Welcome

South African Engineers’ and Founders’ Association

The SA Engineers and Founders Association (SAEFA) represents the interests of hundreds of member companies in the metal and engineering industry. These companies range in size from very small employers to large multinational organisations. SAEFA not only offers a wide range of direct services to member companies but also represents the interests of our members at both industry and national levels. 

SAEFA’s direct services to member companies, available at a reduced fee to these companies compared to what a non-member company would pay in the market, include assistance on all matters affecting the relationship between themselves and their employees/trade unions – for example:

  • Dispute resolution, conciliation, mediation and arbitration services 
  • Advice, assistance, consultancy and training on labour legislation, employment conditions and all other Industrial Relations matters
  • Assistance is also provided with health and safety matters, broad-based black economic empowerment, contract price adjustments and skills development through our affiliate organisations

For full information on these services contact SAEFA’s Executive Director, Gordon Angus, at gordon@saefa.co.za. 

SAEFA also represents the interests of our member companies in all industry negotiations with the industry’s trade unions, not only on wages and other conditions of employment but also on the industry’s benefit funds which provide benefits to employees such as pensions, permanent disability and sick pay benefits. SAEFA has its own seats at the MEIBC, participating directly in all activities there.

Being a member of SAEFA allows you to have a direct say in what happens in your industry.

 

News

SAEFA Effective Discipline Webinar - 9 June 2021

25 May 2021

Avoid the mistakes which could potentially cost your business!

Section 185 of the Labour Relations Act gives all employees the right not to be unfairly dismissed.  Yet many employers still make fundamental mistakes when taking corrective action against their employees.  As an employer, there is nothing more frustrating than having to compensate or reinstate an employee who has broken your rules.  The key to successful workplace discipline starts with understanding the principles of progressive discipline and ensuring you know the procedural requirements to ensure fairness. 

All too often, employers are ill prepared when taking disciplinary action against troublesome employees, particularly when it comes to conducting disciplinary enquiries.  Even if you have experienced expert consultants available to chair such enquiries, things will not go your way unless you prepare thoroughly and present a well prepared, structured case to maximize your chances of success.

SAEFA Main Agreement negotiations to continue on Wednesday

24 May 2021

The negotiations around the concluding of a Main Agreement for our members is set to continue this week with the announcement from the MEIBC that negotiations will continue on Wednesday, 26 May 2021 at 10h00.  The negotiations will continue under the auspices of the MEIBC and will be facilitated by Senior CCMA Commissioner, Shamain Dadabhai. 

In negotiations to date, SAEFA has made it’s position clear to both the trade unions and the other employer organisations registered with the MEIBC.  Currently, the SAEFA-proposed agreement enjoy the support of all of the other employer organisations that are not affiliated to SEIFSA, as well as two that are.  We are confident that further progress will be made at Wednesday’s meeting and that an agreement will be reached shortly which will provide for a set of terms and conditions of employment that are conducive to business recovery in the sector and growth in the future.

We will keep members updated in due course.

Main Agreement Wage Negotiations

19 May 2021

We have received several emails and telephone calls regarding an announcement made by SEIFSA that Main Agreement negotiations are set to begin in June.  As previously explained, SAEFA has been sitting at the negotiating table (together with 90% of the employers in the industry) since SEIFSA and NUMSA broke away into bilateral negotiations in 2017.  When they did that, they threatened to extend their agreement on the rest of the industry.  SAEFA, at the time, warned SEIFSA and the unions that they lacked the representivity levels required to legally extend their agreement and because of that, the unions must engage with us to secure an agreement conducive to business growth.  Needless to say, SEIFSA and the unions ignored our warning and committed to one another to extend the agreement to the detriment of businesses in the industry.  As predicted, however, they were unable to meet that commitment, as they lack the required representivity levels. 

SAEFA Interviewed on Classic FM

31 March 2021

SAEFA Executive Director, Gordon Angus, was interviewed by Michael Avery on the Competitiveness and Innovation feature on Classic Business (102.7 FM).

Over the course of 3 weeks the following was discussed:

  • the history of collective bargaining in the metal industry;
  • typical employer experiences in the industry wage negotiations and the negative effect of the poor quality of agreements being reached;
  • the detrimental effect of the extension of these agreements on businesses in the metal industry; and
  • what SAEFA has done and is doing to change the trajectory of the industry.

Please click on the podcasts below to listen to the interviews:

16 March 2021 Interview

23 March 2021 Interview

30 March 2021 Interview