The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union in South Africa plans to ask the country's top gold producers to consider a $950 monthly minimum wage for miners in upcoming negotiations - an increase that can put that "can put the worker in a better place", said the president of the second largest union for producers AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Sibanye Gold Ltd. and Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. The union will also ask for increased benefits that include severance pay and longer maternity leaves, as well as replacing the shift system with a five-day work week. Gold mines in South Africa involve the most labor intensive work in the world, due to the mines' depth and age. With an unemployment rate of 27%, jobs cuts create political pressure even as mine owners struggle to cut costs.
See "South Africa Union Seeks 12,500 Rand Minimum for Gold Miners", Paul Burkhardt, Ntando Thukwana, and Odwa Mjo, Bloomberg Business, June 11, 2018