Strikers settle with Northam Platinum in S.Africa

Workers signed a new wage deal with Northam Platinum in South Africa to end an over-ten week strike, their union said Friday.

“Our members have unanimously accepted the offer,” said National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesman Patrick Craven in a statement.

All of NUM’s members — around 80 percent of the firm’s 7,000-workforce — downed tools last November.

The new deal won them wage increases up to 11.8 percent, according to the union.

The union hailed the agreement as a triumph, though the raises were far lower than the 43 percent that the firm said workers had initially sought.

Northam produces 300,000 ounces a year, around five percent of the global output.

It is one of the few mines where NUM still has majority status, after upstart union AMCU pushed it from the top position at top global producers present in South Africa.

AMCU said Thursday it would strike at two — Lonmin and Impala Platinum — for increases of more than double what it says workers are currently earning.