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5 August, 2001The first day of industrial action in South Africa's car manufacturing industry has been an unqualified success.
SOUTH AFRICA: According to a press statement issued today, August 6, 2001, by the IMF-affiliated National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the first day of strike action in the South African car manufacturing industry has seen a 100 per cent stayaway by the workers. The strike, says Numsa, "proves once again that workers cannot be treated with utter contempt. It further proves that wages and working conditions cannot be disregarded on the whim of the employer body."
The union's position is that the workers are making a significant contribution to the auto companies and must be paid accordingly. In recent years South Africa's car sales have gone up tremendously and car exports have boomed. The auto manufacturing industry is one of the country's leading earners of foreign exchange and directly employs some 30,000 people.
Involved in the crippling strike action are 21,000 Numsa members working at the car assembly plants of: DaimlerChrysler, Delta and Volkswagen SA, in the Eastern Cape; Toyota in Kwazula Natal; and Nissan, Ford Samcor and BMW in Gauteng.
The union is asking for a 12 per cent pay increase across the board and a two-year wage agreement, but the employers have limited their offer to 7.5 per cent.
Numsa says the average monthly wage of a worker in the U.S. producing the same car with the same skills is R29,853 ($3,592), in Japan it is R27,467 ($3,306), but in South Africa the car worker's monthly pay is only R3,658 ($440).
The union's position is that the workers are making a significant contribution to the auto companies and must be paid accordingly. In recent years South Africa's car sales have gone up tremendously and car exports have boomed. The auto manufacturing industry is one of the country's leading earners of foreign exchange and directly employs some 30,000 people.
Involved in the crippling strike action are 21,000 Numsa members working at the car assembly plants of: DaimlerChrysler, Delta and Volkswagen SA, in the Eastern Cape; Toyota in Kwazula Natal; and Nissan, Ford Samcor and BMW in Gauteng.
The union is asking for a 12 per cent pay increase across the board and a two-year wage agreement, but the employers have limited their offer to 7.5 per cent.
Numsa says the average monthly wage of a worker in the U.S. producing the same car with the same skills is R29,853 ($3,592), in Japan it is R27,467 ($3,306), but in South Africa the car worker's monthly pay is only R3,658 ($440).