Johannesburg - Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, and the 2010 Local Organising Committee are to meet with unions representing striking construction workers this morning.
The minister is expected to push for an end to the strike which has affected construction work at 2010 FIFA World Cup stadia, including the Moses Mabida Stadium in Durban and Soccer City in Johannesburg. It also halted work at many Gautrain sites.
The workers downed tools on Wednesday after the National Union of Mineworkers rejected the 10.4 percent offer made by the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec), saying that it would stick to its 13 percent wage increase demand.
In a statement on Wednesday, the LOC Chief Executive Officer Danny Jordaan said the LOC board believed that the strike would be resolved as soon as possible. He said he remained confident that the stadiums would be completed on schedule.
"The construction workers have been the lifeblood of the 2010 FIFA World Cup project. Their hard work has ensured that we are on track to meet our deadlines and that our stadiums will be among the best in the world next year," he said.
Dr Jordaan said the LOC respected the right of construction workers to strike if they felt they had legitimate grievances.
"This is a right enshrined in our country's Constitution. We believe that the strike will be resolved as soon as possible and remain confident that the stadiums will be completed on schedule," he said.
All ten stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup are anticipated to be completed by December this year, while the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was completed last month.
Speaking at the launch of the National Construction Week on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Public Works, Hendrietta Bogane-Zulu, affirmed that government will intervene if the need arises in negotiations to end the strike in the construction industry.
