A South African union representing workers in the energy, paper and pharmaceuticals sectors said on Thursday it plans to start a strike next week after wage negotiations with employers failed.
The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union (Ceppwawu) said the supply of fuel, medicine and pulp would potentially be affected by the industrial action.
”We will start with a protest during lunchtime on Monday and then escalate it to a full-blown strike from Tuesday if we don’t get a proper offer from the employers,” spokesperson Cedric Maluleke told Reuters.
Maluleke said he expected nearly all of the union’s 65 000 members to join the strike.
The union has lowered its demands for a 15% increase in wages to 10%, but employers in the sector are not willing to offer more than an 8% increase, in line with South Africa’s last measured inflation.
”We are not going to accept anything less than 10%,” he said.
Employers in the sectors include petrochemicals group Sasol, state-owned oil company PetroSA, paper makers Sappi and Mondi, and chemicals firms African Oxygen and Omnia. — Reuters