South Africa metalworkers to go on strike

Metalworkers are planning to go on strike in South Africa in protest against low payments, the country’s largest trade union says.

On Sunday, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) said between 1,000 and 2,000 workers would go on strike on Monday.

NUMSA General Secretary Irvin Jim said that the union was asking for a double-digit pay increase for workers. The union is demanding a rise in the salaries of the sector’s worst paid workers to 2,500 rand (USD 225).

Jim said the union is demanding transport and pay on holidays for the metalworkers. He said NUMSA is also seeking an end to daily body searches carried out on metalworkers at the end of every shift.

South Africa’s mineworkers have also been staging similar strikes.

The miners are asking for a minimum monthly wage of 12,500 rand (about USD 1,200) for entry-level workers, which is more than double the current wage.

The world’s three major platinum producers Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats), and Lonmin are expected to resume negotiations with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) on February 4.

“Prolonged strike action will result in more losses and further fundamental restructuring and, inevitably, this will have an impact on jobs and indeed the economy,” the three platinum producers’ CEOs said in a joint statement issued earlier this week.

At least 34 people were killed after similar strikes by South African mineworkers turned violent in 2012.