The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) is prepared to go on strike at Macsteel on Wednesday, 12 October.
The union served the steel company with a 48-hour notice to strike on Monday, 1O October.
Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said the workers have been provoked into striking because management unilaterally withdrew certain benefits without consulting the union.
"Macsteel withdrew the benefits two years ago and Numsa has been engaging with management in an attempt to resolve the dispute, but they have stubbornly refused to listen," said Jim.
Macsteel has a workforce of 1700 and the majority of them are Numsa members.
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The union is demanding the following be re-instated:
* Macsteel used to subsidise employees' medical aid by 50%, but for the past two years, the management unilaterally withdrew this benefit without consulting workers or the union. Numsa demands that Macsteel reinstate the medical aid within 48-hours.
* Macsteel provided an accidental death benefit for employees who were affected by retrenchments and were successfully placed through the company’s placement process. Macsteel unilaterally withdrew the accidental death benefit from these employees. Numsa demands that this benefit must be reinstated within 48-hours.
"The 48-hour notice expires on Wednesday which means the strike will begin on that day," he said.
Workers will picket outside Macsteel on Thursday morning.
