Reuters reports that the Minerals Council SA (MCSA - previously known as the Chamber of Mines) said on Friday that at least 15 mining firms had received notices of strikes to be held this week in support of industrial action at Sibanye-Stillwater, where workers are on strike over wages and job cuts.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has been on strike at Sibanye’s gold operations since mid-November and plans to extend the strike to platinum mines as well as all other mines where the union has members. Producers to be affected include AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Anglo American Platinum and Lonmin. The MCSA, which represents the mining firms, said it was “deeply concerned” about the potential consequences of the strike particularly in the gold and platinum sectors. “It is unfathomable that Amcu would willingly call for secondary strikes in an industry that is already in jeopardy. Employees and their families, and indeed the country as a whole, stand to lose so much should the secondary strikes occur,” MCSA chief executive Roger Baxter said. The mining firms were considering the notices and vowed to “everything in their power” to prevent a strike, including legal action, the MCSA indicated.
- Read the original of Tanisha Heiberg’s report on this story in full at Moneyweb
- Read too, Amcu strike action further undermines struggling gold, platinum sectors, warns Minerals Council, at Mining Weekly
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