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May 24 2012 17:31
The Reserve Bank will maintain current interest rates, and a considerable reduction in the local petrol price is anticipated, says governor Gill Marcus.
May 25 2012 13:58
The costs of the first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project have increased significantly to almost R90bn, according to a report.
May 25 2012 11:36
The JSE has identified and stopped "incorrect" trades from one of its members, and will reverse the trades and lower the session's total value after the close.
Johannesburg - South Africa's Solidarity trade union said on Wednesday it had been granted the go-ahead to hold a strike in the chemical sector over a wage dispute, which could affect petrochemicals group Sasol.
Other than Sasol, the world's top maker of motor fuel from coal, the strike could also hit African Oxygen Limited, Africa's biggest gas and welding firm, and Omnia, which makes chemicals and polymers for use in sub-Saharan countries.
Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said his union could now give 48 hours' notice for calling a strike in the sector, but asked employers to improve their offer.
Solidarity wants a 10.4% pay increase, while companies in the sector have offered 7%.
The union said it would hold further meetings with employers, who have said their latest offer is not final.
Several sectors in Africa's biggest economy are holding wage negotiations, some of which cover a two-year period, and various unions have demanded increases well beyond consumer inflation, which stands at 8%. Employers have baulked at the demands, citing the global economic downturn.
- Reuters