Sactwu wage talks in deadlock

"While the discussions were open and frank, the parties could regrettably not reach a settlement," Sactwu said.

The trade union said it had committed itself to further talks during the course of next week. "However, we are proceeding with our strike ballot.

"The ballot commences today in the Western Cape and in other parts of the country on Monday.

By close of business yesterday, the union had balloted just over 6,000 members in 41 companies. The union expects that close to 15,000 members would have been balloted by the end of today," it said.

The clothing employers are offering a wage increase of R19 per week for non-metro area workers and R32 for metro area workers. This is a 5% wage increase.

"The union has rejected this offer and has demanded a better offer," Sactwu concluded.

Published courtesy of