The main employer body in South Africa’s metals and engineering federation has accepted a government proposal to raise wages by as much as 10 percent, it said on Tuesday, raising hopes of an end to a strike by more than 200,000 workers.

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa said unions led by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa are reported to have accepted the offer.

The proposal of wage raises put forward by Labor Minister Mildred Oliphant under which SEIFSA agreed to increase wages by between 7 to 10 percent in next three years.  National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) declared strike on July 2 where more than 200,000 worker affiliated to NUMSA put their tools down to convince employers to fulfill their demand of 12-15 percent wage increases.

The strike is hitting economy of SA as many auto mobiles companies have shut down their vehicle assembly lines due to the unavailability of car parts.  Construction work in power supply companies was also effected by the ongoing walkout of labors.

South Africa is trying to avoid deeper recession which started five months ago when the platinum workers struck.  The GDP is expected to fall nearly 5 percent in this fiscal year as the result of strikes.

When unions produce raw materials required by manufacturing in the same country they have clout.