Unions officially suspend metalworkers strike

The strike in the metal and engineering sector is over. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) says it will sign the wage offer by employers this afternoon. Workers will go back to work on Monday. Numsa has accepted the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa's (SEIFSA) wage offer of 9% for the first year and 8.1% for the second and third year.

Solidarity accepted the offer on Wednesday.

Silumko Nondwangu, Numsa's general-secretary, says the strike affected about 9 000 companies across the country and severely affected the motor industry, forcing some production areas to shut down, as manufacturing at some companies was disrupted.