The National Union of Mineworkers (Numsa) has applied for a strike certificate after negotiations for higher wages broke down.<\/p>\n
Permission will be granted or denied on July 15th, the union said.<\/p>\n
The union is seeking a 15% wage increase\u00a0across-the-board in the metal and engineering sectors. The workers want the increase on the actual rate workers are earning, but employers are only offering minimum wage.<\/p>\n
Employers are offering a wage of R20 per hour in line with government’s recent minimum wage deal. However, Numsa said that the current minimum rate in the sector was already double that.<\/p>\n
“We will fight to block the greedy employers from implementing this poverty wage. We have requested a certificate of non-resolution which will allow us to go on strike,” Numsa said.<\/p>\n
The worker demands are almost triple the CPI rate in South Africa, and are also against a backdrop of a recession and extremely high rates of unemployment.<\/p>\n
The union had sharp words for the ANC, blaming the ruling party for feeding ‘white monopoly capital’ off the backs of workers.<\/p>\n