An AMCU strike is possible with Amplats, a unit of Anglo American Platinum, as the mining workers union has declared a wage dispute.
A government mediator has been introduced to the negotiations, and will try to help the parties resolve the labor issues.
The matter was referred to the mediator “because wage talks have deadlocked,” AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa told Reuters.
AMCU, or South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, is the majority union in the mines in the country.
Anglo American Platinum is the world’s leading producer of platinum group metals, accounting for about 40 percent of the world’s newly mined platinum. Its headquartered in Johannesburg.
If the mediator can’t resolve the issue, then the mediator could issue a “certificate of non-resolution,” which allows the union to declare a strike.
AMCU has just announced it voted to strike with Implats, the second-largest mining company in the country, but hasn’t given the required 48-hour notice yet.
The union went on an 11-day strike recently that cost Amplats nearly 1 billion rand ($103 million) in lost revenue, reported Reuters, but the company said in a statement that its customers weren’t affected because of the company’s inventory.
