/ 26 September 2007

Green Point stadium strike set to end

Work on Cape Town’s 2010 soccer stadium in Green Point looks set to start again on Thursday, says project director Andrew Fanton.

”We are still dealing with the union … I believe we are in a position of agreement,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.

All work stopped at the site last Wednesday when about 1 200 workers employed by contractors Murray & Roberts and WBHO went on strike over a travel allowance.

The dispute centred on the contractors providing a shuttle service to drop off and pick up workers in central Cape Town and transport them to the Green Point site.

It is understood the contractors and the Building Construction and Allied Workers’ Union — representing the workers — have agreed on the location of a new pick-up/drop-off point.

The gates of the site remained closed on Wednesday, the fifth day of the strike.

Fanton said work was expected to ”start as normal again tomorrow [Thursday] morning”.

On Tuesday, City of Cape Town officials said it was unlikely the strike would set back the completion date for the 68 000-seater stadium. — Sapa