13 August, 2012The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has ended a month long strike at Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium after reaching a favourable agreement with the company.
The 2000 striking workers, that were protesting the retrenchment of more than 500 workers and salary cuts due to the implementation of a new shift system that affected overtime pay, returned to work on 13 August 2012.
Workers affected by the new shift system will now receive a 7.5 percent wage increase and a one off payment of R15,000 to mitigate the loss in overtime pay. Laid off workers that did not take a voluntary severance package will be reinstated and back paid.
Our perseverance has paid off,
says a NUMSA shop steward at Evraz.
While we are unable to prevent the new shift system, NUMSA gave us good leadership to make sure that workers can adjust to the new system and did not lose their jobs.