News

6 July 2021

We are aware that pressure is being placed on employers to answer questions from the shop floor regarding wage increases.  Unfortunately, as wage talks are still ongoing, no certainty can be given at this time.  Please see notice below which may be placed on the company notice boards informing the employees of the current position.

Notice to SAEFA Member Employees - 6 July 2021

22 June 2021

Please see below comment from SAEFA regarding the proposal made by SEIFSA to the trade unions in their wage negotiations:

SAEFResponse to SEIFSA Proposal June 2021

28 June 2021

Please see below the amended Level 4 Regulations, published today:

Government Gazette No 11299

Please note that all businesses may continue to operate normally, subject to the following:

• Any employee required to travel to and/or from work between the hours of 21h00 and 04h00 will be required to keep a copy of completed Form 7 on them, together with their identification document.
• Any employee required to travel inter-provincially will also be required to keep a copy of Form 7 on them whilst travelling, as well as their ID document.

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.

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25 June 2021

This servers as a reminder that the employer contribution rates for the pension and provident funds will increase on 1 July by 0.1%, meaning that contributions from employers will be 7.6%, with the employees contribution remaining at 7.5%. This is in accordance with the Funds Surplus Apportionment arrangements. 

Below please find a link to the notice circulated earlier this month:

MIBFA

For more information, please visit the MIBFA website:

http://www.mibfa.co.za/downloads/EIPFcomm.pdf (Pension Fund Surplus Apportionment information)

http://www.mibfa.co.za/downloads/MIPFcomm.pdf (Provident Fund Surplus Apportionment information)

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.

24 June 2021

Please see an explanatory note below: on the recently released direction om Occupational Health and Safety Measures in the workplace:

SAEFA Note on Amended OHS Measures - June 2021

Consolidated Direction on OHS measures in certain workplaces

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. 

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