A protracted strike by security guards will hopefully end with the signing of a new pay deal at noon on Thursday.
South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) secretary general Randall Howard said on Wednesday that the deal would be accepted.
Since March 23 guards from Satawu and the Transport and Allied Workers’ Union of South Africa (Tawusa) have been holding out for an 11% pay increase.
Tawusa indicated that its members were also accepting the deal.
The new deal upgrades some of the lower paid guards and provides for an increase of 9,25% in the first year and 7,25% in the second and third years of the deal.
Once the deal, facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration, is signed, workers have 72 hours to return to their posts.
Howard said Satawu intended suing Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula for the police’s reaction during the strike. He said the police had treated striking security guards like animals and criminals.
A number of guards have been killed during the strike, reportedly for deciding to go to work instead of staying at home. – Sapa