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South Africa: National Union of Metalworkers ends four-week work stoppage
South African Workers at vehicle assembly plant. PHOTO/Volkswagen South Africa
South African trade union – the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) said it had reached a deal to end a four week work stoppage in the auto components sector that has crippled production
It said workers will return to factory floors on Monday.
Union officials told a news conference on Sunday that workers would receive a 10 percent pay increase in the first year of the accord and wage hikes of eight percent in the second and third years covered by the agreement.
The stoppage in an industry that accounts for 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) is one several this year threatening to hamper growth and further dent investor confidence in Africa’s largest economy.
A four-week stoppage by more than 30,000 workers at major auto makers including BMW, Ford, Nissan and General Motors ended last month and cost the industry US$2 billion in lost output.
But as workers on the assembly lines came back to work, tens of thousands of those at suppliers walked out.
The auto sector has been a bright spot for the ruling African National Congress (ANC), facing national elections next year. It has used protectionism to grow the sector and provide relatively well-paying manufacturing jobs in the country.
