Hot Dip Galvanizers Association Southern Africa

28/07/2026

08/07/2026

MANUFACTURING ORGANISATIONS CALL FOR CLARITY ON TREASURY’S COMMENTS REGARDING MANUFACTURING AND EMPLOYMENT

Wednesday, 8 July 2026. The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (SEIFSA), Manufacturing Circle and the Powerline and Substation Association (POLASA) have noted with concern recent public comments attributed to the Director-General of the National Treasury suggesting that manufacturing is unlikely to be the primary source of future employment growth in South Africa.

While we acknowledge that the structure of modern economies is evolving and that sectors such as services, tourism and construction have an important role to play in driving economic growth and employment, this comment nevertheless raises important questions regarding the coherence and consistency of South Africa's economic policy direction.

Manufacturing has, for many years, been identified by government as a strategic pillar of South Africa's industrial development agenda. It remains central to the country's productive capacity, export competitiveness, technological advancement and long-term economic resilience. As one of the most industrialised economies on the African continent, South Africa cannot afford ambiguity regarding the future role of its manufacturing base.

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Our concern is therefore not centred on whether other sectors should grow, they absolutely should, but rather on the policy signal that comments of this nature send to investors, manufacturers and businesses making long-term investment decisions.
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Economic policy is shaped not only through legislation and budgets, but also through the signals communicated by senior public officials. Institutions such as the National Treasury occupy a uniquely influential position in shaping expectations regarding future policy priorities, investment incentives and fiscal support. For this reason, consistency in public messaging across government institutions is essential.

It is equally important to recognise that South Africa's manufacturing challenges cannot simply be attributed to global structural changes or declining labour intensity. The sector has faced more than a decade of escalating electricity costs, logistics failures, infrastructure constraints, municipal decline and prolonged policy uncertainty. These factors have materially constrained investment, competitiveness and employment growth.

Public procurement reform, infrastructure investment and industrial competitiveness remain among the most powerful levers available to government to stimulate domestic manufacturing demand and improve capacity utilisation. These are the areas in which coherent policy implementation remains critically important.

The manufacturing sector does not seek preferential treatment above other sectors of the economy. Rather, it seeks a stable, predictable and consistent policy environment that reinforces government's stated commitment to industrialisation, investment and economic growth.
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It is therefore vitally important that National Treasury provides clarity on how these comments align with government's broader industrial policy objectives and long-standing commitment to growing South Africa's manufacturing capability.
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At a time when countries around the world are strengthening their manufacturing sectors through industrial policy and strategic investment, South Africa must ensure that its own policy signals inspire confidence rather than uncertainty.

SEIFSA, the Manufacturing Circle and POLASA remain committed to working constructively with government and all social partners to advance policies that strengthen South Africa's industrial base, create sustainable employment and improve the country's long-term economic competitiveness.

Issued by
SEIFSA, Manufacturing Circle and POLASA

18/05/2026

BEWARE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – IT’S NOT AS SMART AS YOU ASSUME!
A prominent concept in AI philosophy is that you can only safely use AI if you already know the subject better than the machine. If a user relies on an AI system in a domain where they are naturally ignorant, they often cannot detect the logical fallacies or "hallucinations" the system produces. AI is a powerful tool, but it is not a substitute for human insight and expertise. Leveraging AI responsibly requires continuous verification, deep thinking, and a willingness to challenge machine-generated outputs with organic creativity and reasoning.
AI is reshaping how the Dunning–Kruger effect shows up in human thinking: instead of novices being the most overconfident, studies show that AI-literate users often overestimate their abilities even more, creating a “reverse Dunning–Kruger” effect. This happens because people trust AI outputs too readily, offload critical thinking, and fail to evaluate their own reasoning.

24/03/2026

24 March 2026

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL DISMISSES PETITION FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed NEASA and Sakeliga’s petition for leave to appeal an earlier judgement of the High Court. The High Court dismissed an application in August 2025 to interdict the implementation of the sectoral targets and accompanying regulations, gazetted by the Minister of Employment and Labour during April 2025.
The SCA did not provide any reasons for its ruling apart from stating that there are no reasonable prospects of success on appeal or any other compelling reasons why an appeal should be heard.
The Petition for Leave to Appeal relates to part A of a two-part application, which was argued before the High Court in August 2025. Part A was, in essence, a request to interdict the implementation of the Employment Equity regulations, which place a burden on employers to reach completely unachievable race-based workplace demographics by 2030. The interdict, if granted, was to operate pending the finalisation of part B of the application.
Part B is the main application and seeks to review and set aside the decision of the minister to gazette these regulations and the sectoral targets in the first place. The legal challenge is based on a number of procedural and constitutional irregularities committed by the minister. The matter will proceed in the normal course, but is being frustrated by the department due to its failure to comply with its legal obligation to produce the record pertaining to the minister’s decision.
NEASA and Sakeliga obtained a court order on 9 March compelling the minister to deliver the record within 10 court days, failing which she may be held in contempt of court.
NEASA and Sakeliga are currently obtaining legal advice on whether to appeal to the Constitutional Court in the normal course in relation to Part A of the matter.

16/03/2026

COIDA AMENDMENTS

Key changes employers need to know about
Amendments to the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) have been gazetted. These amendments relate to who is covered, how benefits are calculated, how compliance is enforced, and what is expected of employers when employees are injured or fall ill.

The definition of who qualifies for COIDA protection has been significantly broadened.

Categories also now covered:
• Domestic workers
• Fixed-term, part-time, and seasonal employees
Contractors or on-demand workers who are integrated into your operations or work under your direction in a manner similar to employees.
Employers are urged to review their workforce to identify any workers who may now fall within COIDA's scope. Ensure they are included in your Return of Earnings (ROE) submissions.
Changes have been made to how benefits are calculated and how employer assessment rates are determined. The maximum annual earnings threshold used to calculate employer contributions has been revised upward to R633 168 (from R597 328). The minimum annual assessment per company has also increased to R1 621.
COIDA's definition of an accident has been expanded to include:
• Injuries sustained during work-related training activities
• Injuries during travel to or from work where employer-provided transport is used.
Importantly, compensation remains payable even where the accident was caused by the serious and wilful misconduct of the employee, subject to prescribed conditions.
The amendments introduce stricter requirements around the reporting of workplace injuries and occupational diseases. Employers must ensure:
• Timely reporting of all workplace injuries and occupational diseases to the Compensation Fund
• Compliance with increased reliance on digital submissions for claims and notifications
• Proper payment of temporary disability benefits to injured employees.
The prescription period for lodging a claim with the Compensation Fund has been extended from 12 months to three years from the date of the accident.
• Compliance with increased reliance on digital submissions for claims and notifications
• Proper payment of temporary disability benefits to injured employees.
The prescription period for lodging a claim with the Compensation Fund has been extended from 12 months to three years from the date of the accident.
One of the most significant changes is the introduction of a formal rehabilitation and reintegration framework. COIDA now recognises clinical, vocational, and social rehabilitation - covering physical and psychological recovery, assistive devices, and structured support to return to work.
Employers are expected to participate in this process and may be required to implement return-to-work programmes for employees with work-related injuries or occupational diseases.
Organisations that support employee rehabilitation may qualify for assessment rebates from the Compensation Fund.
From 1 April 2026, further COIDA amendments will introduce an administrative penalty system, replacing certain criminal offences in the Act.

Penalties may be imposed where employers fail to report workplace accidents within the required timeframes, fail to provide information requested by the Compensation Fund, fail to pay the first three months of temporary disability compensation, make unlawful deductions from employees, or fail to keep proper earnings and employment records for five years.

Employers are therefore encouraged to review their COIDA reporting, record-keeping and injury management procedures.
SOURCE: NEASA

12/03/2026

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT REFUSES LEAVE TO APPEAL
The Constitutional Court, on 10 March 2026, dismissed NEASA’s and Sakeliga’s application for leave to appeal directly to the Constitutional Court.

The application to the Constitutional Court emanates from an earlier judgement by the High Court which dismissed an urgent application to interdict the implementation of the Employment Equity (EE) targets, pending the finalisation of a review of the decision by the Minister of Employment and Labour to gazette the EE targets.

Although the Constitutional Court dismissed the application for direct access, NEASA and Sakeliga will continue with the fight against these unlawful and unachievable targets. NEASA and Sakeliga are currently awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeal on its petition to appeal the aforementioned judgement of the High Court and will also proceed with the main application in the High Court to review and set aside the decision of the Minister, which will be heard in due course.

02/03/2026

Safeguard investigation on corrosion-resistant steel

ITAC is also continuing its investigation into increased imports of corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel products of a width of 600 mm or more and a thickness of 0.45 mm or more. The products under investigation fall under tariff subheadings 7210.61.40, 7210.61.90, 7210.49.40, 7210.49.50, 7210.49.90, 7225.92.45, 7225.92.55, and 7225.92.90.

The Commission made a preliminary finding that imports sharply increased and are linked to serious injury experienced by the SACU industry. However, provisional safeguard duties will not be imposed at this stage while the investigation proceeds.

A public interest hearing has been scheduled for 19 March 2026, where stakeholders may present their views on the broader economic impact of possible safeguard measures.

Need help preparing a response or the public hearing? Contact us at [email protected].

02/03/2026

Requested extension safeguard on threaded fasteners

ITAC has initiated an investigation into the possible extension of safeguard measures on imports of threaded fasteners of iron or steel, including bolt ends, screw studs, screw studding and other hexagon nuts (excluding stainless steel fasteners and those identifiable for aircraft use).

The products under investigation are classifiable under tariff subheadings 7318.15.41, 7318.15.42, and 7318.16.30.

The application was submitted by the South African Fasteners Manufacturers’ Association on behalf of the SACU industry. Evidence submitted indicates that although the industry has undertaken adjustment efforts under existing safeguard protection, the expiry of the measure may result in renewed injury through declining production, sales and market share.

Safeguard duties are by the nature, meant to be temporary, so extending them is unusual. The moment we retain the duties for more than three years South Africa owes our affected trading partners compensation for breaching our WTO commitments. This usually takes the form of opening other product markets into South Africa for those partners to an equivalent value. If we refuse to do this, those partners can retaliate and impose duties on South African exports to an equivalent value.

Interested parties have until 18 March 2026 to submit comments.

25/02/2026

Rise and shine - Save the day for the HDGASA Annual Gof Day

23/02/2026

COSATU Protest Action 26 February 2026

Introduction

Management may be aware, from media reports, that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), intends calling workers to support a socio-economic protest action on Thursday, 26 February 2026.

Protest Action and the Labour Relations Act

The Labour Relations Act (LRA) permits registered trade unions or federations such as COSATU to undertake protected protest action to promote the social and economic interests of workers provided that they observe the procedural requirements contained in Section 77 (1) (b) of the LRA 66 of 1995, as amended.

This application was duly considered by NEDLAC and the NEDLAC Section 77 Standing Committee has determined the notice to be compliant with the administrative requirements of the LRA. COSATU can therefore go on protest action based on their notice submitted on NEDLAC, procedurally, they have met the requirements.

Consequently, any employees participating in any action on 26th February 2026 will be protected by the normal rules regarding protected strike-action, namely: no-work-no-pay and no disciplinary action.

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Management Guidelines on Possible Absenteeism on Thursday, 26 February 2026

SEIFSA recommends that management adopt the following course of action in dealing with any stay-away from work on the 26th February:

- Inform all workers that any absences related to the protest action will be
treated on the following basis:

• no work, no pay;
• no disciplinary action for participation in the protest action but excluding any misconduct during the protest;
• a shift for leave-pay and leave-enhancement pay qualification purposes will be lost in respect of the day’s absence; and
• any overtime worked during the course of the week will be paid at ordinary rates to make up for the lost ordinary working hours from Thursday, 26th February 2026.