

This is not just a wage dispute. It’s a question of dignity and fairness. The demands we are making are reasonable given that the cost of living is extremely high. This is why we say,

CPI Increases are not enough – workers at Gautrain deserve a living wage!

Gautrain’s world-class performance with over 7.9 million passengers annually and a95% punctuality rate is only made possible by the very workers now being told to “tighten their belts” while executives remain insulated in air-conditioned offices. The same executives are rewarded with generous packages, when it is ordinary workers, whose labour is exploited, in order to generate Gautrain’s world class performance.

NUMSA’s demand for a 7% increase is a modest, reasonable adjustment that reflects the real cost of living in South Africa today. This is not a luxury, it is lifeline.

We call on the Bombela Operating Company and the Gautrain Management Agency to put a meaningful offer on the table. Workers are not asking for miracles, they are asking for economic justice. We all have a responsibility to end wage inequality and that includes the bosses at Gautrain.

We work to live. Not to fall behind.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Phakamile Hlubi-Majola

NUMSA National Spokesperson

0833767725

phakamileh@numsa.org.za

NUMSA Head Office number: 0116891700

NUMSA Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NumsaSocial

NUMSA Twitter account: @Numsa_Media

NUMSA Website: https://numsa.org.za/

 PDF DOWNLOAD: CPI Increases are not enough – workers at Gautrain deserve a living wage!

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