Anglo’s Cutifani Says Platinum Pay Fight on Wages Inevitable

Anglo American Plc’s four-month battle with a labor union at its South African platinum mines was inevitable because the demands by workers are too costly, Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani said.

“What’s being asked, for us is unsustainable,” Cutifani said yesterday in a speech in London. “And at the same time, the productivity in the platinum sector is one tenth the productivity in the Australian mining sector and we are paying one fifth of the wages.”