Road freight wage negotiations deadlock

The road freight industry seemingly has yet another wage fight on its hands with the first set of negotiations around wage increases for 2013 having already deadlocked. Unions in the industry and the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI) exchanged wage demands on June 1 this year when the negotiations for the increases for the period 2013 and 2014 officially started. But, on July 12, the negotiations reached a deadlock with unions declaring a dispute of nonresolution. Whilst the Road Freight Employers’ Association (RFEA) and its labour relations manager, Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht, remain hopeful that an agreement can be reached sooner rather than later, deadlocked negotiations and strikes have become synonymous with the industry that employs more than 65 000 people, more than half of them union members. “We are hopeful that we can reach an agreement during the next phase of negotiations that will take place under the auspices of the CCMA,” she told FTW. Once a dispute is declared in terms of the negotiation protocol agreement, the parties negotiate further with the assistance of a CCMAappointed commissioner in an attempt to reach a settlement. These meetings need to have been finalised and completed by no later than August 15. “The dispute process in itself will take some time, so it is still very early in the wage negotiation process. We are also very committed to reaching a settlement without any disruptions to operations of our members,” said Brown- Engelbrecht. This is high on the agenda for the industry that was rocked by violent strikes during wage negotiations in 2009 and again in 2011 when talks deadlocked. But, with unions adamant in their demand for wage increases of 15% per year for 2013 and 2014 and the road freight industry only offering 6% at present, they seem to be on an inevitable collision course. According to Brown- Engelbrecht, the current consolidated union demand has been calculated at around 158% for 2013 and 162% for 2014. This, she says, is excessively high and unreasonable. Unions have hit back saying the offer of 6% on the table from their employers is unreasonably low. Unions have also called for allowance increases and at least six months’ paid maternity leave as well as demanding additional allowances be added to their members’ wages. INSERT: ‘Unions want wage increases of 15% per year for 2013 and 2014 but the road freight industry is only offering 6%.’