Strike closes South African gold mines

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Interesting development in South Africa, which is seen in the Aquarius rising chart rectified by Jorge. Currently six planets are transiting the sixth and eight houses of strife and obstacles.

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C

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- About 100,000 South African gold miners, demanding higher wages, stayed off work Monday in the country's first industry-wide strike in 18 years bringing mines in the world's biggest bullion producer to a standstill.The gold miners' strike is the latest and biggest industrial action in recent weeks in a country plagued by huge income gaps between the rich and mostly black poor, more than a decade after the end of apartheid."The strike is 100 percent countrywide, all our people, about 100,000 of them are on strike," Gwede Mantashe, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told Reuters.The strike started across the country on Sunday at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT)."It seems all the gold mines have come to a standstill," Chamber of Mines head negotiator Frans Barker told Reuters.The miners' strike had paralyzed the South African mines of AngloGold, fourth-ranked Gold

Fields, sixth-placed Harmony Gold and South Deep, Barker said.He said the chamber, which negotiates wages on behalf of gold producers, estimated a daily loss of around 40,000 ounces of gold production and 130 million rand ($20.17 million) in lost revenue per day due to the strike."There are no formal talks going on for now. NUM is still considering the latest wage offers by two of the gold miners," Barker said.

 

South Africa's gold industry accounts for around 15 percent of total global output. Statistics South Africa said on Monday the mining sector contributed 6.6 percent to the nation's gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2005.Unions are demanding a wage increase of between 10 and 12 percent.In 11th-hour talks on Sunday, the world's No. 2 gold producer AngloGold Ashanti and South Deep, a joint venture of South Africa's Western Areas and Canada's Placer Dome offered wage hikes of between 5.25 and 6.5 percent, the NUM said.Miners, who descend more than 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) underground to drill ore in sweltering narrow tunnels, typically earn 2,500-3,000 rand ($387-$464) per month.'Painful timing'

I don't think the industry can afford a strike, but am absolutely convinced the industry cannot afford the wages increases. -- Bernard Swanepoel, Harmony GoldThe NUM's Mantashe said the union would seekout the views of its members on improved offers and respond later on Monday.South Africa's Harmony Gold Chief Executive Officer Bernard Swanepoel said the strike was painful to the industry, but added that union wage demands were unaffordable to the industry."Obviously there will be continued discussions. As an industry this is very painful timing, this is obviously not what we wanted," Swanepoel said."I don't think the industry can afford a strike, but am absolutely convinced the industry cannot afford the wages increases."The strike has so far had little impact on spot gold prices in London. By 11:30 a.m. GMT spot gold was at $436.75/437.50 an ounce, down modestly from New York's late quote on Friday

at 437.60/438.30."Although still the world's largest producer, South African output is now less than one ton a day, and in a market which is dominated by currency considerations, such a loss is unlikely to impact the price, we believe," HSBC gold analyst Alan Williamson said in a report.The failed wage gold sector talks are symptomatic of wider discontent in South Africa, hit by a wave of often violent work stoppages from municipal workers, supermarket clerks and a six-day stoppage by employees of the national airline.Local media said workers at the tax-collecting South African Revenue Services were considering industrial action.Gold stocks weakened on Monday in the wake of the action, with the JSE Securities Exchange's gold sector down as much as 2.3 percent, but later recovered to 0.6 percent lower.Two unions called the strike after rejecting the latest offer by the Chamber of Mines, of a 4.5 to 5.0 percent wage rise plus bonus

payments.The Solidarity union with about 10,000 members will join the strike just before midnight Monday.A third 15,000-strong union, mostly made up of supervisory staff would decide later on Monday if it would join the strike.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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