South African gold miners began a strike on Thursday. The mine, which employs about 5,000 people, said that they had not heard from the workers as to what their demands were. The union that officially represents the workers said that they would meet with the workers and tell them to return to work. However, many miners, like those at the Marikana platinum mine, as choosing to ignore their unions and strike for better wages. The Marikana miners won a 22% pay increase. Companies say that they cannot afford the pay increases that workers are demanding, and that they have to remove union leaders through proper procedures.
See "Gold strikes spread in South Africa; warrant issued for firebrand politician", The Associated Press, The Washington Post, September 23, 2012