Numsa denies suspension of strike

Numsa has rejected the employer's wage increase offer of between 8 and 9%

The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has dismissed claims that it has reached an agreement to end a strike by metal and engineering workers.

Silumko Nondwangu, the Numsa general secretary, says the strike will continue until employers make a substantial offer. Earlier, trade union Solidarity issued a statement saying that it had signed an agreement to end the strike. Numsa says it did not participate in the meeting. Numsa's national executive committee has decided industrial action will continue and that office bearers will meet negotiators for a comprehensive report on Friday.

Solidarity has accepted a new wage offer of between 8% and 9% by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation. Solidarity's Dirk Herman says they will ratify the offer later today. Union members will then go back to work. More than 200 000 workers embarked on a strike on Monday, demanding a 10% wage increase. Herman says the new offer meets workers' needs.

A march by thousands of striking Numsa members has meanwhile ended peacefully in Durban. Fana Dlamini, the KwaZulu-Natal Numsa chairperson, says they have revised their demands to 8% and 9%. This is what employers are currently offering. Dlamini says they also want workers to benefit from black economic empowerment projects.