The negotiations between the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA), the employer’s federation representing the metal industry and the trade unions representing the employees of said federation have come to a standstill after none of the sides could reach an agreement.

Despite a facilitator’s best efforts, the SEIFSA stated that “He spent time with the respective parties in an attempt to formulate a conceptual framework within which to move the negotiations forward. During this process, a list of 17 trade union demands were formulated and presented to the employer parties, including a reduction in the unions’ wage demand from 20% to 13%.”

The 17 demands are now being considered by the metal industry federation, however their refusal to immediately alter the 4.1% wage increase previously offered resulted in a dispute being declared between the two groups.

This has resulted in a special council being formed in an attempt to resolve the issues and move the matter forwards.