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South Africa: Industrial action in mining industry may spread to coal sector
“BECSA believes there is little risk of any strike action occurring,” the company said.
South Africa’s coal sector employs around 70,000 compared with 160,000 in gold and 180,000 in platinum. The biggest coal producers are BHP Billiton’s unit BHP Energy Coal South Africa, Anglo American, Xstrata, Glencore and Exxaro.
The coal sector was affected by industrial action in July 2011 when workers who negotiate pay through the Chamber of Mines went on a legal strike for a week in pursuit of pay rises.
Industry On Edge
South Africa is one of the world’s top five thermal coal suppliers, shipping more than half of its roughly 70 million tonnes a year of exports to Asia including India.
Fitch ratings said the protests reflect factors peculiar to the South African platinum sector but also highlight broader problems such as policy uncertainty in the mining sector and a lack of education and labor reforms.
Lonmin’s 22 percent pay rise has made the industry edgy, particularly because the stoppage was not organized by the unions, but by the workers themselves.
