By Devon Maylie and Patrick McGroarty
JOHANNESBURG--Tens of thousands of South African platinum miners
went on strike demanding higher salaries, hobbling a crucial
industry even as their union said it would negotiate with employers
and the government.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, the
largest in the platinum sector, on Thursday said it was willing to
meet with the government and the world's three biggest platinum
producers: Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Impala Platinum Holdings
Ltd. and Lonmin PLC.
"We have a mandate that we can meet to talk about our demands.
That's a new positive development," said Joseph Mathunjwa, the
union's president.
Musa Zondi, a spokesman for South Africa's labor ministry, said
a date for the talks hadn't been set.
The strike is the biggest to hit the platinum sector since the
violent work stoppage in August 2012 that started at Lonmin's
Marikana mine and resulted in police firing into a crowd of
protesters killing 34 people. Since then, the platinum industry
says it lost 879,400 ounces of production in 2012 and 2013
combined. Companies warn that the industry is in a financially
fragile state and a new strike will damage both revenue and
jobs.
The work stoppage is the latest blow to an already ailing South
African economy. Gross domestic product expanded by less than 2%
last year, and the rand has weakened against the U.S. dollar to a
more than four-year low.
Mining accounts for 6% of gross domestic product and mineral
exports 60% of export revenue. In addition, companies have cut
several hundred jobs because of costly strikes and a weakening
demand environment in the past two years, a blow to South Africa's
already high unemployment rate of around 24%.
This week, Anglo American Platinum, the commodity's largest
producer, said earnings in 2013 returned to a profit after a loss
the previous year, but a strike threatens to reverse those gains.
Its chief executive, Chris Griffith, said a long strike now could
also lead to more job losses.
The workers are demanding that their employers raise entry-level
salaries to 12,500 rand ($1,150) a month from around 5,000 rand.
Mr. Mathunjwa said he understands the damage to the economy a
strike can cause but that workers need to earn better salaries as
living costs rise.
Impala Platinum spokesman Johan Theron said Impala overnight
shut its Rustenburg mine, which accounts for about 52% of its
output, in preparation for the strike. Lonmin said Rustenburg has
been quiet so far. Workers didn't show up for the morning shift but
the mine hasn't been subjected to the kind of violence seen in
previous years.
This month, South Africa passed a new act that prohibits those
on strike from carrying weapons that could cause bodily harm,
including spears and machetes, which had been prevalent in the 2012
strikes. Police on Thursday said they have deployed forces around
the platinum-producing area, northwest of Johannesburg, to monitor
striking workers and protect those not on strike.
AMCU gained dominance in the platinum sector following the
Lonmin Marikana strike in 2012, which then spread to mines across
the country, but cracks are starting to show. Some former AMCU
members say workers are worried about going on strike and losing
their jobs.
"I agree we need to get better wages, but people will lose their
jobs after this strike," said Gaddafi Mdoda, a former member of
AMCU who says he left because he didn't agree with how the union
was being run. "This isn't the time to strike."
Write to Devon Maylie at devon.maylie@wsj.com and Patrick
McGroarty at patrick.mcgroarty@wsj.com
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