Wednesday, January 23, 2013

South Africa farm strike suspended - industry group

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A deadly farm strike in South Africa's grape-growing Western Cape has been suspended after three weeks of labour unrest, farm industry groups and unions said on Wednesday.

The groups said workers had for now given up on their demands for higher wages and told industry representatives they would suspend the strike that saw protesters shut highways and damage farms in the area around Cape Town.

A protester throws a stone at the police during a strike by farm workers at De Doorns on the N1 highway linking Cape Town and Johannesburg January 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings

"We have called off the strike," said union leader Nosey Pieterse, general secretary of the Bawsi Agricultural Workers Union of South Africa.

Industry groups Agri Western Cape and AgriSA said farmers had received notice the labour action had been suspended.

Farm workers staged destructive protests to demand a doubling of their daily minimum wage to 150 rand (10.7 pounds) from the 69 rand basic rate set by the government in the labour-intensive sector.

One bystander was killed in the protests where police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to break up violent street rallies.

There has been little let-up in a wave of labour unrest that began six months ago in the country's platinum mines and then swept through the trucking and agriculture sectors.

South Africa, struggling with slow economic growth, is also bracing for job losses and more unrest in its crucial mining sector, responsible for about 6 percent of the economy.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

South Africa farm strike suspended - industry group