South Africa’s leading mining union hit the world’s top gold producer with its largest strike in 18 years as workers walked off the job on Sunday evening.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), with about 80 000 members in the gold mining sector, started a national strike at 6pm (4pm GMT) after it declared a wage dispute with employers last week.
”We are on strike,” said NUM spokesperson Moferefere Lekorotsoana, after miners had earlier rejected an offer of a five percent pay hike, which fell below the eight and 12% rise they were seeking.
Chamber of Mines chief negotiator Frans Barker, who represents the employers, confirmed that the mass action went ahead despite attempts to reach a last-minute settlement.
”Unfortunately, the strike is going ahead,” Barker said.
”There has been discussions … [but] NUM has not responded to that except to say they will report to their members and give feedback tomorrow [Monday].
”It is very important that one should find a settlement and stop the strike,” he added.
Lekorotsoana said the latest offers had yet to be put before union members.
The smaller, mainly white Solidarity union, which has about 10 000 members, will join NUM in the protest beginning on Monday.
Barker said the different gold mining employers had made new offers, details of which he did not want to disclose, during informal talks at the weekend.
A third trade union, the United Association of South Africa, with a 16 000 membership, will decide on Monday whether it will participate in the strike.
Johannesburg-based T-sec brokerage mining analyst Nick Goodwin has said the strike would have a ”serious impact on an industry that’s already on its knees”.
”At the moment the rand has weakened and the gold price has picked up by some seven percent, so mines are just breaking even, but there are no profits,” he said.
Losses of up to R130-million a day are expected and an additional R130m a day would be lost to the country in exports, said Chamber of Mines spokesperson Frans Barker.
Workers participating in the strike would lose out on wages amounting to a countrywide total of R60m a day, he added.
Miners earn a minimum monthly wage of R2 200 ($338, â,¬277) in South Africa.
Mining companies Harmony Gold and AngloGold Ashanti had no strike contingency plans in place, even though they expected the industrial action would have a ”significant impact” on them.
”The company will not be producing and nearly 50 000 people will not be working. If they don’t pitch for work, they don’t pitch,” said Harmony spokesperson Ferdi Dippenaar.
The country is the world’s largest gold producer, despite a nine percent decline in output in 2004, yielding a total of 342 tonnes, according to the Chamber of Mines.
A cornerstone of the South African economy, gold mines have felt the pinch of a stronger currency, foreign exchange controls and a depletion of resources, prompting fears of large-scale job losses in the industry.
Its share of world gold production now stands at around 14%, down from 80% in 1970. – Sapa