Dear ISA Members
On 7th April 2016, the Bargaining and Labour Relations Forum met to discuss the following issues in dispute in the annual substantial and wage negotiations (ASWN):
1. Bargaining unit scope (to include D band)
2. ATB (across the board) salary adjustment
3. Salary scales
4. 13th cheque
5. Long service awards
6. PMS or Pay Progression
7. Labour inclusion in interview panels
8. Medical aid and the number of medical aids available to staff
9. Housing allowances
10. Maternity leave
11. Rural allowances
12. Shift allowances
13. Shop steward leave
14. Danger allowance
15. Health and safety rep allowances
16. Core skills allowances
17. Working hours
After much debate, the employer and unions agreed to establish a task team to deal with some issues and to report back at the next ASWN meeting. The task team should include two members from the employer of which one should be the procurement manager. The unions are to decide on two representatives.
As the meeting progressed labour was not happy with the responses to the pertinent issues like the new salary scale especially the migration of the core staff to the general scales. The employer has reneged on sending the new approved scales to labour and also reneged on the back pay to 1 April 2015 for the core staff. Labour wanted to take the matter to the CCMA. The employer then promised to take the matter to the Board and ask for more financial backing to implement the back pay to 1 April 2015 and also finalize the newly proposed salary scales. On this note, labour decided to wait for the employer’s response at the next meeting.
We would hope that employer is still on board with its proposal to implement the second 50% back pay and the first 50% back pay and the corrections as on the 26 April 2016 backdated to 1 April 2015. With the current developments, it may happen that the core staff may have to wait until the new pay scales have been approved and implemented. We hope that this would happen soon so that it can be implemented this month.
The proficiency is still to be implemented in October 2016, latest December 2016 and unions are negotiating for it to be sooner. Unions agreed with the employer that this will be backdated to 1 April 2015 and it is hoped that they will not renege on this agreement.
The D band salary scale implementation is still on the table for finalization by the 31 July 2016. There is no information on this at present but ISA is busy with CCMA on the D band issues and will inform members in due course on the progress.