Nationwide Strike Against Privatization Enters 2nd Day in South Africa

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, October 02, 2002

Nationwide Strike Against Privatization Enters 2nd Day in South Africa

The strike across South Africaentered its second day Wednesday, with trade union organizers warning that more workers will down tools to strike against the government's privatization plans.

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The strike across South Africa entered its second day Wednesday, with trade union organizers warning that more workers will down tools to strike against the government's privatization plans.

Metrorail was running its normal service countrywide on Wednesday, the second, final day of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) national strike against privatization.

Metrorail spokesman Tshidiso Moshao said that in the Witwatersrand region they would run about 85 percent of the normal number of trains.

A Metrobus employee said Johannesburg's bus service was running as usual.

On Tuesday, COSATU leaders claimed that at least 180,000 people members of the federation and a number of non-COSATU affiliated organizations in Johannesburg participated in marches countrywide, and about 60 percent of workers in the formal sector joined the strike.

However, the government and employers disputed the figures.

The Department of Public Enterprises said participation in Tuesday's stay away by employees of the four biggest state-owned companies was down 50 percent compared to a similar national strike organized by COSATU last year.

The South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) said preliminary indications were that the strike caused an absenteeism rate of about 15 percent.

This translated into an estimated production loss of some 225 million rand (about 21 million US dollars) per working day.

It said a loss of remuneration per worker at a 15 percent strike support rate could total about 180 million rand (about 17 million dollars) per day.

SACOB added that the indirect cost of the strike with regard to stability, productivity and image could not be quantified.

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