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

Setting the Record Straight

29 November 2017

Fake News 1

 

SA Engineers and Founders members are resigning in droves from the Association.

While some of our members have decided to join SEIFSA-affiliated associations, they have done so due to an unfounded concern that our Association was determined to engineer a strike during the final round of Main Agreement negotiations. These members thought there would be safety in what appeared to be bigger numbers.

Subsequent events have shown that this is not true.

 

Save up to 50% of your wage bill in December without exemption

3 November 2017

The SA Engineers and Founders Association’s position with regard to the 2017 Main Agreement negotiations is well documented.  As you are aware, there is currently no binding agreement in place for our members.  As a consequence, if your company is in the position of not being able to pay the Leave Enhancement Pay to your scheduled employees upon them proceeding on annual leave, you are not obliged to do so.  Ordinarily, you would be required to submit an exemption application, together with supporting financial documentation, proof of consultation, etc., something which many members dread, as the process is onerous, cumbersome and time-consuming.  Members of the SA Engineers and Founders do not need to submit such an exemption, as there is no need to be exempted from an agreement which does not bind us.

It is advisable that you consult with your employees over your plans regarding payment over the annual shutdown period, so that employees fully understand the financial implications. 

For assistance with this or with any other IR-related query, please contact Gordon: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Member Update

2 November 2017

Unlikely that SEIFSA-NUMSA agreement can be extended to non-parties; the legal fund is a desperate attempt to force through the deal and will cost millions

SAEFA members may be aware of a war of words between employer bodies in the engineering and metal industries, centred around the wage negotiations commencing in May this year.

As members may recall, the goal leading up to the 2017 wage negotiations was to ensure that an inclusive deal was reached, representing the interests of labour and employer bodies – including SAEFA members – equally. Mediation and arbitration specialist Johnny Goldberg was brought on board as a lead negotiator on behalf of employer bodies, in good faith, with the intention to ensure an inclusive negotiation process for all parties.

This inclusive process was cut short when SEIFSA and NUMSA engaged in bilateral negotiations and signed their own wage settlement agreement. SAEFA is not in favour of this deal. Not only were we excluded, but critical employer demands that were tabled to address the dire need for job creation in an industry that has been steadily bleeding jobs, were not considered.

SAEFA brings you Back to the Future, a breakfast with Frans Cronje on 8 November @ 07:30am

Bonus update, a  strategic report was released  late last week by the Centre for Risk Analysis at the IRR on how the leadership race in the ANC is likely to conclude and what the long-term implications for South Africa and the economy will be. This makes this breakfast even more relevant to attend.

See below to register and note that we will cater for special dietary requirements.

Clem Sunter wrote in the foreword to Frans Cronje's book, S.A. in 2030, "Nobody can predict precisely the way the future is going to play out in the long term.  That is why it is much better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong.  Scenario planning is a methodology that accepts this principle by identifying the forces or trends that are shaping the future."