Africa 24 Media Photography

About 70,000 construction workers in South Africa went on strike at stadiums that are being built for the 2010 World Cup. The workers demanded a 13% raise in their wages, failure to which they threatened to wreck the tournament to be held in June next year. The National Union of Mineworkers, which represents construction workers, is reported to have rejected the employers' offer of a 10.4% increase. The strike could delay completion of flagship projects such as the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg and stadiums in Cape Town and Durban.

Other stadiums in smaller towns have also been affected. The strike has been criticized for jeopardizing South Africa's chances of hosting a successful World Cup - a monthlong event avidly watched by hundreds of millions around the world. The unions have complained that some workers are earning about $1.50 an hour and others $5 a week. Workers in South Africa are supposed to earn a minimum wage of about $200 a month. The construction workers have been the lifeblood of the 2010 FIFA World Cup project. Their hard work has ensured that the Rainbow nation is on the right track to meet the FIFA-set deadlines and eventually be the first African country to host the world cup gala. Affected by the work stoppage were five of the 10 World Cup stadiums, a new airport in Durban, the Gautrain project and a new power station. Work on the stadiums needs to be complete by December to meet FIFA requirements but Cup organizers are confident no impasse will be too hard to deal with, and that everything will go on according to schedule. 

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