Johannesburg -The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will submit its wage demands for the coal and gold sector by the end of March, the general secretary of the majority union said on Tuesday.
NUM's national bargaining conference will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to formulate a rough draft of the demands and will then seek members' approval on a final version.
The union represents 57% of the workforce in the gold sector, according to data from an industry website named Gold Wage Negotiations For the Gold Industry, 2015.
The South African mining industry is still reeling from a record five-month strike in 2014 led by NUM rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at the major platinum producers. The stoppage brought the economy into contraction in the first quarter of 2014.
Amcu represents about 25% of workers in the gold sector.