[miningmx.com] — HUNDREDS of workers at BHP Billiton’s aluminium smelter in South Africa went on strike on Wednesday demanding better wages and changes in work conditions, a union official said.
About 600 workers downed tools at BHP’s Billiton Hillside aluminium smelter at Richards Bay, in the country’s KwaZulu Natal province, after talks with management failed, National Union of Metalworkers spokesperson Mbuso Ngubane said.
The workers are demanding a 12% hike in wages across the board, and a 50% employer contribution to a medical aid scheme, among other things.
The union said it had been in talks with management since April this year.
Questions sent by email to the company about production levels at the unit and whether the strike was affecting them were not immediately answered.
Ngubane said management was expected to meet the union later on Wednesday.
“We are going (to the meeting) with an open mind, hopefully we may have an agreement by tomorrow,” Ngubane said.
The country has been hit by a wave of strikes and strike threats in both the private and public sector, which have led to above-inflation settlements and stoked fears that the cost of living will rise.
South Africa’s inflation rate stood at 3.4% in October.
