South Africa: Union ends work stoppage in construction industry with 12 percent wage deal

(Reuters) – South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers said on Friday it had agreed to a deal for wage hikes of up to 12 percent with the construction industry, ending a industrial action that led to a three-week work stoppage.

“This is a major victory for us,” union official Issac Ntshangase said in a statement.

The work stoppage in the construction industry, one of several in a number of sectors, had appeared to have a relatively small impact, with many workers refusing to heed union demands to down tools and many building sites remaining active.

Workers in the motor and gold industries have returned to work after industrial action that crippled operations at some of the country’s biggest producers were resolved last week.

Airline technical workers also returned to work this week, while an ongoing work stoppage by gasoline station attendants has caused little disruption so far in Africa’s top economy.

With the unemployment rate stuck at about 25 percent for years, many South Africans have said they are more concerned with securing a paycheck than heeding the industrial action calls of union bosses.