The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has withdrawn its urgent Labour Court application to declare a lockout by members of the National Employers Association of South Africa (Neasa) invalid, Neasa said on Tuesday.

Numsa lodged the application on Monday, and it was set to be heard on Tuesday morning.

Neasa last week announced that its members would engage in a lockout of union members who participated in the recent metals industry strike, as the association’s demands had not been considered in the negotiations.

The employer body had also not signed the settlement agreement agreed to by unions and the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa.

“The lockout will continue until Neasa’s demands have been sufficiently dealt with,” Neasa said in a statement.

The organisation represented 3 000 employers in the metals industry.