S. Africa platinum miner sees deal with union
A strike scheduled to begin today at Impala Platinum in South Africa, the world's second largest producer of platinum, has been suspended pending a union vote on new contract concessions. Talks between Impala and South Africa's largest union ran from Saturday until early Sunday morning, and somewhere in the wee hours a breakthrough was made. Controversy had originally arisen over a wage raise and the duration of the contract, but both counts have been decided with a one-year wage agreement. The union is to present the new deal to members today, and a decision is expected by Tuesday at the latest. The union has said it will call off the strike entirely if members agree to back the new proposal. South African officials worry however at the number of above-inflation-rate contracts recently ratified in the country, saying they will likely make it harder to weather the recession.
See "S. Africa platinum miner sees deal with union", James Macharia, Reuters, August 23, 2009