A strike in the glass industry entered its second day on Monday with no wage settlement in sight, unions said.
Solidarity and the General Industries Workers’ Union of South Africa (Giwusa) said workers walked off the job on Friday after refusing a ”miserable 5%” from July 1 and another 0,5% from January 1 next year.
Solidarity, Giwusa, the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union and the South African Chemical Workers Union are demanding a wage increase of 8%, six months’ fully paid maternity leave, overtime ”as per BCEA [Basic Conditions of Employment Act]”, a 40-hour work week without loss of pay, and compassionate leave of five days per occasion.
Companies affected include Consol Glass, Nampak Glass, PFG Glass, PG Glass and Owens Corning.
”For the first time in the history of the glass industry, black and white workers are uniting around common wage demands,” Giwusa spokesperson Edson Ntsibande said in a statement.
”This strike has shown that black and white workers can unite across racial lines and federation lines against employers. This strike is also significant because it shows that more and more black and white workers are facing similar workplace problems of exploitation and poor working conditions.” — Sapa