The strike by South African police, teachers, health care workers, customs officers and government clerks grew violent when police fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds. The government and the unions will begin talks on Friday to resolve the dispute, and some hope that the government's threat to impose wages on the workers will have an effect on the negotiations. The strike is only expected to serious damage the economy if it drags into September, which many think is unlikely. 70,000 metalworkers announced that they would strike on August 30 over wage increases. The autoworkers who had been on strike for eight days reached a deal on Friday, agreeing to a 10% pay raise this year and 9% for the next two years.
See "SAfrica unions, govt talk on public workers' strike", Jon Herskovitz and Marius Bosch, Reuters, August 19, 2010