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3 April, 2006
US-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. could face a strike this week in South Africa if it doesn’t abide by an ICEM affiliate’s demand to retain 300 contract workers. Goodyear and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) will meet tomorrow, 4 April, in efforts to resolve differences. If no movement occurs, some 1,700 NUMSA members could strike at the tyre factory by week’s end.
The issue is Goodyear’s refusal to permanently hire the 300 contract workers who have worked at the plant for up to five years. The 300 are employed by Kelly Services, a staffing agency, which allegedly has denied medical assistance and provident fund benefits to the workers. NUMSA is also in dispute with Goodyear for its abuse of trainees, who work shifts and weekends in violation of work agreements. They also are paid at lower pay grades for longer periods, which violate work rules.