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Windhoek - Workers at Rio Tinto's Rossing mine in Namibia on Friday started an indefinite strike at the uranium mine after rejecting management's latest offer meant to settle a dispute over production incentives, a union official said.
The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) said its workers were not happy about the offer presented to the union late on Thursday in a last bid to avoid a walkout that could strain output at one of the world's top producers.
"Workers have shot down the management offer. The strike has started as planned at 08:00 this morning," MUN Rossing branch representative Ismael Kasuto told Reuters.
MUN, which represents some 1 200 of Rossing's 1 600 workers, has been protesting over differences in bonuses paid to workers and management in a dispute which already caused a three-day illegal strike in July.
It was still unclear how many workers were participating in the walkout.
Rossing said it had offered workers an unconditional upfront payment of 15 200 Namibian dollars ($1 837.669) and a further N$2 100 to N$5 150 per worker conditional on safety and production performance during the fourth quarter.
Workers have been asking for N$30 000 each, on top of N$11 000 they have already received.
Talks with management are expected to resume on Friday.
Rossing officials said parts of the mine were still operating.
"Production has not come entirely to a standstill, some parts of our operational aspects are continuing," Jerome Mutumba, a Rossing spokesperson, told Reuters.
He also said the company had put contingency measures in place to minimise the impact of the strike.
The union said a 24-hour shift would cost the company N$7.5m in losses, although the impact could go beyond that.
"There will be additional losses from contract work that cannot proceed," said Kasuto.
Rossing said it was too early to comment on the impact.
The strike action would further hurt output at Rossing, whose production was already hit by heavy rains earlier in the year. Rossing produced about 8 million pounds of uranium last year.
Rio Tinto has a 68.6% stake in the mine.
The Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) said its workers were not happy about the offer presented to the union late on Thursday in a last bid to avoid a walkout that could strain output at one of the world's top producers.
"Workers have shot down the management offer. The strike has started as planned at 08:00 this morning," MUN Rossing branch representative Ismael Kasuto told Reuters.
MUN, which represents some 1 200 of Rossing's 1 600 workers, has been protesting over differences in bonuses paid to workers and management in a dispute which already caused a three-day illegal strike in July.
It was still unclear how many workers were participating in the walkout.
Rossing said it had offered workers an unconditional upfront payment of 15 200 Namibian dollars ($1 837.669) and a further N$2 100 to N$5 150 per worker conditional on safety and production performance during the fourth quarter.
Workers have been asking for N$30 000 each, on top of N$11 000 they have already received.
Talks with management are expected to resume on Friday.
Rossing officials said parts of the mine were still operating.
"Production has not come entirely to a standstill, some parts of our operational aspects are continuing," Jerome Mutumba, a Rossing spokesperson, told Reuters.
He also said the company had put contingency measures in place to minimise the impact of the strike.
The union said a 24-hour shift would cost the company N$7.5m in losses, although the impact could go beyond that.
"There will be additional losses from contract work that cannot proceed," said Kasuto.
Rossing said it was too early to comment on the impact.
The strike action would further hurt output at Rossing, whose production was already hit by heavy rains earlier in the year. Rossing produced about 8 million pounds of uranium last year.
Rio Tinto has a 68.6% stake in the mine.
