2010 stadium workers fired for protesting

  1. Posted on Friday 20 February 2009 - 10:24
    Mernat
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    Mernat Mafirakurewa, AfricaNews reporter in Johannesburg, South Africa
    Close to 400 builders at Mbombela stadium one of the 2010 South Africa World Cup stadiums have been dismissed for going on strike last Tuesday, according to George Ledwaba, a local union spokesperson. The development has sparked fears that the move could put at risk its July completion deadline.
    South_africa_2010_world_cup
    "About 400 of the construction workers at Mbombela stadium, most of them members of the National Union of Mine Workers (NUM), who have been on illegal strike, were sacked on Tuesday," George Ledwaba told the AFP.

    "If this strike, which began on February 6, goes on for another week, it will affect the scheduled completion date of the stadium," he said.

    "Our target completion time is July ... we will probably have to extend this deadline as a result of the strike," the stadium construction manager, Neil Fourie, said.

    He said that the workers downed tools over wages and bonuses.

    Ledwaba condemned the strike by his union members which he said was "illegal" and "irresponsible" because, according to him, they did not follow due process before downing tools.

    About 1,000 workers are involved in the construction of the stadium. Workers at the 46,000-seat Mbombela stadium have staged earlier strikes, most significantly in February last year to demand a near doubling of their wages.

    Similar disputes have previously broken out at stadiums in Durban and Cape Town, but World Cup organisers say they are confident those projects will be completed on time.
    Ten stadiums in nine cities will play host to the 2010 World Cup, the first time the tournament has been staged in Africa.

    The FIFA deadline for the completion of all the stadiums is October 15.

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