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Strike threat at 2010 projects
11/11/2007 22:05 - (SA)
Johannesburg - South Africa's powerful
National Union of Mineworkers has threatened a strike on all
2010 soccer World Cup projects if demands for bonuses and better
safety are not met, the union said on Sunday.
Workers from the union are involved in building stadiums as
well as a mass transit system in the Johannesburg area as part
of World Cup preparations, which have been dogged by a series of
industrial disputes.
Bonginkosi Mncwabe, the union's regional coordinator in
Kwazulu-Natal, told Reuters that two companies in the consortium
building stadiums had dropped an earlier agreement to pay
bonuses.
"We will spread action to all other 2010 projects so that
the message is clear and loud," Mncwabe said.
He said the action would go ahead if there was no deal this
week and a strike date would be set by union leaders on Monday.
WBHO and Group Five, the companies accused by the union of
going back on the bonus agreement, were not immediately
available for comment.
It is the latest dispute to threaten preparations for the
World Cup, for which 10 stadiums are being built or refurbished.
Last week, over 1 000 labourers downed tools at the site of
the stadium in Durban, demanding bonuses and steps to meet
safety concerns. Less than two months ago, workers struck at the
Cape Town stadium in protest at a lack of travel benefits.
- Reuters
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