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Steel sector 'unaffected' by strike

Johannesburg - Tens of thousands of workers in the metal industry seeking wage increases of almost treble the inflation rate launched a strike on Monday.

About 260 000 workers led by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) want a 13% wage rise compared with the country’s 4.6% inflation rate, while industry employer body Seifsa is offering a 7% increase.
 
Numsa could not provide the number of workers who walked out, but officials said it was fewer than the group’s membership of more than 250 000. Major steelmakers said the strike did not affect production.
 
The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa), an employer body representing more than 2 400 small companies in the sector, said it did not expect the strike to last long.
 
“There’s certainly support for the strike judging by the turnout,” said Seifsa official Michael Lavender. “But we don’t think there’s big push from the unions for the strike to continue after today.”

Numsa spokesperson Karl Cloete said: “Our initial assessment shows the strike was a complete success. We were able to bring the industry to a standstill.”
 
However, top steel producers ArcelorMittal SA [JSE:ACL] and Highveld Steel & Vanadium said the strike did not hit output and that they were bargaining directly with workers.
 
At Scaw Metals, a unit of global miner Anglo American, employees were off work and the company said it had taken steps to mitigate the impact of the industrial action.
 
Unions and employers are in their mid-year bargaining session known as "strike season” with many labour groups seeking a wage increase well above inflation.
 
Central bank and Treasury officials have said wage increases well above inflation present a long-term risk by making labour more expensive, swelling state spending and forcing up prices.
 
The wage deals also hurt the long-term viability of the economy by driving up labour costs for a workforce that is more expensive and less efficient than those in many of its emerging economy rivals.

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