The Congress of SA Trade Unions has called on the government to meet with China over falling steel prices, exacerbated by its cheaper steel exports.
Cosatu's acting secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali says it is their view that the raising of the import tariff and introduction of voluntary export restraint, while they would ensure a temporary reprieve for the steel industry, do not constitute strong enough measures aimed at changing the structure of the economy.
Industry CEOs, labour unions and government met on Friday in Pretoria to come up with resolutions that would save the industry and thousands of jobs which are on the line.
The industry bosses and unions said on Monday that the resolutions agreed upon to mitigate the crisis in the sector were for the medium to long term, and not immediate.
This comes as several metal and steel companies having issued workers with Section 189 notices in the past few weeks, as the industry struggles to survive the tough market conditions, largely blamed on cheap steel imports from China.
Ntshalitshali said his organisation had been calling for import parity pricing to be abandoned, especially in the troubled steel industry.
