Workers have been meeting outside the stadiums

Workers have been meeting outside the stadiums

Workers building stadiums for next year’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa have ended a week-long strike and the workers will return to work tomorrow, according to negotiators in Johannesburg.

The strike began on July 8 with unions demanding a 13% pay rise and employers offering 10.4%. A union spokesman said the workers had settled for 12% and a restructuring of employment benefits. One of the main issues stopping an agreement from being reached in the past week was that the union wanted to retain a right to strike again before August next year.

Contractors confirmed a deal had been reached and would be signed shortly, with work to resume on Thursday. Construction companies will be relieved that industrial action, which could have lasted months, has ended so quickly.

The projects affected by the strike included 10 soccer stadiums, including 5 new stadiums, and the Gautrain, a ZAR 27 billion (USD 3.3 billion) high-speed rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg, the country’s largest city.

The deal to end the strike, which was reached early on Wednesday, came after grueling talks, negotiators said. “It was tough, it took a lot of time – two nights and the last week,” said Schalk Ackerman, a representative of the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors. The federation released a statement saying the agreement was due to be signed on Wednesday to end the strike officially. Additionally, the federation said that it had received assurances that workers would go back to work at 0700 (0500 GMT) on Thursday.

Shane Choshane of the National Union of Mineworkers, whose members include thousands of construction workers, confirmed that an agreement had been reached. Mr. Choshane said he hoped the construction industry had “learned a lesson, not to take for granted issues of their employees”.

The union and the construction firms say the venues will be ready on time. While meeting a December deadline for the completion of World Cup stadiums will now “be tight,” it will be met, Schalk Ackerman said.

South Africa’s largest construction and engineering company, Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. rose in Johannesburg after the dispute was resolved. The stock climbed 1.4%, or 70 cents, to a one-month high of ZAR 50.29.

Visit Murray & Roberts’ website

Source(s):
BBC News
Bloomberg News