Johannesburg - The biggest union at South African coal producers including Anglo American and Glencore agreed to sign a pay deal with operators Tuesday, ending a strike that started a week ago.
“The end is in sight,” said Peter Bailey, chief negotiator for the National Union of Mineworkers, after a meeting at the Chamber of Mines, a lobby group for the companies. “The parties have now agreed and the end of the strike will be communicated between the management and branch leadership.”
Producers including Anglo, Glencore and Exxaro Resources tabled a revised two-year deal on October 9. Further adjustments to the deal were made October 12. The agreement is for an extra R750 ($56) to R1 000 monthly, Bailey said.
The NUM, which represents 72 percent of the 17,000 employees covered by the wage deal, had been demanding increases of as much as 14 percent for its members.
The producers and unions began conciliation talks after reaching a deadlock in negotiations in August. The strike was the the first related to wage negotiations in coal since 2011.
The industry directly employs almost 90 000 people, including contractors, and paid about 19 billion rand in wages in 2014, according to the chamber’s website. Labor relations in coal are regarded as more stable than gold or platinum because there are fewer workers and more machinery. The fuel powers most of South Africa’s electricity generation.
The labor action was a threat to state-owned utility Eskom Holdings, which supplies about 95 percent of the nation’s power, primarily from coal.
BLOOMBERG