The South African auto workers strike that started last week shows no signs of abating, as talks between the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organization (AMEO) and the powerful National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) over the weekend failed.
The union’s “simple demands” include a one year-agreement, a 15% across-the-board wage increase, short time/lay-off payment at 100%, labour brokers to be scrapped, eight hour work days from Monday to Friday, Saturday work to be paid at 1 1/2 rates, and double pay on Sundays and public holidays.
NUMSA’s 15% wage increase is well above South Africa’s inflation rate, which was 4.2% in July. AMEO offered a 7% increase in the first year and a rise equal to consumer price inflation in the remaining two years. This was rejected by the strikers, which will continue to disrupt production.
Should AMEO set a trend by giving in to the “extortion”? South Africa’s auto industry is the biggest manufacturing exporter in the country, accounting for about 6% of the nation’s GDP, but production and exports have been crippled by NUMSA’s strike.
AMEO spokesman Harry Gazendam said: “If you cannot service the market, then labels source from other places because, remember, there is spare capacity due to the recession. Once you lose those export markets, it’s very hard to get them back,” he warned. South Africa produces 3000 cars a day, half of which were for export. “None of those vehicles has been built since last Wednesday,” he said.
Toyota SA echoes that view. “What worries us is the damage to our image. We are assessed on quality, cost, productivity and, of course, stability of supply. A strike like this puts us in a very bad light,” said spokesman Leo Kok. He added that Toyota factories in different countries were competing with each other for contracts and this black mark could harm future business. “We bid against other manufacturing plants. When it’s fresh in the memory, it does affect the bidding.”
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Dato’ S Subramaniam and Dato’ Mustapha Muhamammad please take this oppurtinty ASAP. We can take advantage from all this and bring the car manufacturer into Malaysia. Maybe VW will instead make a direct investment not through DRB-HICOM if all things work well.
but the problem in malaysia is we also depend on foreign workers……………..we have good infrastructure, but still we lack of human capital…….unless the automobile company can give good offer for their worker
Under the Labour Act, strike is the last option to be taken by the workers’ union as it is illegal to form strike. Under the national security policy, the strike group could be held in jail for 24hours. Under the MTUC or any union policy, performing a strike is never an option. The Ministry of Human Resource are pro-employees rather than employers. Therefore, any mis-treatment from employers in terms of salary or benefits (as guideline from country GDP) will see actions taken against employers in terms of negotiation or discussion. This is the reason as to why Malaysia has a very stable workforce despite influx of foreigners. (PS: I was a factory Union leader once and above were experiences garnered through)
strike…strike…strike…come on P1 and P2 workers…you are all currently underpaid as compared to O&G. strike…strike….strike….
P2 staffs get 4 month bonus la…
Almost everybody are underpaid if compared to O&G. Perhaps O&G should strike to demand lower pay… :-)
Do you see any Bangla or Nepalese even Indon at proton and Perodua plant?
please CKD or SKD the passat CC…
u really want to buy ckd of passat cc?
we can take advantage of this situation..
I guess its an opportunity for Malaysia since stability and lower possibility of strikes among the workers here. VW learn the hard way on investing their money, more likely to free Africa from poverty..but if the strike continue with no rational and long term business conscious..the country will be left behind.
ayo.. in johor also got strike. nepalese, burmese, and bangladeshi are demanding payrise there. if we send them home, then factories can’t operate because locals here don’t want to work for mere RM500 a month…. even indonesian asking RM600 for the maids.
don create false news….in johor strike not salary related..but one of their fren (Nepalese) died bcoz of sick n company late to sent to hospital
i’m not creating false news. pls read today’s newspaper la.. that earlier strike is different story. yesterday they strike again demanding payrise…
shall the empire strikes back?
ayooo….why want take advantake??take oppurtunity? won’t la..malaysia is worst..can’t sell car with cheap price coz alot of tax, plus worker is malas oso..(mengular)..
Wrong news..
There goes my Golf 1.4 TSI Twincharge……
probably follow the exmples of the wcup security personnel who stage strike on the eve of wcup.
korea in 90 always have a strike..but now,,i didnt see any korea worker strike…
i believe SA VW kilang is for african market….so no use to shift VW to move the kilang here…. better expend india kilang
SA caters for all right hand POLO market. They also caters for worldwide market for CrossPolo.
no they still do strike like always…to fight for their rite n union but lessening
Somebody tell me, how did South Africa get to stage the World Cup again?
just don’t look down on anybody, will you? some of Petronas money coming from SA too…
don’t just assume OK? I was talking about attitudes, nothing else. You could use some attitude adjustment yourself!
Well if you pay peanut you get monkey and you pay pistachio you get chimpanzee.
well..welcome to Malaysia VW…
how much VW pays the worker at S.A?..looks like it was too low..
The average monthly salary, including overtime and benefits, is 6,400 rand
Where you have this number from?
According to ‘Statistics South Africa (Stats SA)’, the average monthly income in the manufacturing sector was 9,917 rand in Feb 2010?
http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0277/P0277March2010.pdf
ur figure that u get maybe be general manufacturing sector not specific to auto industry…either way their factory worker income higher than us here..their average income more than rm2800 (Statistics SA from 6400 rand(auto), 9917 rand (gen manufac maybe))..we here average rm800
http://in.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=INLDE67B1QD20100816
the problem is a worldwide inflation that eats into workers salaries , at the end of the day its only fair if thy as for a raise , taiwan,china,uk to name some of the places where labour unions demanding a pay rise…u can pay ur workers low wages,matter of time before thy ask for a hike , lets be fair , most auto manufactures have it too good so far when it comes to cheap labour….
Wage increase of 15% may be okay (I don’t know the salary of a SA auto worker), but “short time/lay-off payment at 100%”?
I think that the NUMSA union is playing a dangerous game. VW i.e. shifted the production of the right-hand-drive Golf from South Africa to Germany in 2008, even without a strike.
This means, that it’s already cheaper to produce the Golf in Germany than in South Africa… ;)
Sejuta kakitangan awam Afrika Selatan mogok
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0819&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Terkini&pg=bt_03.htm
Even the Public Servants included. haiya…maybe due to world cup effect.