20100601
Reuters

Up to 4,000 nurses and administrative workers at South African private healthcare firm Netcare could go on strike from Wednesday, marking the latest industrial action in Africa's biggest economy.

Workers at nine Netcare hospitals in South Africa will go on strike for higher wages, said Johnny Harrinarain, a spokesman for the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union of South Africa.
The company has offered employees a pay rise of more than 8 percent, but the union wants 12 percent, he said.
"We have called for the majority of our members to participate in the strike," Harrinarain told Reuters.
He declined to say how many employees were expected to participate, but said the union represented 4,000 workers at the nine hospitals.
Netcare operates the largest private hospital group in South Africa and also has hospitals in the United Kingdom. Its workforce in both countries totals nearly 30,000.
The strike would come just days after the end of a three-week strike at logistics group Transnet that paralysed ports and railways and ultimately cost more than 7 billion rand.