South African Municipal Workers on Strike

Tens of thousands of South African council workers are on strike for higher wages in a standoff between the union and President Zuma. In Cape Town, workers also marched downtown, overturning rubbish bins as they went. [Tony Ehrenreich, Congress of South African Trade Unions]: "We support the wage demand for nothing less than 13 per cent for all workers in the city. We support the demand that says our people must be earning the salary. We know that there are too many problems in our communities where the difficulties are confronting us." Union leaders say that South Africa's first recession since 1992 is hitting the country's poor the hardest. Official data shows that unemployment is on the rise with more than four million South Africans out of work. The union is demanding a 15 percent increase and says 70 percent of its council workers earn less than the 5,000 rand monthly minimum wage it is demanding. Economist Mike Schussler has estimated that council workers are losing about 15 million rand ($1.90 million U.S. dollars) in wages a day, but he says it is impossible to quantify the cost of the strike to the economy. The South Africa Municipal Workers Union says that many of its members work in appalling conditions. Pressure on the government eased somewhat on Tuesday (July 28) after South Africa's biggest union agreed on a wage deal with gold and coal producers. And strikes in the paper, industrial chemicals, pharmaceutical, and petroleum sectors were called off this week after wage settlements. But the strike by public transport workers, refuse collectors and licensing officers follows days of violent protests by residents of impoverished townships. Lack of health care, water and electricity top their list of grievances.

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