Construction at South Africa's World Cup stadiums came to a standstill on Wednesday as over 70 000 workers embarked on a strike to press for higher wages.

The strike threatens the completion deadlines at five venues for the 2010 FIFA World Cup stadiums and other major projects associated with the event.

"The protest will end at the time when SAFCEC (South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors) agrees to the 13 percent," said National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba Seshoka.

About 2000 workers stopped work at midday at Soccer City Stadium in the Soweto township outside Johannesburg while over a thousand walked out of the construction site of Cape Town's Green Point stadium.

At Soccer City workers dressed in blue worksuits and union shirts said they would not accept anything below their 13 percent increase demand. SAFCEC was offering a 10 percent increase.

However SAFCEC spokesman Joe Campanella said that all the demands of the workers in total amounted to a wage increase of 65 percent in rand terms, not 13 percent.

"There will be a meeting tomorrow. Hopefully negotiations will resume then." Some of the workers danced and ran around the stadium singing revolutionary songs while being watched by police officers who were monitoring the situation.

Paul Malatjie, 28, a construction worker said, "At the end of the day we are not even going to able to watch one single game."

Standing among other workers, Malatjie said: "Look at the wonderful work they have done but they need to be paid for it. The people that are benefitting are the wealthy, we are wondering where is there money."

Shane Choshane, another NUM spokesman, said the average worker earned about 2,500 rand (307 dollars) a month. The strike will continue on Thursday, he said.