This news aggregator site highlights South African labour news from a wide range of internet and print sources. Each posting has a synopsis of the source article, together with a link or reference to the original. Postings cover the range of labour related matters from industrial relations to generalist human resources.Business Report writes that at least 900 workers at global home-appliance manufacturer Whirlpool have downed tools in KwaZulu-Natal in support of their demand for housing.
They have been on strike since Monday, because the employer was “refusing to engage” on their demands, according to the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa).
Mbuso Ngubane, Numsa’s regional secretary, said they had been negotiating with the employer to try to resolve the impasse, but to date no progress has been made. He said workers had made it clear they would not return to work until the company agreed to provide housing as part of the wage agreement. “The lowest paid worker at Whirlpool earns R43 per hour, and this makes accessing decent accommodation almost impossible.
In South Africa, more than 50 percent of the population live in poverty as a result of earning starvation wages,” said Ngubane.
The cabinet last week approved a national minimum wage of R20 an hour, to be implemented in May
The original of this report by Luyolo Mkentane is on page 17 of Business Report of 8 November 2017
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