- The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa says that a wage agreement has been reached for the metal and engineering sector, and will hold a briefing on Thursday.
- Trade union Numsa had previously rejected a 6% offer from the steel federation.
- Numsa will hold a separate briefing on the wage agreement and the future of the strike.
The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) says that a wage agreement has been reached for striking workers in the metal and engineering sector.
In a media advisory it said it will hold a briefing on the agreement at 14:00 on Thursday. It had previously revised its 4% offer to 6%, but that was rejected by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).
Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said the union would hold a separate briefing at 16:00 on Thursday, where it will give its position on the wage agreement and the "future of the strike".
Numsa has sought an 8% increase across the board in the first year, 2% plus CPI improvement factor in the second year, and an opportunity to reopen negotiations if 2% plus CPI does not cover inflation in the third year, Fin24 previously reported.
The strike has entered its third week. According to Seifsa, in its first week alone, the strike cost R100 million in lost wages. The steel federation has also warned that a protracted strike could be worse than the 2014 strike which cost the economy R6 billion.
