S Africa ‘cannot afford’ more strikes

South Africa’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says the country cannot afford another round of labor unrest in the platinum industry, as the sector’s main trade union plans to stage a strike over payments.

“We can least afford another round of strikes” in “the platinum sector, which has had increasing difficulties over the last 18 months,” said Gordhan in a Monday interview with national broadcaster SAFM.

He also said that “the platinum industry needs to seriously get around the table.”

This comes as members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to stage a new strike over wages.

AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa said workers would walk out on January 23 at the world’s top three platinum producer, namely Anglo American Platinum Amplats, Lonmin and Impala Platinum in the northwestern city of Rustenburg.

The union is seeking a minimum monthly wage of 12,500 rand, about USD 1,200, for entry-level workers, which is more than double the current salary.

The platinum companies have, however, rejected the calls, saying they cannot afford to increase the wages to the demanded amount.

South Africa’s mining sector has been paralyzed by a series of wildcat strikes over the miners’ low pays since August, 2012. Dozens of people have also so far been killed in strike-related violence.

The strikes have damaged South Africa’s reputation as an investment destination.

South Africa possesses nearly 80 percent of the world’s known platinum reserves. The country’s mining sector directly employs around 500,000 people and accounts for nearly one-fifth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).