Workers affiliated to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) are expected to march to the offices of the Metals and Engineering Industry Bargaining Council (Meibc) on Tuesday, asking for an 8% salary increase.
Today we shut down the engineering sector! We reject 4% we demand a living wage!!#EngineeringStrike #Asjiki
.@IrvinJimSA
.@SAFTU_media pic.twitter.com/Ki3AkEKUUI— NUMSA (@Numsa_Media) October 5, 2021
Employers are offering a 4.5% increase.
The strike action will be taking place in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and the Western Cape.
Numsa gearing up for national strike:
KwaZulu-Natal Numsa secretary Mbuso Ngubane says they are rejecting the current offer.
“We are rejecting it on the basis that we think that it is not reasonable. Especially when you look at the state of affairs in terms of the goods that are so expensive or the necessities that are so expensive where our members are expected to be able to put bread on the table for their families.”
“As a result, today [Tuesday] we are starting a strike and we are lodging it through a march. We are converging at King Dinizulu Park and we are going to march through West Street up until we reach City Hall, where we are going to hand over a memorandum to these employer associations. After today our members will be expected to picket in their respective companies as part of demonstrating that will continue to persuade the employers to accede to our demands,” says Ngubane.
Numsa’s steel and engineering sector nationwide strike begins:
