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Johannesburg - Labour department officials will attend talks on Tuesday between employers and unions representing truck drivers, the Road Freight Employers' Association said.
The meeting would take place at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, the RFEA said in a statement on Monday.
"They're trying to assist in the process," said spokesperson Magretia Brown-Engelbrecht.
She said the department also attended Wednesday's meeting, which failed to end in an agreement after the SA Transport Workers' Union (Satawu) rejected the employer's offer.
"Those [labour] officials will be present again, for what its worth," Brown-Engelbrecht said.
The RFEA and unions would seek to end the strike which began on September 24, and which has resulted in injuries and delivery trucks being set alight.
Satawu has been asking for a 12% wage increase, but was prepared to negotiate a compromise if the employers, including the RFEA, were also willing to compromise.
"We're prepared to even take 10%, but the guys are not budging at all," said Satawu spokesperson Vincent Masoga.
The unions involved in the truck drivers' strike were hopeful that an agreement would be reached during negotiations this week.
"We are positive that we might find a solution, because there is a lot at stake," said Motor Transport Workers' Union (MTWU) spokesman Dirk White.
"This strike is not about political play. People can lose their jobs."
The unions involved are Satawu, the Professional Transport and Allied Workers' Union SA (PTAWU), the Transport and Allied Workers' Union of SA, and MTWU.
Masoga said the strike was continuing and the union had received a notice of negotiations.
"We will always be hopeful," he said. "More importantly, we are hopeful that the employers will play ball this time around."
PTAWU's Pancho Ndevu agreed with the other unions and said PTAWU would remain hopeful for the workers.
