The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa has declared a dispute with Columbus Steel and Highveld Steel after the weekend’s wage negotiations reached a stalemate. Columbus Steel’s offer of a 6% wage increase was rejected by Numsa, as was Highveld Steel’s offer of an 8,5% increase on minimum wage. Numsa has also criticised the company’s decision to compel workers to work on election day on Wednesday. Numsa is demanding guaranteed inflation rate increases plus an improvement factor of between 8% and 10%. The dispute will be discussed at a conciliation meeting of the Metal Bargaining Council.