JOHANNESBURG--The strike at Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI) KDC mine
spread to a second operation, the company said Tuesday, as miners
at other major gold and platinum mines in the country continue
their industrial action for higher wages.
Gold Fields, South Africa's second-largest gold producer, said
that the strike at the west section of its KDC Gold Mine on the
West Rand continues and that workers from its Beatrix Mine in the
Free State also went on strike Sept. 21.
A spate of strikes have swept through the country's mining
sector since 3,000 rock drillers at platinum producer Lonmin PLC
(LMI.LN) stopped work at the mine Aug. 10 to demand higher wages.
The strike, which left 46 people dead in clashes between employees
and police, has since spread to other major gold and platinum
mines.
Lonmin settled its strike with an 11% to 22% pay rise but miners
at four of Anglo American Platinum Ltd. (AMS.JO) platinum works
continue to strike for higher wages, and 5,000 workers downed tools
at AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.'s (ANG.JO) Kopanang mine last week.
The strikes are destabilizing the sector, which employs some
300,000 people, and putting pressure on companies that say they are
already struggling with rising inflation for both labor and energy
costs. Miners aren't the lowest paid in the country but entry level
wages average between 5,000 rand a month and 6,000 rand a month,
according to the country's union federation Cosatu.
Lonmin lost more than 60,000 troy ounces of platinum output due
to its strike and Gold Fields said by the close of today it will
have lost about 20,000 ounces of gold production.
At the heart of the strikes is worker dissatisfaction with the
pace of change since the end of apartheid and frustration with
union leadership, particularly within the National Union of
Mineworkers. At Gold Fields' KDC mine, workers are demanding
leadership changes within the NUM. So far, the NUM hasn't been able
to broker a deal to end the strike.
Gold Fields and Anglo Platinum have the right to dismiss workers
because the strike wasn't sanctioned within the country's labor
laws. Anglo Platinum started meetings with workers Tuesday using
the state labor mediator while Gold Fields says it continues
"explore all options."
Write to Devon Maylie at devon.maylie@dowjones.com