JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Thousands of South African transport workers joined a national strike on Wednesday, paralysing rail and port operations in Africa's biggest economy.
The strike at state logistics group Transnet was the latest in a series of public protests in the country ahead of next month's World Cup soccer tournament.
Transnet operates no passenger services but the strike could affect coal and iron ore exports, fuel distribution, and shipping in one of the world's biggest coal exporting nations.
Two labour unions representing 85 percent of Transnet's 54,000-strong workforce have rejected a wage increase offer of 11 percent and insist on a 15 percent rise -- which is well above the country's inflation rate of 5.1 percent.
"Nothing is moving today," George Strauss, president of one of the unions, the United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu), told Reuters.
The other union, the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), said striking workers would organise marches to Transnet offices in Johannesburg, Durban and Polokwane, starting on Wednesday.
Thirteen people were arrested in Durban after a protest turned violent on Monday, but no other incidents have been reported. Transnet could not be reached for comment.
Transnet, commodities and fuel producers, said they could supply customers for days due to built up stocks at the ports, but other industries, including exporters of fresh fruit, said they were already feeling the pain.
Power utility Eskom said the strike would have no impact on the transport of coal used to power its plants, since only small amounts of coal were carried by rail, with the rest supplied by conveyor belts directly from mines.
The two unions said they had met with Transnet to revive talks but the company would not raise its offer.
"Management basically said 'get lost', so there is no meeting scheduled at the moment... we expect a complete shutdown, we expect all union members plus others to come out," Jane Barrett, Satawu's Policy Research Officer told Reuters.
Utatu's Strauss said he was concerned with possible violence and intimidation against non-striking workers and accidents that could occur as a result of the strike.
He said a train carrying diesel and gasoline to Durban from Johannesburg derailed on Wednesday, but it was unclear what caused the accident.
"They are struggling to get people to rectify the track because the technical people are also on strike," Strauss said.
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