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Johannesburg - A planned strike by the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) in the motor industry has been put on hold, an official said on Monday.
Numsa had not issued an official notice of strike to employers, spokesperson Castro Ngobese said. When the employer bodies heard of the intention to strike, they expressed a "willingness to further negotiate".
"We will meet with the Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) and Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the workers' demands."
Ngobese indicated the union and employers had met since last week's strike announcement and those were positive.
"We are not a strike frenzy union, we support the process of constructive negotiating," Ngobese said.
If talks fell flat, 72 000 petrol attendants and motor industry employees would down tools on September 9.
Last week, Numsa said talks in July failed to resolve an impasse between Numsa and employers.
"The first phases of the wage negotiations began on the week of May 28... It was during the last phase of negotiations that a deadlock was declared by Numsa."
The union demanded a R30 per hour increase across the board on actual rates of pay in all sectors and divisions for workers earning above R6 000 per month by 2016, among other things.
"Our demands should be located and understood within the context of escalating cost of living and transport, amid the triple crisis."
