Satawu+calls+for+wage+agreement+to+be+undone,+M+and+G



=Satawu calls for wage agreement to be undone=

Mail and Guardian Online, Johannesburg, 03 April 2006 04:02
The South African Transport and Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) on Monday called for a pay agreement that ended a security-guard strike by 14 other unions to be undone.

Jackson Simon, Satawu's security sector coordinator, said the union, which represents 35 000 to 40 000 guards, will ask the minister of labour not to gazette the agreement as a sectoral determination. The other 14 unions represent about 16 000 guards.

Simon also called for the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to set a new meeting between Satawu and employers.

Satawu distanced itself from the settlement reached on Sunday, saying it would continue its strike from Monday morning. "We did not sign the deal, we are not happy with it and we will continue to strike," Satawu general secretary Randall Howard said at the time.

He said Satawu had been sidelined in the negotiations. "The negotiations deadlocked yesterday [Saturday]," he said. "The [CCMA] commissioner left and the Satawu delegation left.

"When we got back to our offices in Johannesburg, we heard that the commissioner had been called back and that a settlement had been reached. It appears that we had been deliberately sidelined."

Howard said the union was in any case not interested in the settlement, which amounted to an 8%-a-year increase over the next three years.

"We were never interested in a long-term settlement. If you want to sign such a long-term deal, you have to keep certain things in mind -- like a possible rise in inflation."

Satawu will stick to its original demand of an 11% pay increase.

According to the agreement between the employers and the other unions, there will be a 26% increase in benefits over a three-year period, with an average increase of 8% a year.

Thousands of security guards went on strike countrywide in March, demanding an 11% pay increase, improved working conditions, the right to use the toilet without being charged with deserting a post on duty, and lunch breaks.

The strike turned violent in parts of Gauteng, with a number of guards arrested in clashes with police.

Meanwhile, the South African National Security Employers' Association (Sansea) said it received conflicting reports over the effectiveness of a security guards' strike on Monday.

Sansea spokesperson Steve Friswell said Friday was pay day, and the weekend following pay day is usually characterised by some absenteeism. But some companies were reporting fewer absentees than usual -- including his own.

Friswell said employers and 14 unions settled their differences over the weekend and signed a binding agreement under CCMA auspices. – Sapa

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 * From: http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__business/&articleid=268469