Car makers ‘won’t recoup lost output’
Component shortages threaten exports
THE motor industry will not be able to recover fully from the six weeks of striking by members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa), the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said yesterday.
The warning comes as shortages in automotive components threaten almost a complete halt to assembly lines.
Workers on assembly lines ended three weeks of striking earlier this month. This strike is estimated to have cost the motor industry about R20bn.
Vehicle producers were immediately faced with further losses after Numsa embarked on a separate strike that includes the component manufacturing sector. The strike has now entered its third week.
Despite the ability of some manufacturers to catch up on lost vehicle production, projections of a record year for car exports now needed a downward revision, Naamsa director Nico Vermeulen said yesterday.
“Before the current wave of automotive industry strikes, total aggregate industry exports and domestic production had been on target to reach record levels of 336,000 and 610,000 respectively,” Naamsa president and Toyota Africa CEO Johan van Zyl said earlier this month. “These figures are no longer attainable.”
Further, Naamsa has warned that SA will face long-term damage to its reputation as an international supplier and prejudice future export contracts.
Mr Vermeulen said a serious “strategic review” of collective bargaining in the motor industry was required before future wage negotiations were undertaken.
Wage negotiations between Numsa and employer bodies the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) and Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) continued throughout yesterday, RMI executive director Jakkie
Olivier said in an SMS message. FRA CEO Reggie Sibiya said yesterday that an agreement had been reached between retailers and Numsa. Union members still had to approved the deal.
Numsa is demanding doubledigit increases as well as improved working conditions. Employers have offered 7.5%.
Increasing pressure for a settlement has come from both the state and organised labour, following the intervention of Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant on Monday.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions has promised sympathy strikes if no deal is reached by next week.
Mr Olivier said on Monday parties were closer to a settle- ment with a decision yesterday realistic if “there is leadership on some of the big outstanding issues”. In separate wage negotiations with the employers, the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) said yesterday it had now also declared a dispute.
If the deadlock continues and Misa members also go on strike, this could result in further woes for the sector.
Misa CEO Hermann Hermann Köstens said the union would now seek a dispute meeting with employers.
BMW SA spokesman Guy Kilfoil said yesterday that daily production fell to 85 units instead of the usual 345 cars during the strike. BMW will be unable to make up for lost production of 260 vehicles per day.
Contingency planning could soon see production upped to 120 cars per day.
Volkswagen SA spokesman Matt Gennrich said production had now ceased at the manufacturers plant in Uitenhage.
General Motors SA had not been producing vehicles since last week, spokeswoman Denise van Huyssteen said yesterday. The company was losing a daily out of 250 passenger vehicles.
Production of commercial vehicles continued but the shortages of components was likely to take its toll by next week.
Production of C-Class vehicles at Mercedes-Benz SA East London plant continue to be affected, spokeswoman Lynette Striker said yesterday. She declined to comment on lost production figures.