Numsa protesting nationwide for retrenched workers to be reinstated

The National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) will be embarking on a nationwide protest against steel manufacturing giant Macsteel, following the alleged retrenchment of 99 workers.

Macsteel has branches in Port Elizabeth, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga. Numsa members said they would be picketing at “various offices and workplaces nationally” from Monday morning.

Their only demand, they said, was that all 99 workers that were allegedly retrenched be reinstated.

“It is simply inhumane to retrench workers during a deadly pandemic, especially during Christmas, which is what this management did.”

The trade union is alleging that Macsteel “is using the pandemic to boost their profit margins”, saying that in previous retrenchment incidents, “the savings they made from job cuts were used to pay managers and executives generous bonuses and packages.”

In a blog article that appeared on Macsteel’s website, the manufacturer laid out the economic pressures being experienced by the sector.

Macsteel Trading sales executive Marcus Nel said that since 2009, steel production and manufacturing industries in the country have been hit hard, due to reduced activity across multiple sectors.

The Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated the steel sector’s economic woes, in addition to intermittent difficulties in Arcelor Mittal South Africa’s supply issues.

Numsa has labelled Macsteel a “cold and calculating employer” with “no sympathy for workers and their families and the suffering they will endure from being unemployed during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Responses to enquiries sent to Macsteel will be added as soon as they are received. The steel manufacturer committed to responding to queries soon.

-The Citizen

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The post Numsa protesting nationwide for retrenched workers to be reinstated first appeared on News365.co.za.



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