Bloemfontein - Free State metal workers and petrol attendants marched for better wages in Bloemfontein on Thursday.
“We tell government we do not give blank cheques anymore,” said Christine Olivier, national deputy president of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa).
The group in red T-shirts moved peacefully through Bloemfontein and past various petrol stations to the local Retail Motor Industry association’s (RMI) offices.
Before handing over a memorandum, Olivier said the workers were carrying a message to their elected government leaders that their votes were now conditional.
“Ban labour brokers now,” she told the crowd.
She told workers the Numsa strike action would not stop before their demands were met.
“The puppets will dance,” she told them in Afrikaans.
Exploitation
The union said thousands of workers were exploited and subjected to low wages.
They represent workers at garages, components manufacturers, truck body and trailer builders, panel beaters, spare shops, car and parts dealerships, and fitment workers in the motor sector.
At the Bloemfontein march union members carried placards saying: “Just R30 per hour” and “Just double digits, is that to much”.
Regional manager for the RMI Louis van Huyssteen accepted the written demands.
He said employer and union representatives were back at the negotiating table and would hopefully soon have an agreement.
The employers' latest offer was 6% across the board.