Metalworkers down tools
About 220,000 National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) workers in the steel and metal sector are downing tools in a nationwide strike that starts today.
The workers are expected to march in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, George, Cape Town, and East London, according to Numsa.
The employers have tabled a three-year wage settlement offer of between 7% and 8% for different levels of workers in the first year and CPI-linked increases for 2015 and 2016.
However, the union has rejected the offer, as they are demanding 12%.
According to economists, the strike is a major setback for the economy as it recovers from a five-month long strike in the platinum mining sector.