20th Feb 2014 11:08
LONDON (Alliance News) - South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union said on Thursday that it plans to continue the ongoing platinum miners strike against the world's top three platinum producers, Reuters reported.
The decision is a blow to companies and investors, which had hoped to bring an end to the month-long strike. The president of the AMCU Jospeh Mathunjwa has described the dispute as a "fight for survival" by workers.
Major platinum miners like Lonmin PLC and Anglo Platinum PLC, a subsidiary of Anglo American PLC have been significantly hit by the protests.
The strike, already a month old, has hit over 40% of global platinum production and Mathunjwa said the strikes would continue until the wage settlement it seeks - a ZAR12,500 monthly wage to workers in the region - is reached, Reuters reported.
The chief executives of the companies affected set their latest offer at pay hikes at up to 9% on Wednesday, much lower than the doubling which the AMCU demands, according to Reuters.
However, Executives from Lonmin and Anglo Platinum said the wage improvement rate was final and they could not improve on it due to depressed prices and rising costs.
On Wednesday, the Chief Executive of Anglo American Platinum Chris Griffith said that court action might be taken in order to declare the strike illegal due to alleged violence by the AMCU.
Griffith, along with the Chief Executives of Lonmin and Impala Platinum PLC, said at a media briefing that the AMCU was trying to achieve its wage demands through strike action and criminal acts.
"There have been extensive reports of both overt and covert intimidation at the various operations, as well as injuries and damage to property," Griffith said.
Strikes over pay and conditions, which started on January 23, have affected operations at the mining companies, with Lonmin warning during January that it will cut its sales volume guidance due to the strikes.
Lonmin shares were down 2.3% to 315.20 pence putting them in the top FTSE 250 fallers and Anglo American shares were down 3.0% to 1,541.50 pence putting it in the top five FTSE 100 fallers on Thursday.
http://www.trust.org/item/20140220090932-80pn1
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/19/us-safrica-strikes-idUSBREA1I1K220140219
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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