[miningmx.com] – SOUTH African unions representing coal miners rejected a 4% to 6.5% pay offer in a development that raises the prospect of a prolonged strike in the struggling sector, said Reuters.
Workers want pay increases of up to 15%, while the Chamber of Mines of South Africa – which represents firms such as Glencore, Anglo American Coal and Exxaro – has offered a three-year wage deal with pay raises of between 4 to 6.5%.
Coal producers say the sector is struggling with depressed prices, falling production, rising costs and power shortages, but union bosses say the chamber is out of touch.
“We are highly cognisant of falling commodity prices but in better times companies made money and they should now pay up,” Peter Bailey, the National Union Mineworker’s coal negotiator told Reuters. “We are not making any real progress yet.”
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