Wage talks in South Africas gold mining sector, held under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration CCMA in Johannesburg, have collapsed and strike action in the sector looms.On Wednesday, the employers, the Chamber of Mines, gave unions a revised offer, which the National Union of Mineworkers NUM and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union Amcu have formally rejected.

The Chamber of Mines had given the unions a 12 pm deadline to either reject or accept the offer. The spokesperson for gold producers, Charmaine Russel, said Thursday the implications of the rejection of the offer by the two unions, could spell disaster for the industry.The NUM has confirmed that their members will embark on industrial action next week.Union Solidarity has accused employers in the gold sector of negotiating in bad faith. It says employers have created the biggest labour relations dispute in the countrys history.

Employers were scheduled to meet with the union Thursday morning to negotiate further but Solidaritys General Secretary, Gideon du Plessis, said they were made to wait for two hours and were later issued with a certificate of non-resolution without any explanation.Meanwhile, workers at Petra Diamond Mine in Kimberley in Northern Cape Province have become the latest group to down tools on Thursday. They are demanding a 15 per cent salary increase while management is offering 10 per cent.More than 250 NUM members picketed outside the mine, while brandishing placards and trade mark sticks.Thursdays strike action came after talks between the workers and management deadlocked last week.NUMs Kimberley branch chairperson Michael Mabele said the workers were looking for 6,500 Rand about 629 USD as a minimum wage, 100 per cent medical aid and then again 15 per cent for those who are already on the R6,500 scale, but the employer had rejected the proposed terms.

The mines communications manager, Gert Klopper, said the strike had negatively affected production. Klopper said whenever there was industrial action it would impact on operations and they did not have exact numbers available now.Whatever strike action the unions embark upon will affect operations and there will be a major impact on the economy, he said.

via BERNAMA – Wage Talks In South Africas Gold Mining Sector Collapse, Strike Looms.