Speaking of changes that have taken place
in industrial relations over the years, Mr
Trentini says that after the dawn of democracy,
the confrontational style of bargaining that
bedevilled relations between employers and
employees for more than 50 years was replaced
by greater mutual understanding and a more
conciliatory bargaining approach. The new focus
was on a speedier resolution of problems and
the achievement of longer-term gains across a
broader range of issues.
Mr Trentini also says that when he joined
the Federation, SEIFSA was the only voice
representing the interests of companies
operating in the metals and engineering sector:
“We were the only employer Federation that sat
across the table with trade unions.”
Back then, Mr Trentini says, NUMSA was also
coming to grips with occupying a seat at the
Metal Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC).
Prior to this, NUMSA had been opposed to
participating in the industrial council system that
they perceived as being still part of the previous
political dispensation. At the time, NUMSA
had just emerged from a history of plant-level
bargaining with individual employers. While trade
unions amalgamated over the years, employer
representatives mushroomed, contesting for
the employer voice, but SEIFSA remains the
largest Federation representing 23 employer
Associations.
“As SEIFSA, we acknowledge that long gone
are the days when we were the only voice of
the metals and engineering sector. This means
that, over the years, we have had to ensure that
SEIFSA constantly delivers on its members’
mandate to avoid losing them to the competition.
It also means that we had to realise that relying
exclusively on membership fees to survive
wouldn’t work as some of our members had
to shut down operations owing to subsidised
competition from Asian economies that came
about as a result of globalisation.
“Against this backdrop, over the years the
Federation has added to its service offerings,
which initially consisted of Industrial Relations,
Economics and Skills Development. In addition
to its initial offerings, the Federation has now
also added the Small Business Hub, Legal Services
as well as Safety, Health, Environment and
Quality services. The addition of these services
has helped SEIFSA reduce its dependence of
membership fees,” says Mr Trentini.
Speaking of changes
that have taken place in
industrial relations over
the years, Mr Trentini
says that after the
dawn of democracy, the
confrontational style of
bargaining that bedevilled
relations between
employers and employees
for more than 50 years
was replaced by greater
mutual understanding
and a more conciliatory
bargaining approach
The Collective
Bargaining Model
SEIFSA has been instrumental in shaping the
industry collective bargaining model, which
continues to enjoy the support of organised
labour, the broad SEIFSA constituency and
Government. . However, in recent years the
model has come under enormous criticism,
which was at times warranted but in many
instances has not been thought through.
He says: “While we can criticise the collective
bargaining model, we must never lose sight of
what the model has enabled the industry to
achieve. We have unparralled pension, provident
fund, sick pay fund and disability benefit funds
worth in excess of R100 billion, established
and administered by the social partners with
no Government involvement.. These funds play
a crucial role in social security issues, looking
after employees whilst in service and one day
when they exit the industry – and all this takes a
massive burden off the State.”
“This notwithstanding, we recognise that for the
collective bargaining model to survive, it must be
revisited, reconfigured and reworked in such a
manner that key issues around how and where
we bargain, the barriers to entry, for example,
the entry- level wage rate structure and how we
accommodate SMMEs are addressed. However,
these must be addressed in a collaborative and
joint problem-solving manner, with all alternatives
considered, instead of simply saying the model
no longer works and we must hold out until the
unions come to their senses. ”In short, we need
to tread cautiously in terms of how we break
up collective bargaining and what we replace it
with,” says Mr Trenini.
Trade Unions
With the turbulent economic conditions that
followed the 2008/9 financial crisis, which saw a
number of smaller businesses within the metals
and engineering sector ceasing to exist as well
as the impact of the 2014 four-week strike, Mr
Trentini says that trade unions have come to
realise the seriousness of the tough economic
conditions currently facing the sector. With
that understanding came the willingness to sit
across the tabl