Johannesburg - Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) will organise marches in the automobile sector throughout the country next week to demand a pay rise, the union said on Tuesday.
“We are currently busy preparing to take the battle to the employers’ doorsteps in the form of marches and demonstrations, starting from next week,” spokesman Castro Ngobese said.
About 31,000 Numsa-aligned workers downed tools on Monday after pay talks deadlocked last month.
The workers demanded a 14 percent across-the-board wage increase. They also wanted a R750 housing subsidy and R125
transport allowance per week.
The employers, who include VW, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, UD Trucks, and Man Trucks and Bus, tabled a six percent offer.
Wages in the sector ranged from about R8500 a month for basic workers to R18,000 a month for qualified technicians, according to the union.
Ngobese said production had stopped at production lines in Pretoria, where the industry was concentrated, and in Durban, Port Elizabeth, and East London.
Sapa