According to Solidarity spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans, trade unions can now give 48 hours’ notice for calling out a strike in the sector. “A strike could now severely harm companies in this sector and that is why Solidarity has made an urgent appeal to employers to improve their offer for this year’s wage increase,” Kleynhans explained. This sector includes large employers such as Sasol, Afrox and Omnia.

Following the dispute round that continued on Monday and Tuesday, Solidarity is now demanding a wage increase of consumer price inflation plus 2%, which brings the wage increase demand to 10,4%. However, the employers are only offering a 7% wage increase.

Nevertheless, the NBCCI is expected to convene a further meeting between the trade unions and employers in the sector, since the employers have already indicated that the latest offer is not the final offer.

Trade unions and employers have already agreed that employees’ thirteenth cheques would not be halved, as the employers had originally demanded.