Strikes hit Uitenhage Goodyear tyre factory

Goodyear is a key supplier for Volkswagen SA‚ also based in Uitenhage‚ and also for General Motors SA‚ which is based in PE.

Meanwhile‚ a strike at a key component manufacturer kept Toyota's Durban factory shut down for a fifth consecutive day‚ and the ninth day this month‚ meaning the company will likely be approaching falling behind planned production by as many as 6‚000 vehicles.

National Union of Metalworkers of SA-affiliated workers went on a protected strike at the Goodyear factory as a result of the "unilateral decision of management" to cease paying what the union called as a "relief allowance".

Numsa's Eastern Cape regional secretary Phumzile Nodongwe said on Tuesday that historically the company had paid this allowance to stand-in workers who covered for those going on a break.

"Now they are saying it is a huge cost to the budget‚ and have unilaterally stopped the payment‚" Nodongwe said. He said the allowance was worth between R3‚000 and R4‚000 a month per worker.

Raw material costs for tyres had increased almost 300% in the last five years‚ Michelin executives said earlier this year.

Nodongwe conceded that the allowance was paid without the collective bargaining arrangement‚ but that "the arrangement is long-standing; something like 10 years‚" he said.

Nodongwe added that "as the strike goes on‚ it will definitely affect Volkswagen".

However Matt Gennrich‚ general manager for communications at Volkswagen Group SA‚ said the plant was "running perfectly".

"We will continue‚ with some difficulty‚ to do so‚" Gennrich said. "We don't know how long the strike will last‚" he said‚ adding that the firm had "not lost a single unit" during last month's transport strike.

Goodyear spokeswoman Lize Hayward had not responded to requests for information by the time of going to press‚ and General Motors spokespeople said they were investigating whether there would be an impact on the company's Port Elizabeth factory.

Meanwhile in Durban‚ no agreement had been reached between management of seat and interior trim supplier Toyota Boshoku and Numsa‚ and as a result Toyota SA's line was "still not producing‚" according to Toyota spokesman Leo Kok. Toyota Boshoku spokeswoman Charmaine Lottering said on Tuesday that meetings were ongoing.

"It's chaotic. People are in and out of meetings. Hopefully we'll have an answer tomorrow morning‚" she said.