A last minute agreement between Silulumanzi and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has averted a strike scheduled for January 23.
A strike action, set to begin on January 23, was averted at the last moment after Silulumanzi, a South African company providing water and wastewater services to nearly 400,000 residents of Mbombela, the capital city of Mpumalanga province, conceded to a 6.5% wage hike.
Complaining about the burden of the rising cost of living on employees, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) demanded a 7% wage hike for its more than 270 members employed by the company, who hold a three-year contract with the city's Local Municipality.
The wage negotiations began on October 29 last year. However, when the company refused to concede any more than 5%, the negotiations deadlocked by October 11, according to Pholo Sebotsa, the union's Acting Regional Secretary of Mpumalanga province, speaking to Peoples Dispatch.
The Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) provided the union with a certificate of non-resolution on January 15, 2024, allowing it to legally proceed with a strike.
On January 21, the union served a 48-hour strike notice to the company.
However, the strike-which could have affected water services in Mpumalanga's capital-was averted. On January 22, in a meeting between the union leaders and the company, a 6.5% hike was agreed upon.
"This is an above inflation increase and we welcome this outcome. NUMSA continues its long track record of securing above inflation increases for the benefit of workers and their families," Pholo Sebotsa, its Acting Regional Secretary of Mpumalanga province, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The strike... has officially been called off."
The Acting Regional Secretary of Mpumalanga Comrade Pholo Sebotsa has signed a wage agreement with Silulumanzi for an above inflation, across the board, 6.5% wage increase. #NUMSAEveryday❤️🖤💛 pic.twitter.com/dGkezLxvLm-- NUMSA (@Numsa_Media) January 22, 2025
