This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/8151180.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
S Africa stadiums strike ending | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Workers building stadiums for next year's World Cup in South Africa are ending a week-long strike, according to negotiators in Johannesburg. | |
After threatening to wreck next June's tournament unless they received a pay increase of 13%, a union spokesman said the workers had settled for 12%. | |
Contractors confirmed a deal had been reached and would be signed shortly, with work to resume on Thursday. | |
South Africa is building five new stadiums for the World Cup. | |
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says construction companies will be relieved that industrial action which could have lasted months has ended so quickly. | |
name="story"> class="bodl" href="#map">See where the stadiums are being built | |
All the stadiums are on track to be finished on time, but our correspondent says keeping fans safe, a shortage of hotel beds and the inadequacy of the country's transport network remain major challenges. | |
Marathon talks | |
The deal reached early on Wednesday came after gruelling talks, negotiators said. | |
Most of the construction workers earn the equivalent of $310 a month | |
"It was tough, it took a lot of time - two nights and the last week," said Schalk Ackerman, a representative of the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors. | |
The federation released a statement saying the agreement was due to be signed on Wednesday to end the strike officially. | |
It said it had received assurances that workers would go back to work at 0700 (0500 GMT) on Thursday. | |
Shane Choshane of the National Union of Mineworkers, whose members include thousands of construction workers, confirmed that an agreement had been reached. | |
Mr Choshane said he hoped the construction industry had "learned a lesson, not to take for granted issues of their employees". | |
For the past week workers have been dancing and singing outside the stadiums rather then working on them. | |
But the union and the construction firms say the venues will be ready on time. | |
Most of the construction workers earn about 2,500 rand ($310) a month. | |
Click here to return |