S. African Blacks End GM Strike

About 1,600 black General Motors workers facing dismissal ended their 20-day strike today at two plants in Port Elizabeth, and GM officials said they fired 200 holdouts.

The 1,600 auto workers reported to work before a dismissal deadline of 9 a.m., the company said. More than 2,000 workers went on strike Oct. 29, demanding pension and layoff benefits from the American auto maker, which is selling out to a local consortium Jan. 1 because of apartheid, South Africa’s policy of racial separation. GM spokesman George Stegman said the company will consider rehiring about 300 workers fired Nov. 5 when police were called to end a factory sit-in.