Reuters reports that wage talks between the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and employers in the auto component sector hit a deadlock on Friday.  

This has raised fears of car makers such as Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota potentially being affected.  The current three-year agreement ends on 31 August.  The talks reached a stalemate after the union’s demand for a one-year deal for all workers across the automotive value chain was turned down by the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI), which wants to lock the workers into a three-year deal.  Numsa also wants a 20% wage hike, as well as better housing and medical aid perks.  The dispute will be referred to mediation to try and break the impasse.  A strike may be called if that fails.

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