EMALAHLENI, South Africa, July 28 – Some 100,000 South African gold miners went on strike on Thursday, but fuel workers ended a stoppage that had slowed commerce and caused panic buying.
Mediators said the union representing petroleum workers, seeking 9.5 percent wage increases, had reached a deal with employers who had offered 8 percent. They settled on an across-the-board 8.5 percent increase, industry sources said.
The country’s annual “strike season” is in full swing, with unions demanding 10-20 percent pay rises, well above five percent inflation. The strikes have already hit chemicals and coal and diamond mining, with worries about economic damage increasing the longer they last.
Source: Reuters Africa newsletter
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