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Johannesburg - Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) wants the basic pay for entry level workers in the gold mining sector to be more than doubled, setting the stage for tough pay talks in an industry battling dwindling profits.
Joseph Mathunjwa told reporters on Wednesday his union, which led a record five-month long strike in the platinum industry last year, would seek a monthly wage of R12 500 for workers currently earning around R6 000 per month.
READ: AngloGold: Wage, power hikes threaten gold sector
"The mineworkers are enslaved across the country, whatever we put forward is to liberate the mining workers from this oppression," Mathunjwa said.
With dwindling profits and increasing costs, Africa's top bullion producers AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG], Sibanye Gold [JSE:SGL] and Harmony Gold [JSE:HAR] warn that high pay increases and strikes would lead to a decline in the struggling industry.
Amcu swept into popularity in the platinum sector by poaching thousands of members in a bloody turf war with arch-rival the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and has since spread its influence into the gold, coal and diamond sectors.
Amcu represents 29% of workers in the gold sector, according to an industry website, with NUM claiming 54% of the workforce.
The NUM, having already secured a wage deal with Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] in April, said they will seek up to 75% wage hikes from the rest of the bullion sector, source familiar with the matter told Reuters last month.
Spot gold is currently fetching just over $1 190 an ounce, about 38% down from its historic peak of $1 920 scaled in September 2011, and South Africa's once towering bullion industry has long been in a state of decline.
