Weeklong Strike Called Off, World Cup Construction Workers Head to Work

JOHANNESBURG — World Cup construction workers and employers are preparing to sign a wage deal ending a weeklong strike.

Work at sites across the country will resume Thursday.

Unions and employers say they concluded negotiations early Wednesday morning and an agreement will be signed later in the day.

Details of the wage agreement have not been revealed but it is believed that employers and workers have settled on a 12 percent pay increase. Workers were initially demanding 13 percent.

The strike, which began last Wednesday, threatened to derail already tight schedules for construction projects across South Africa that are supposed to be completed by December.