Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- The unions representing more than 1.3 million workers in South Africa have suspended a three-week old strike that crippled hospital services, closed schools and wreaked havoc on other public services, according to a statement Monday from the groups.
The joint statement from COSATU Public Service Unions and the Independent Labour Caucus said the strike was suspended because the government "succumbed to the demand by labor" on the pay raise and other issues.
"This is a victory in the history of public service negotiations where the employer was forced to reopen negotiations," the statement said.
The employer, in this case, is the government, which had said early in the talks that with the one million jobs lost in the past year, it could not afford to meet the 8.6 percent pay hike the unions were demanding. A bigger housing allowance was another demand.
Monday's statement said the government's final concession was to a 7.5 percent pay raise, a 60 percent raise in the housing allowance, and the reopening of negotiations.
CNN
