Northam raises pay offer to end strike
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday that Northam Platinum had marginally raised its pay offer to end a strike, and the workers would decide on Thursday if to accept it.
The NUM’s chief negotiator at Northam, Zwelitsha Tantsi, who declined to disclose details of the improved offer until workers were briefed about it, doubted if the miners would accept the new pay offer.
“The [pay dispute] is not resolved at Northam. There is no substantial movement from the company [in their offer], but it’s not acceptable,” Tantsi told Reuters.
Northam, one of South Africa’s smaller platinum producers, has offered workers an 8% wage increase on a two-year deal.
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Northam, which produced 321 475 ounces of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) in the year to end-June, said 80% of its 6 800 employees at the Zondereinde mine were on strike.
The company said it was losing 1 000 ounces per day in production of PGMs since the strike started on September 5.
Tantsi said Northam and the NUM would meet again next week for further talks.
South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, has been hit by a wave of strikes and strike threats in both the private and public sectors, which have led to above-inflation settlements and raised fears that the cost of living will rise.
South Africa’s inflation rate slowed to a four-year low of 3,7% in July.—Reuters
