South African unions 'to widen strike'

South African labor unions have said that they will cut ties with the ruling party, and widen a national public sector strike, unless their pay demands are met. There were no signs of a resolution on Friday, nearly two weeks after more than one million public sector workers walked off the job, shutting down many hospitals and schools. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it filed seven-day strike notices on Thursday so that all its two million members could join the state workers strike, which they said would also target the mining and manufacturing sectors. The labor unions were key supporters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and Jacob Zuma, the country's president, helping him win the last election. "We cannot sustain the status quo. We cannot allow the situation that nobody does nothing about the current situation within the alliance..." Sdumo Dlamini, president of Cosatu, said.