(Corrects to clarify size of wage demand in first paragraph)
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Impala Platinum,
the world’s No.2 platinum producer, said on Tuesday workers had
demanded a second pay hike this year, equal to a pay increase
granted in April after a 6-week strike.
The demand comes as South African mining companies grapple
with a wave of strikes that last month led to the death of 44
people, 34 at the hands of the police.
The unrest has also spread to gold producers, with Gold
Fields reporting that 15,000 miners had embarked on a
wildcat strike at its KDC operations.
Implats granted workers an increase after a strike shut down
production at its key Rustenburg operations in January and
February this year, but the platinum producer says workers now
want more.
“We believe that current tensions are an issue for the
entire industry,” said Implats chief executive Terence Goodlace
in a statement.
He said that profit margins were under severe pressure “with
consequences for all concerned”.
South Africa’s platinum industry has been struggling to
survive as input costs such as electricity have spiked and
metals prices fall.
($1 = 8.1512 South African rand)
(Reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas; editing by David Dolan)
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