S. African Metalworkers Favor Strike; Mine Walkout Possible

Major labor unrest was feared Sunday in South Africa after union officials said that 80,000 metalworkers had voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike. Walkouts by coal and gold miners were also possible.

A strike by the 200,000 mine workers would be by far the most serious for South Africa’s economy. These miners work in 27 gold pits and 18 collieries and make up nearly half the miners in South Africa, and the mines provide more than half of the country’s export earnings. In previous years, scattered strikes in the mining industry have been accompanied by considerable violence.

Both disputes center on wages and working conditions.

Officials of the newly formed National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa asserted that about 95% of their members, almost all of them black, support a strike. Final results of the balloting are expected today. Union officials say privately that large numbers have voted in favor of striking.

If a walkout is called, about 400 companies will be affected in the metal and allied industries, including automobile manufacturers.

South African trade unions, which were legalized less than a decade ago, have increasingly flexed their muscles in recent years.

Earlier this year, a long strike by about 18,000 transport workers touched off clashes in which police killed six workers. At least four workers who refused to join the strike were also slain. Scores of commuter trains in and around Johannesburg were targets of arson attacks, and police raided a union headquarters in the city.

Over the weekend, the country experienced more race-related violence. A black man was burned to death and 19 youths were wounded by police gunfire in a flare-up around Johannesburg, police said.

The violence appeared to be the most widespread since President Pieter W. Botha reimposed a nationwide state of emergency June 11.

More than 2,500 blacks have died in politically related strife since September, 1984.