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Thousands to swell ranks of striking metalworkers in South Africa as miners pledge to walkout

TENS of thousands are expected to swell the ranks of striking metalworkers in South Africa today, with miners joining a national “stay-away” call issued by the country’s largest trade union confederation.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) called for a “socio-economic national strike” marking today’s Global Day for Decent Work, with South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers throwing its weight behind the action.

Cosatu called on its members in mining, energy, construction and metalworking to support the action, either by joining the rallies or by staying at home.

It said that the strike is necessary to push the government and private sector “to fix the economic mess that the country finds itself in, and take seriously the issues affecting workers and South Africans in general.”

They will join members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), who walked out on Tuesday to begin an indefinite strike for better pay and conditions.

Workers are demanding a rise of 8 per cent for this year, and an increase equal to the rate of inflation plus 2 per cent for the following two years. Annual inflation is currently about 5 per cent.

Employers have refused the union’s claim and have instead offered a 4.4 per cent rise for 2021, inflation plus 0.5 per cent in 2022 and inflation plus 1 per cent in the third year.

Numsa accused bosses of opportunism and said the indefinite strike was a declaration of war against employers’ bid to plunge workers into “a slavery national minimum wage.”

A four-week strike in 2014 cost the South African economy an estimated six billion rand (£292 million).

Tens of thousands rallied across the country in defiance of bosses, with demonstrations and marches taking place in most major towns and cities.

Numsa said it was forced into taking strike action as bosses who benefited from last year’s standstill agreement, which froze pay increases during the coronavirus pandemic in order to protect the industry, are “now refusing to give back.”

“We are calling for a total shutdown of the engineering sector until these stubborn employers see sense,” a Numsa statement said.

The union’s general secretary Irvin Jim told a mass rally that “nobody else will put bread on the table” and urged members to stay united in their struggle for fair pay.

“We are not backing down,” he said to cheers from the crowd. “This is an indefinite strike until all demands are met.”

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