Chamber of Mines: industrial action not necessarily a crisis

Chamber spokesman Vusi Mabena said: "We need to understand the causes of the industrial action that is taking place when we have existing wage agreements." He added that strikes were not taking place across the sector. They were restricted to platinum and possibly to gold.

It was a "serious generalisation" to say that the industry was in crisis. "When the strikes took place, the platinum industry was going through hard times," Mabena said. Independent Online reports that the spokesman said there were not enough buyers, and a task team from the government and industry had been investigating alternative markets in order for the platinum industry to be sustainable. "When the demand for a salary of R12 500 a month came in, there were already concerns about the sector," he said.

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