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Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (Num) said on Monday it has reached a wage deal with employers in the coal sector to end a week-long strike that threatened supplies to power plants.
The deal was clinched as talks to end a strike on the country’s gold mines are set to begin. At gold’s current record levels that stoppage is seen costing the gold producers up to $25m a day in lost output.
“They are going to be signing the offer ... the strike will be called off,” Num spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka told Reuters about the deal reached on the coal front. He did not give any details about the agreement but the Num had been seeking a 14% wage rise and employers were offering 6% to 8.5%.
Coal firms affected included Anglo Thermal Coal SA, Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX], Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal.
The mounting impact of the country’s yearly strike season, which has also hit the fuel, diamond and steel industries, is seen crimping growth in the quarter and possibly pushing an already stagnant economy into contraction.
About 100 000 gold miners downed tools on Thursday, halting work at AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:AGL], Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] and Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR] at a time when bullion is at record highs.
Markets are also watching wage talks between unions and managers at Impala Platinum, the world’s No 2 producer of the precious metal, due to start at around midday.
Impala and its larger rival Anglo American Platinum, which is also engaged in negotiations, together account for about two-thirds of global platinum output, so if strikes start there platinum prices are likely to rise.
A fuel strike that interrupted business and sparked panic buying at the pumps ended last week.
The deal was clinched as talks to end a strike on the country’s gold mines are set to begin. At gold’s current record levels that stoppage is seen costing the gold producers up to $25m a day in lost output.
“They are going to be signing the offer ... the strike will be called off,” Num spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka told Reuters about the deal reached on the coal front. He did not give any details about the agreement but the Num had been seeking a 14% wage rise and employers were offering 6% to 8.5%.
Coal firms affected included Anglo Thermal Coal SA, Exxaro Resources [JSE:EXX], Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal.
The mounting impact of the country’s yearly strike season, which has also hit the fuel, diamond and steel industries, is seen crimping growth in the quarter and possibly pushing an already stagnant economy into contraction.
About 100 000 gold miners downed tools on Thursday, halting work at AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:AGL], Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] and Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR] at a time when bullion is at record highs.
Markets are also watching wage talks between unions and managers at Impala Platinum, the world’s No 2 producer of the precious metal, due to start at around midday.
Impala and its larger rival Anglo American Platinum, which is also engaged in negotiations, together account for about two-thirds of global platinum output, so if strikes start there platinum prices are likely to rise.
A fuel strike that interrupted business and sparked panic buying at the pumps ended last week.
