World Cup

JOHANNESBURG — Striking construction workers at 2010 World Cup stadiums have until Tuesday to consider a new offer by employers.

The strike, which entered its third day Friday, is threatening to derail already tight schedules for construction projects supposed to be completed by December.

Union official Rufus Dizana says employers offered workers a 11.5 percent wage increase; up from 10.4 percent. Workers are demanding a 13 percent increase.

The new offer was made after protracted negotiations involving government and soccer officials began Thursday.

Danny Jordaan, the head of the World Cup organizing committee, says in a statement that he believes the workers will accept the “improved offer and will start work on the stadiums soon.”

JOHANNESBURG - South African building workers began an indefinite strike on Wednesday that will halt work at stadiums for the 2010 World Cup, the biggest industrial action since new President Jacob Zuma took office in May.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said the action by about 70,000 workers would continue until employers gave in to their demand for a 13 percent pay rise. The companies have so far refused to go beyond 10 percent.

Escalating strike action is a major challenge for Zuma, who has to balance the demands of the union and leftist allies who helped bring him to office with keeping market-friendly policies at a time Africa’s biggest economy suffers a recession.

NUM, South Africa’s biggest trade union, said its members in the building sector would protest at construction sites for the stadiums and other major infrastructure projects. It said the action was indefinite.

“Our intention is to take it forever, so as long as the employers are not bringing what we want to the table,” said union spokesman Lesiba Seshoka.

“We believe in our own power, we have the power to make people do the things we want them to do.”

Although the strike will affect construction work at mines, it should not have a direct impact on production in the world’s biggest producer of platinum.

COSATU BACKING

South Africa’s powerful COSATU trade union federation said it fully backed the strike.

“COSATU, and the construction workers, are as passionate about the 2010 World Cup as anyone, and will do everything possible to ensure its success. But we will not tolerate the stadiums being built by workers who are underpaid or working in dangerous or unhealthy conditions,” it said in a statement.

Officials have said previously that the 10 stadiums for the World Cup, half of them new, will be delivered on target by December, although there have been some reports that the Green Point venue in Cape Town may be delayed into next year.

Shares in South African construction firms fell because of the uncertainty over how long the strike would last.

Companies likely to suffer include Africa’s top construction firm Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd, WBHO and Group Five.

South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom’s 4,800 megawatt Medupi power station could also be affected, slowing efforts to fill a chronic power shortage in the country.

Expansion work on the coal export facility, Richards Bay Coal Terminal, could be delayed further, NUM said earlier this week.

Unions across sectors have demanded double-digit pay hikes as inflation declines at a slower pace that previously expected, after peaking above 13 percent in August last year.

The strikes have endangered key sectors and put pressure on Zuma to meet the demand for policies that favour the poor, but the government has little room for manoeuvre. He has so far neither bent to the union demands nor openly challenged them.

Reuters

Bogus emails are doing the rounds saying you have won the 2010 World Cup lottery. This is a scam and to be honest not a very good one.

They have even started a very dodgy looking website which on first glance shouldn’t be trusted but you never know which is why we’re telling you now; do not pass over any personal information of any kind!

The email will tell you that the lottery is sponsored by the likes of Microsoft, Coca Cola, Nokia, MTN and many other companies. It’s not true. Do not believe it just because it’s on the internet.

We’ve notified the 2010 Local Organising Committee and lawyers representing the 2010 LOC but that’s all we can do to help. Again, do not pass over any personal data, you’ve not won anything and in passing over personal information you’re only going to get fleeced.

Tickets for the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa have gone on sale as Africa prepares to host the contest for the first time.

Around 3m tickets are available for the 64 matches, which start in June 2010.

In the first sales phase, applications for tickets will be followed by a random selection draw in April.

Some 450,000 cheaper tickets are being reserved for South African residents of which 120,000 will be issued free to stadium construction workers.

‘Worth it’

Overall prices range from $20  for a category four ticket reserved for South Africans to $900 for a category one ticket for the final.

“I’m really going to watch… It’s a little bit expensive but, you know, I think it’s worth it,” one man in Johannesburg told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.

Although the tournament does not begin for 475 days, there is already huge excitement about the competition in Africa, says BBC southern Africa correspondent Peter Biles in Johannesburg.

Ever since South Africa was awarded the football World Cup, questions have been asked about whether the country is capable of staging a successful tournament, says our correspondent.

This week, about 400 builders working on the construction of Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit were dismissed for going on strike.

Similar disputes have previously broken out at stadiums in Durban and Cape Town, but World Cup organisers say they are confident those projects will be completed by on time.

‘Safety guarantee’

Ten stadiums in nine cities will play host to the tournament.

Airports are also being upgraded, policing will be improved and a media campaign is encouraging South Africans to think positively about the tournament.

Danny Jordan, the chief executive of South Africa’s World Cup Organising Committee, says security should not be a concern despite the country’s crime rate.

“When you organise an event, you have maximum information” about the teams’ movements, he told the BBC.

“You know where the fans are going to stay, you know when they are going to the match, you know when and where they’re going to celebrate.

“So, if I have 100% information on your movement, I can give you the guarantee that you will be 100% safe.”

At least 400,000 visitors are expected in South Africa next year.

Fifa has said it hopes every single match will be sold out.

The draw for the 32 teams that qualify for the World Cup will be held in Cape Town in December 2009.

Five of South Africa’s football stadiums will undergo renovations for 2010; Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium and the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.

New stadiums will be built at Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth. Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo will be rebuilt, as will King Senzangakhona Stadium in Durban.

Kings Park and Green Point stadium in Cape Town will become completely new multi-sport facilities, Green Point complete with a retractable dome to protect fans and players from the Cape’s unpredictable winter weather.