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Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday that talks with the country's chamber of mines scheduled for Thursday about wages in the coal sector could well lead to strike action.
"Tomorrow's talks in the chamber will determine whether a strike would be necessary in the coal sector ... which may see over 250 000 workers downing tools," NUM said in a statement.
The Chamber of Mines is negotiating on behalf of several coal miners, including Anglo Thermal Coal SA , Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX], Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal .
South Africa is a big producer of coal, much of it destined for India and China as well as domestic consumption as its power industry is almost entirely dependent on coal.
In the last round of talks, coal producers offered NUM a wage rise offer of 4.2% to 4.5%, well below labour demands of 14%.
Labour relations are strained in the mining sector and food and fuel price pressures are stoking wage demands at a time when miners say they can ill-afford to offer increases far above inflation.
NUM said on Tuesday that it was readying for strike action over wages against the country's main gold miners including Gold Fields [JSE:GFI], Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR] and AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] .
The union on Thursday will also have talks with Anglo Platinum , the world's largest platinum producer. It is demanding 20 percent from the company.
This is far above the official inflation rate which was 4.6 percent in May but unions say that does not capture the full impact of rising prices on low-income workers who often have several dependents to feed.
"Tomorrow's talks in the chamber will determine whether a strike would be necessary in the coal sector ... which may see over 250 000 workers downing tools," NUM said in a statement.
The Chamber of Mines is negotiating on behalf of several coal miners, including Anglo Thermal Coal SA , Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX], Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal .
South Africa is a big producer of coal, much of it destined for India and China as well as domestic consumption as its power industry is almost entirely dependent on coal.
In the last round of talks, coal producers offered NUM a wage rise offer of 4.2% to 4.5%, well below labour demands of 14%.
Labour relations are strained in the mining sector and food and fuel price pressures are stoking wage demands at a time when miners say they can ill-afford to offer increases far above inflation.
NUM said on Tuesday that it was readying for strike action over wages against the country's main gold miners including Gold Fields [JSE:GFI], Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR] and AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG] .
The union on Thursday will also have talks with Anglo Platinum , the world's largest platinum producer. It is demanding 20 percent from the company.
This is far above the official inflation rate which was 4.6 percent in May but unions say that does not capture the full impact of rising prices on low-income workers who often have several dependents to feed.
