/ 19 November 2007

Stadium strike: Light at the end of the tunnel

The two-week strike by construction workers at Durban’s Moses Mabhida 2010 stadium may end on Monday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said.

NUM spokesperson Bonginkosi Mncwabe said an offer had been made by the building contractor, the Group Five/WBHO consortium.

”We will be consulting our members on that offer today [Monday] and see what they say … but by 12 noon a decision will be made on whether workers will continue striking or go back to work … but we are hopeful that the strike will end by the end of today,” Mncwabe said.

NUM is demanding project bonuses of R1 500 a month for each worker.

It is also demanding that sub-contractors meet minimum wage requirements for the civil engineering sector.

The consortium has argued that not all the sub-contracting firms fall under the sectoral wage determination for the South African Federation of Engineering Contractors (Safec) and therefore it had no control over their wages.

NUM is also demanding that workers be allowed to elect a full-time safety compliance worker as they are unhappy with the 15 safety compliance officers provided by the consortium.

Group Five’s managing director in KwaZulu-Natal, Craig Jessop, on Friday confirmed that there was a draft agreement under consideration, however he would

not divulge details.

NUM said it had issued notices for secondary strikes to major construction employers involved in the building of 2010 projects.

If actioned, work on 2010 stadiums as well as the Gautrain and the King Shaka International Airport will come to a halt on Wednesday. – Sapa