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South Africa: Gold miners begin work stoppage over pay
Tens of thousands of gold miners in South Africa are set to industrial action Tuesday after wage talks broke down, threatening to cost millions of dollars in lost output in the troubled sector.
Powerful labor group the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which represents the bulk of 120,000 workers affected, called for stoppages following its members’ rejection of a 6.5 percent wage hike last week.
Union spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said early Tuesday that the strike would kick off on the 6:00 pm (12:00 p.m. EDT) shift. “We will go until Christmas,” he told reporters.
The gold sector stands to lose 761 kilograms in production each day, worth around US$34 million, gold industry as a result of the stoppage.
Gold workers are demanding wage increases of between 60 and 100 percent, denouncing company executives’ high salaries while workers live in poverty in a country with one of the world’s biggest wealth gaps.
“The pay that we are asking for is not high. It is normal and reasonable,” said Seshoka. “If there are bosses that sit in air-conditioned offices earning millions a year, why can’t they (miners) earn ZAR 7,000 (US$673) basic a month?”
The work stoppage will add to the pressure building on the country – currently Africa’s largest economy, where at least 75,000 workers in the construction and automobile industries have downed tools since last week.
