OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 9.30PM.
CHEMICAL Workers’ Industrial Union leaders and employers in the petroleum industry will meet on Friday in an attempt to end the nationwide strike by 47000 CWIU members.
The CWIU said on Thursday it has communicated its readiness to meet employers for negotiations with the employers’ national co-ordinator, Fanie Ernst.
A meeting with pharmaceutical sector employers has also been confirmed for Friday. The union also said it believes that progress has been made in negotiations with the industrial rubber sector.
“We further want to reiterate that this [the willingness to meet with employers] is not a sign of weakness, but we are doing it in the interest of the country and everyone else who is being affected by the strike,” the CWIU said.
Union members have been striking since Monday to demand a 10,5% wage increase, a 40-hour working week and paid sick leave.