Labor unrest has rippled across South Africa’s automotive sector, shutting plants and disrupting production throughout the country.
The strike has the potential to become one of the largest walkouts in the history of South African auto industry, which has expanded rapidly in recent years.
Labor Strife!
One of the hardest hit automakers was BMW AG, which uses its assembly plant in Rosslyn, South Africa as the platform for exporting vehicles to other parts of the world.
General Motors Company and Toyota Motor Corporation also confirmed they had halted production in South Africa as workers struck for higher wages.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA also has targeted plants operated by Daimler, Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen AG.
NUMSA is expected to call for a sympathy strike involving close to 150,000 workers in sectors including component manufacturing, petrol stations and tire and rubber suppliers
NUMSA spokesman Dumisa Ntuli said it was “highly regrettable that the employers have not yet accepted that workers deserve the 12% increase.”
The Automobile Employers’ Association (AMEA) last week said the week-long strike by 5,000 workers would result in a loss of production of close to 8000 cars.
“While the strike impacts negatively on the economy of both the region and the country as a whole, it also impacts upon employees’ pockets to the sum of approximately a million rand ($137,332) per day in lost wages and benefits,” said Detroit- based GM, the largest U.S. carmaker.
Toyota, the world’s top automaker, halted output at its Durban plant, which built 60,000 vehicles in the first half of the year, according to wire service reports.