Car workers out 'indefinitely'
2010-08-11 07:06
Workers in the car manufacturing industry will embark on an "indefinite" strike on Wednesday, the National Union of Metalworkers SA (Numsa) said.
"We will strike until the employer meets our demands. This in an indefinite strike," Numsa spokesman Castro Ngobese said on Tuesday.
He blamed the action on the "stubbornness and big-headed arrogance" of the Automobile Employers' Organisation (Ameo).
The strike would affect the production of vehicles at Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Bavarian Motor Works (BMW), Nissan, General Motors and Daimler.
About 31 000 workers were expected to down tools during the strike, Ngobese said in a statement.
The union wanted a 15% across-the-board wage increase, a 100% lay-off payment and the scrapping of labour brokers.
It also wanted the employer to reduce working hours to eight hours a day from Monday to Friday and allow six months of paid maternity leave.
Ameo spokesman Harry Gazendam told Sapa the union insisted on going on a strike, although its demands were "unrealistic".
"They have a list of between 18 to 20 demands and we wanted to finalise the agenda... You cannot negotiate without having clear demands."
Gazendam said about 19 000 workers in the sector would participate in the industrial action.
He said the strike could cripple the local car export industry and open doors for exporters operating from countries like China.
"If you don't have people, then you cannot build cars. The longer the strike, the more you give importers an opportunity."
His organisation had been given a notice of the strike last Friday. He said there were no contingency plans in place to avert the impact of the strike.
