“The company has been stubborn since the start of this year’s negotiations and started the process with a wage offer of 0%,” explained Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans. “This offer was increased to only 2% after three rounds of negotiation.”

Solidarity believes that the offer is a slap in the face for MMC employees and that the company cannot in any way justify a sustained poor offer. “There is no indication from management that the company is not financially capable of giving a better increase. The plant is still functioning at 100% of its capacity, the company still has many projects that need to be done and nothing is pointing to shorter workweeks or retrenchments. In addition, MMC is in the process of being sold and several companies have shown an interest, which indicates that MMC is an attractive investment.”

Solidarity is currently demanding a wage increase of 11% on this one-year agreement. The dispute has now been referred to the bargaining council for the metal and engineering industry.