CAPE TOWN (AFP) — Hundreds of South African construction workers downed tools Wednesday at Cape Town's 2010 football World Cup stadium, and pelted police with stones as they demanded better working conditions.
Armed with sticks, wearing hard hats and singing revolutionary songs, the group broke office windows and threw stones at police, hitting one in the head.
"He was taken to hospital and required stitches," said police spokesman Superintendent Billy Jones.
He denied radio reports that police had fired rubber bullets at the crowd.
By noon, all entrances to the stadium remained closed off as dozens of police were deployed to keep the protesters under control.
The group demanded employer-sponsored transport between their workplace in the Cape Town suburb of Green Point and the train station in the city centre several kilometres away. This was their second labour action on the issue.
"This matter has been in dispute since June," said Eugenia Peter, spokeswoman for the Building, Construction and Allied Workers labour union.
"The company promised that transport would be available from Monday, but it was not."
The employer, a joint venture between construction companies Murray and Roberts and WBHO, was not available for comment.
Cape Town's new 68,000-seater Green Point Stadium is to host one of the semi-finals when the world's most popular sporting event is staged on African soil for the first time ever.
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