[miningmx.com] – THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), South
Africa’s largest union, said it had called on members to join a strike called by Cosatu
aimed at forcing the South African government to scrap short-term work contracts
and highway tolls, Bloomberg News said citing Lesiba Seshoka, spokesman for the
NUM.
Anglo American and AngloGold Ashanti told Bloomberg that it was too early to predict
the impact of the strike. But Harmony Gold told the newswire that miners affiliated to
the NUM, excluding essential services, would not be at work.
Reuters reported that Gold Fields, the world’s fourth largest gold producer, said on
Wednesday that 85% of its workforce had heeded a call for a 1-day nationwide strike.
“Our staffing is therefore limited to essential services such as security. There is
effectively no production for the first shift,” spokesman Sven
The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated the cost to the
economy may be $2bn to $10bn.
