By Sarah Young
LONDON Oct 17 (Reuters) – AngloGold Ashanti, the
world’s No.3 bullion producer, could make a decision next week
on whether to follow other miners and issue striking workers
with an ultimatum to return to work or be sacked, its chief
executive said on Wednesday.
South Africa has been swept by a wave of often violent
industrial action in the last two months and some 35,000
employees, including contractors, at AngloGold’s South African
mines have been striking illegally since September.
Other mining companies have responded to the wildcat action
by issuing ultimatums to their employees, but AngloGold boss
Mark Cutifani said the company had not yet decided whether to
follow suite.
“We shall see how events unfold over the next few days.
We’ll make a judgement on that next week,” he told Reuters in an
interview on the sidelines of a conference in London.
Gold Fields has told the majority of its striking
miners that they have until Thursday to return to work or face
immediate dismissal.
Cutifani said AngloGold would be watching the situation
carefully in the coming days.
He added that while a decision could come next week, the
company would not be locked in to any timeframe given the
delicate nature of the situation.
“It is very clear to us that the majority of people want to
come to work and they’ve been prevented to come to work by
people that are causing intimidation, So we’re thinking very
carefully about where we go from here,” he said.
Continued…
