South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Tuesday that 26 000 of its members at Lonmin Platinum mines were on strike over a pay dispute.
Union spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said the strike began on Sunday night over a new pay system that he said cheated workers.
He said the company reneged on an agreement on how to pay workers. As a result, some workers had not been paid for months and others failed to receive bonuses.
Lonmin spokesperson Alex Shorland-Ball said she had no immediate comment.
Seshoka added that until the issues around the payment system were resolved, their members would remain on strike.
Lonmin, the world’s third-biggest platinum producer, in July cut its full-year sales forecast due to difficulties in processing lower grade ores and bottlenecks at refineries.
A Cape Town-based analyst said a strike would not help production at Lonmin.
”It’s not positive for the short-term prospects of the share,” the analyst said.
At 09h31 GMT, Lonmin was trading 0,96% weaker at R434,79, with the JSE blue chip Top-40 index 0,36% lower.
The NUM is expected to start wage negotiations with Lonmin in October.
Smaller labour union Solidarity — which is not part of the strike — has already agreed a deal with the miner.
Mining firms and trade unions are in the middle of wage talks in South Africa, the world’s biggest producer of gold and platinum.
Two years ago gold production was paralysed for five days during the first industry-wide strike in the country’s gold sector in 18 years. — Reuters