South Africa: SABMiller South African strike finishes, output not much affected

Global brewer SABMiller reached a wage deal with more than 2,000 workers in South Africa on Tuesday, November 5 ending a five-week strike that had little impact on beer production, Reuters reports.

SABMiller, which is also listed in Johannesburg, said it had agreed to raise wages by 7 percent, plus performance-related pay, back-dated to July 1.

"I was proud of the resilience of the majority of our employees during this difficult period who worked together to ensure the impact on our operations was minimised," said Mauricio Leyva, head of the brewer's domestic unit.

Workers led by the Food and Allied Workers Union were initially demanding a 9.5 percent wage hike and for the company to do away with performance-related pay.

The pay settlement, which raises the average monthly pay to just over 18,000 rand (£1,120), is above an inflation rate of about 6 percent and reflects similar accords across Africa's biggest economy.