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Solidarity welcomes the recent extension of the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) Consolidated Main Agreement which has been ratified by the Minister of Employment and Labour. In addition to the Consolidated Main Agreement, the two agreements regulating administrative and dispute levies, as well as the Plastics Industry Main Agreement, have also been extended. All four agreements will come into effect from 17 October 2022.

“The extension of the four agreements will bring stability within the MEIBC and the metal and engineering industry in general, and it will bring much-needed relief for employees who have had no standardised minimum employment conditions and wage scales for more than a decade,” said Willie Venter, deputy general secretary for metal and engineering at Solidarity.

According to Solidarity, the agreements will be beneficial for the entire industry, provided that parties work responsibly with the phasing in of the agreement and employers follow the prescribed processes to adjust employees’ minimum employment conditions within the prescribed time periods.

“The proper functioning of the MEIBC as the watchdog that monitors the implementation of the agreements is crucial for the preservation of a sustainable industry, and it is expected that the MEIBC’s functions will be properly scrutinised to remove the last scars of an institution that had to be saved by business rescue,” Venter said.

“This is truly a milestone achieved in an industry that has been plunged into a lot of turmoil in recent years, and we look forward to positive and constructive collaboration between all parties within the MEIBC and with the MEIBC itself to address the more strategic interests of the industry,” Venter concluded.

Issued by Solidarity