DAVID LE PAGE Johannesburg | Tuesday
THE ongoing strike in the car manufacture industry could lead to Daimler-Chrysler permanently losing a major contract for the annual production of 30_000 C-class Mercedes-Benz vehicles for the European market, the company warned its workers on Monday.
The strike by 20_000 car manufacturing workers is now in its second week, but striking steelworkers have settled with Highveld Steel and Vanadium, the country’s second-largest steel producer.
MWU-Solidarity spokesman Dirk Hermann said his union, which had halted production at Highveld since Tuesday last week, was satisfied with the new offer by Highveld of a 9,46% effective wage increase.
A spokesman for the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) warned meanwhile that 150_000 workers in related industries would embark on a sympathy strike in support of the automobile workers if the next round of talks with employers on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
“If we have no resolution by the end of the week, we will definitely continue with the sympathy strike,” spokesman Dumisa Ntuli said on Monday.
Numsa is demanding a wage increase of 12% but the Automobile Manufacturer Employers Association (Ameo) is offering 8%.
Inflation in South Africa is currently running at 6,5%.
The 1,7-million-strong Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) is meanwhile planning a general strike for August 29 and 30 after failing to win concessions from the government and other parties on the privatisation of state assets.
Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the general strike would be preceded by localised ones.
It wants a freeze on all privatisation initiatives until a new policy framework is developed.
The Metal Workers Union-Solidarity on Monday confirmed that its 4_500 predominantly white members in the automobile industry were no longer doing the work of strikers, as a way of “strategically supporting” Numsa.
The strikers make up about 80% of workers in the industry and their stayaway affects seven international car manufacturers — BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Delta, Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.
A spokeswoman for Delta on said Monday it was “proving increasingly problematic to provide employees” who did show up with work because of the “damaging effects of the strike.”
It is estimated that the strike will cost manufacturers R1-billion per week.
Ameo spokesman Dave Kirby he believed last week’s lost production was expected to come to about 8_000 vehicles.
Some 3_000 workers at Hullet Aluminium’s three plants are demanding a 15% wage increase. The company on Monday upped its offer to 9%.
July to September is traditionally strike season in South Africa as it is the period when salary increases are negotiated. – own reporter, AFP ZA*NOW
Auto strike begins to bite August 13, 2001
Most of auto industry on strike August 6, 2001