SABC News reports that The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) says it has put in place contingency measures to mitigate the impact of the strike by Nehawu-affiliated employees. The disgruntled workers have been demonstrating outside the company’s headquarters in Pretoria since Monday, protesting against the company’s wage and employment structure. A statement by the company reads in part, “While the strike action has inevitably affected some of our services, the SABS has implemented contingency plans to ensure that critical functions, such as product testing and certification continue with minimal disruption.”

While the workers accuse the SABS management of unilaterally changing the payment structure without consultation, the company says it has made concerted efforts over the past few months to engage in a dialogue with Nehawu to address the matters and “to explain the CTC standardisation as it pertains to new employees and remuneration principles governing the design of new pay scales”. Workers say they will not back down until their demands are met. 

by Sipho Kekana