First to report public sector strike ends in South Africa, without pay agreement

Reuters was first to report that a weeks-long strike by more than a million South African public sector workers was to halt. Mid-morning on Sept 6 Reuters reported from union sources that a return to work was likely, and when the official announcement was made hours later we beat Bloomberg by five minutes and DJ by 25 minutes. Crucially we were correct in reporting that the strike was only suspended as a pay settlement had not been reached, suggesting further industrial action ahead. The dispute caused major disruption to public services, costing South Africa some $140 million a day. The strike exposed growing divisions between unions and their African National Congress allies and undermined ANC head and President Jacob Zuma ahead of a crucial ruling party conference later this month.