30,000 S.Africa auto workers strike, halting output

The Volkswagen plant in Port Elizabeth in 2009. Some 30,000 South African auto workers downed tools over pay Monday, bringing production to a halt at BMW, Toyota and other manufacturers, unions said. (AFP/File)

JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng (AFP) – Some 30,000 South African auto workers downed tools over pay Monday, bringing production to a halt at BMW, Toyota and other manufacturers, unions said.

"The strike started today at all the seven car manufacturing companies across the country," Mpumzi Matungo, the treasurer of National Union of Metalworkers (NUMSA) told AFP.