The South African Municipal Workers Union has signed an agreement that ended a week-long nationwide strike.
The
agreement, signed late Friday, will give the workers a 13-percent pay
raise, among other concessions. They had been demanding a 15-percent
raise, while annual inflation ran at eight percent.
The ruling
African National Congress Party issued a statement welcoming the
settlement and urging all parties involved to focus and recommit
themselves to accelerate service delivery that was deeply hampered
during the work stoppage.
Earlier in the week, thousands of
workers in unions that include bus drivers and garbage collectors began
nationwide protests. Demonstrators in some cities knocked over garbage
bins as they marched to air their grievances.
The strikes were
the latest stand-off between the unions and President Jacob Zuma, less
than three months after he was elected with their strong support.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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