Just last week South African AMCU members had turned out in the thousands to call for an agreement with the world?s three biggest platinum suppliers, but it has just been reported that the union has issued new demands and that the strike may drag on. The AMCU is asking for a payment of approximately $270 for each of the 70,000 workers out on strike and for Lonmin to reinstate 235 workers who were dismissed during protests. The union has also demanded that starting wages be nearly tripled to 12,500 rand or $1,153 per month, but would allow several years of increases to reach that point. The platinum mining companies are calling the new demands ?unaffordable? and ?problematic? and signal to shareholders and the South African Government that a deal may be farther off than previously thought.
See "South Africa?s Platinum Mines Say Striking Union Makes New Demands", Devon Maylie, The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2014