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Oil Dispute declared with steelmaker
August 05, 2009 Edition 2
Solidarity said yesterday it had declared a dispute with unlisted steelmaker Columbus Stainless Steel over a wage deal that was agreed on last year, which it said the company was seeking to change.
The union said it signed a five-year wage agreement with Columbus Stainless last year, under which the company was bound to increase wages by between 8.6-10.4 percent by July 1 this year, but the firm wanted to increase wages by only 3 percent, and was offering an additional 2 percent increase in December.
Solidarity said the company had agreed it would not shed jobs until December this year, but had earlier this year said it would dismiss 10 percent or 160 of its workers, who were given the option of taking voluntary severance packages. Some 130 employees took the option.
Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans said the wage dispute had been referred to the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) for mediation.
Columbus Stainless spokeswoman Jenny Smit would not comment on the wage dispute.
Spain's Acerinox SA has a 76 percent stake in Columbus Stainless. The rest of the shares are held equally by Samancor and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa. - Reuters
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