By Devon Maylie
JOHANNESBURG--Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) Monday said the illegal
strike at its KDC gold mine has spread to the west section, halting
production and signaling further contagion of the sometimes violent
unrest hitting South Africa's mining sector.
About 15,000 workers staged an illegal strike Monday at the west
section of the mine, located in the West Rand area in the northeast
of the country, following similar action at the east side last
week, the company said. Last week's strike had been prompted by an
internal union dispute, but that was resolved for those workers and
production was resumed on Thursday. The company said the
west-section workers could be striking for similar reasons, and
will meet with striking worker representatives later on Monday. The
KDC west section produces about 1,440 troy ounces of gold a
day.
South Africa's mining sector is reeling from a series of strikes
over the past month that have resulted in 44 deaths and hit
production of metals such as gold and platinum. The unrest has also
exposed deep rifts in the country's labor movement, threatening to
bring about a spread of work stoppages and output disruptions as
new unions recruit for members and worker frustrations are fanned
by different political groups.
The strikes started on Aug. 10, when 3,000 rock drillers downed
tools at Lonmin PLC's (LMI.LN) Marikana mine. Workers clashed in
the following days, resulting in 10 deaths, before police fired
live ammunition into a crowd of the protesters on Aug. 16, killing
another 34 people. Further strikes have also been held at Anglo
American Platinum Ltd.'s (AMS.JO) Thembelani mine, when several
hundred workers refused to go underground in mid-August, while
operations at a Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd. mine were halted
briefly at the same time. Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. said it too
has received a renewed wage demand from its workers last week
following a similar strike that shut its largest mine for six weeks
in February.
The Lonmin strike has cost the company about 50,000 ounces of
platinum output, and despite efforts backed by the government to
broker an end to the illegal action, many workers remain away.
Lonmin and some of the unions signed a deal to end the violence and
have workers return by Monday, but the company said only about 6.3%
of employees showed up at the mine. Lonmin said Monday it will also
begin discussions over the workers' wage demands.
At the heart of many of the strikes are worker grievances around
pay and the slow pace of change at the mines since the end of
apartheid. Taking advantage of those sentiments, an emerging union
called the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union has
been actively recruiting at the mines with promises to get workers
higher pay. That has sparked clashes and internal disputes at the
country's largest mine union, the National Union of Mineworkers, an
ally of the country's ruling African National Congress.
Gold Fields said during the strike at the east section of KDC
last week that workers told mine management they wanted new NUM
leaders.
Write to Devon Maylie at devon.maylie@dowjones.com