/ 24 August 1999

COAL WORKERS STRIKE

A WAGE strike at Ingwe Coal Corporation and Anglo Coal, by more than 12 000 miners in Mpumalanga, entered a fourth day on Monday with no solution in sight. The strikers are members of the National Union of Mineworkers, and provincial spokesman Crosby Moni said the union demanded a 9% pay rise at all mines owned by Ingwe and Anglo. The companies are offering 7,5%. About 12 000 NUM members were on a protected strike that began on Friday, said Moni. Ingwe communications manager Sol Morathi said four of the company’s nine mines in the province were affected: Delmas, Matla, Optimum and Koornfontein. About 3500 union members, or 30% of the workforce, were on a low-key strike, he added.