South African rubber workers to continue strike

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Sept. 4)—Unionized workers at South Africa's tire and rubber companies will "continue indefinitely" a two-week-old strike after workers rejected a revised wage offer from employers. "Based on their uncompromising stance, the strike action will be protracted," the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) said in a statement. "The longer the strike, the more damage to the relationships and productivity levels." The union, which says it represents 6,000 tire and rubber industry workers, is demanding a 10-percent salary increase—compared with a 7.5-percent raise offered by industry group representing the tire and rubber producers. The strike is affecting production primarily at the four major tire makers in the country—Dunlop Africa Ltd., Bridgestone/Firestone Maxiprest Ltd., Continental Tyre South Africa Ltd., and Goodyear South Africa Ltd. The tire manufacturers have lost about $7 million in sales during the two-week strike, according to Basil Smith, a spokesman for the New Tyre Manufacturing Employers´ industry grouping, quoted in several South African papers. Smith estimated the striking workers have suffered about $1 million in lost wages.