World Cup: Labor unrest spreads to fourth stadium

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The labor unrest plaguing the World Cup spread to a fourth stadium Tuesday when stewards went on strike at Ellis Park Johannesburg, South Africa, before the evening match between North Korea and Brazil.

Hundreds of black-clad workers gathered just outside the stadium grounds around midday, chanting and dancing, as grim-faced riot police, toting shotguns, looked on.

Earlier in the week, workers walked off the job in Cape Town and Durban, and bus drivers in Johannesburg quit in the middle of their shifts Monday, stranding about 1,000 fans outside Soccer City stadium. On Sunday, riot police using rubber bullets broke up one demonstration by striking workers in Durban, injuring two.

Police have had to take over security at three World Cup venues, replacing workers who walked off the job.

The stewards and a union official both called on FIFA to mediate in the dispute with Stallion Security Consortium, which had not commented on the situation.

“We are trying to gather more information, so we can attempt to engage FIFA and the local organizing committee and find a solution,” South African Transport and Allied Workers Union coordinator Mzwandile Jackson Simon told the Associated Press.

“There are indications they are willing to work something out,” he added. “I don’t think police will manage on their own.”

Simon said the union believed Stallion had made wage commitments to the stewards that were not fulfilled

On Monday, police took over security at stadiums in Durban and Cape Town.

-- Kevin Baxter, in Johannesburg, South Africa