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Johannesburg - Employers should be 'lenient' if striking workers did not return to work immediately, the National Union of Metalworkers SA (Numsa) said on Monday.
"The strike is over but it may take time for all our members to return to work. We are calling on employers to be lenient," said spokesperson Castro Ngobese.
He said that although the engineering strike had been called off on Sunday, members may not get the message immediately.
The union relied on general meetings and the media to disseminate the news that the strike had ended to its members.
"We have said members will return to work in 48 hours - some may return to work today [Monday], but they should not be victimised if they return on Tuesday or even Wednesday," Ngobese said.
Numsa agreed to a settlement offer by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa) and other employers on Sunday.
The settlement included a possible wage increase of 10% for general workers.
About 170 000 workers from Numsa, the Metal and Electrical Workers Union, and the SA Equity Workers Association started a countrywide strike two weeks ago. They demanded wage increase of 10% to 13% and a ban on labour brokers.
"The strike is over but it may take time for all our members to return to work. We are calling on employers to be lenient," said spokesperson Castro Ngobese.
He said that although the engineering strike had been called off on Sunday, members may not get the message immediately.
The union relied on general meetings and the media to disseminate the news that the strike had ended to its members.
"We have said members will return to work in 48 hours - some may return to work today [Monday], but they should not be victimised if they return on Tuesday or even Wednesday," Ngobese said.
Numsa agreed to a settlement offer by the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of SA (Seifsa) and other employers on Sunday.
The settlement included a possible wage increase of 10% for general workers.
About 170 000 workers from Numsa, the Metal and Electrical Workers Union, and the SA Equity Workers Association started a countrywide strike two weeks ago. They demanded wage increase of 10% to 13% and a ban on labour brokers.
