South African media reported that several hundred members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, who have been on strike at steel company ArcelorMittal, marched to table a memo of demands at the company’s head offices in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng in South Africa. ArcelorMittal spokesperson Mr Thami Didiza received the memo and told workers he would pass it on to management & promised a response by Wednesday. He said the company is still holding talks with a commissioner from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.NUMSA Regional Secretary Mr Kabelo Ramokhathali said workers had not had a meaningful increase since 2019. He said “ArcelorMittal should come back to the negotiation table. The company had performed well because of sacrifices made by workers. Their refusal to give back to employees who made their success possible is a sign of extreme selfishness and rampant greed.”Early in the strike, the company obtained an interim interdict preventing workers in blast furnaces, coke batteries and the steel plant from striking, on the grounds that these are essential services, while other workers continued with the strike. But on 19 May, the Labour Court decided not to grant the final interdict.Many of the workers have been on strike since 11 May, when they downed tools demanding a 10% wage hike across the board. The union now wants a 7% increase and a ZAR 5,000 cash payment. ArcelorMittal has raised its offer to a 6% increase plus a ZAR 5,000 once-off cash payment, or a 6.5% increase without any cash payment.
South African media reported that several hundred members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, who have been on strike at steel company ArcelorMittal, marched to table a memo of demands at the company’s head offices in Vanderbijlpark in Gauteng in South Africa. ArcelorMittal spokesperson Mr Thami Didiza received the memo and told workers he would pass it on to management & promised a response by Wednesday. He said the company is still holding talks with a commissioner from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.NUMSA Regional Secretary Mr Kabelo Ramokhathali said workers had not had a meaningful increase since 2019. He said “ArcelorMittal should come back to the negotiation table. The company had performed well because of sacrifices made by workers. Their refusal to give back to employees who made their success possible is a sign of extreme selfishness and rampant greed.”Early in the strike, the company obtained an interim interdict preventing workers in blast furnaces, coke batteries and the steel plant from striking, on the grounds that these are essential services, while other workers continued with the strike. But on 19 May, the Labour Court decided not to grant the final interdict.Many of the workers have been on strike since 11 May, when they downed tools demanding a 10% wage hike across the board. The union now wants a 7% increase and a ZAR 5,000 cash payment. ArcelorMittal has raised its offer to a 6% increase plus a ZAR 5,000 once-off cash payment, or a 6.5% increase without any cash payment.
