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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s Chamber of Mines says it has agreed with gold-mining companies and the National Union of Mineworkers to raise miners’ monthly salaries by up to 500 rand (about $57).
The Chamber of Mines, representing mine owners, said Thursday that the raises are in addition to the 8 percent to 10 percent pay increases that mineworkers got in July, weeks before wildcat strikes hit South Africa’s platinum and gold mines.
The raises fall far short of what most strikers are demanding: 16,000 rand (about $1,800) in monthly pay. Most miners currently earn about 4,000 rand ($500).
The National Union of Mineworkers is increasingly reviled by miners who charge it is too close to mine owners. The offer comes as mine owners warn strikers to return to work or be fired.
