Road freight and logistics industry wage negotiation a success

The National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistic Industry (NBCRFLI) and the Parties to Council have announced the signing of a three-year wage agreement.

25 Sep 2018

Source: pixabay.com

The intended date of implementation of the agreement is 1 March 2019, following the expiry of the current agreement on 28 February 2019; however, the agreement still has to go through the process of promulgation and extension to non-parties by the Minister of Labour.

Among the provisions included in the wage agreement are:

Wage increases and minimum adjustments

The Parties to Council agreed to the following wage increases and minimum adjustments:

Annual increases Across the Board (ATB) for all job categories (including EBU up to B4) except for C1 category, as follows:
2019 - 8%
2020 - 7.5%
2021 - 7.5%

With EBU C1 job category receiving annual increases at 1%, less than the above agreed ATB.

Parties further agreed on minimum adjustments from Grade 1 to 5 for all Chambers. There are also minimum adjustments from Grade B2 to B4 for Cash in Transit Chamber.

Allowances

In addition to the annual wage increment and minimum adjustments, Parties agreed on 50% increases for Cross-Border Allowance for the first and second year of implementation. The final year of implementation will see 7.5% increase.

Subsistence Allowances will also increase by 35% over the three-year period.

A Dual Driver Allowance will increase through the introduction of payment equal to two hours calculated at overtime rate over and above the existing Dual Driver Allowance.

Night Shift Allowances will increase by 20% from the current base amount of R10, on the first year of implementation of the agreement, and by 7.5% for the two subsequent years of implementation.

Hazchem Allowances will also increase from the 1.5% calculation to 2% of the minimum of the grade.

The wage negotiations took place in the current technical recession that our country is faced with; however, the Council is proud that the wage agreement was signed without any industrial action and would like to thank the Parties to Council for their dedication and hard work; and for negotiating harmoniously in reaching this agreement.

We are confident that the industrial relations between the Parties will improve and bring stability to our industry.