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Cape Argus reports that the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) recently released its annual industrial action report for 2024. The report noted that, although not higher than in 2023, workers across affected industries lost an estimated R133m in wages due to 114 strikes across the country.
The DEL’s data revealed that the public sector reported more strikes than the private sector. "Through strike data analysis, the public sector recorded a significant increase in working days lost, rising from 76.9% in 2023 to 94.7% in 2024. Over half of the recorded working days lost were reported in the community, local authority, and education sectors," the report indicated. The manufacturing industry was the second largest affected sector with 17 strikes, making up 15% of the total work stoppages recorded in 2024.
Disputes over wages, bonuses, and other compensation matters remained the main cause of strikes in the country, with the demand for wage increments (73.7%) larger than other causes of strikes. The report also revealed that recent data showed that workers decided to embark on strikes as half of the country’s workers earned less than R5,530 a month. The agriculture and finance industries recorded fewer strikes, which might indicate relative stability or fewer labour relations issues leading to disputes during the same period.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Loyiso Sidimba at Cape Argus
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