Johannesburg, July 15: A week-long strike at several South Africa World Cup stadium construction sites ended Wednesday after a new pay deal was struck during marathon talks between unions representing the construction workers and employers.
Around 70,000 construction workers at five of 10 World Cup stadiums and several other key infrastructure projects downed tools on July 8 over pay. Their unions said they would resume work Thursday.
The strike had sparked fears of some cities missing the December deadline set by World Cup organizers FIFA for the stadiums.
The building contractors agreed to pay workers, who earn on average 2,500 rand a month (around 224 dollars), a 12-per-cent wage increase, after initially offering 10.4 per cent.
Five of the 10 World Cup stadiums, a new airport in Durban, and the Gautrain fast train being built to link Johannesburg airport to the city’s Sandton business district were affected by the strike.
Five stadiums have already been opened to the public. The remaining five are between 75 and 90 per cent completed.
A spokesman for the 2010 local organizing committee, Rich Mkhondo, assured in a radio interview Wednesday there would be no delay.
—–Agencies