World's Top Platinum Miners Brace for ‘Substantial’ Wage Demands
- Labor union to present demands for 3-year wage deal on Friday
- Higher palladium and rhodium prices to fuel worker expecations
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South African platinum producers are preparing for significant wage demands as workers eye windfall earnings from a rally in metal prices.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union is meeting its members across the country’s so-called Platinum Belt this week, before presenting demands on Friday to seven producers, including Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Sibanye Gold Ltd., and Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Secretary General Jeffrey Mphahlele said. The largest and most militant labor organization in the industry is aware that higher palladium and rhodium prices, plus a weaker rand, have boosted miners’ profits.