As many South African workers returned to the mines under a threat of being fired, the official representative of the workers, that National Union of Mineworkers, said that they had reached agreements with the gold industry to raise wages between 1.5-10.8% for workers. Around 100,000 miners have participated in strikes since August, costing the economy over $1 billion. While some mines said that the majority of their workers had returned, some said that they had fired workers who did not return. Platinum miners are continuing their strike, with one company firing 12,000 workers.
See "South Africa union agrees gold mine pay deal as most strikers return", Sherilee Lakmidas, Reuters, October 24, 2012