Andile Zitho, who is the Regional Secretary of Numsa, tells OFM News that Numsa members from the Northern Cape and the Free State have been picketing in Botshabelo since the early hours of Wednesday morning. All other members from different provinces have, however, also been striking at their companies since last week.

OFM News last week reported that Numsa members will embark on a strike in demand of a wage increase, as employers were not willing to meet their demands. Zitho previously said workers are demanding an 8% wage increase, instead of the 4% that the employer had initially put on the table.    

“The strike is continuing and we are now at a stage where we are consulting with our members with regards to the offer that we have been given, so we are waiting for those different consultations. At one o’clock we have a special national executive committee meeting where we'll be receiving different reports from the nine provinces. The national executive committee will then make a decision on what is happening,” he adds.

Zitho had initially reported that the employer association had turned a blind eye to the sacrifices that workers and their families have made for the engineering sector. He had further reported that prior to the national strike, negotiations between Numsa executives and employers' associations had failed due to the alleged arrogance and the attitude of the employers in the engineering and the metal industry.

OFM News