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2010 labourers end strike
15/02/2008 17:35 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Construction workers at one of the stadiums due to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa called a temporary halt on Friday to a week-long strike after talks with management, their union said.
The negotiator of the National Union of Mineworkers, George Ledwaba, said: "Workers will return to work on Monday."
He made the announcement after the latest round of negotiations about pay and conditions for workers at the Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit.
Ledwaba said that the union had agreed to suspend its strike action for the time being, but would also seek legal approval for a resumption in a fortnight if their demands had still not been fully met.
"Approval should come through in two weeks and if no agreement is reached in that time, the strike will resume," said Ledwaba.
The workers downed tools at Mbombela on Monday after demanding a near doubling of their wages.
The strike was the second at Mbombela in a little over three months with workers also briefly going on strike over wages and transport benefits in November and in December last year.
Project engineer Leon Botha played down fears that the stoppages could mean the Nelspruit stadium would not be ready by May 2009, the deadline imposed by football's world governing body Fifa.
Similar disputes have also previously hit work on the stadiums in Durban and Cape Town, but organisers of the tournament are confident they are still ahead of the deadline.
A total of 10 stadiums in nine cities will play host to the World Cup, the first time the tournament has been staged in Africa.
- AFP
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