Pretoria - South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday rejected the gold industry's wage hike offer of up to 17 percent, days after a rival union also dismissed the proposed increase, setting the stage for protracted negotiations.
“We rejected the offer,” said Joseph Montisetsi, the deputy president of the NUM, the biggest union in the gold sector by membership.
South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) on Sunday rejected the offer.
Meanwhile, earlier on Wednesday, the Solidarity union said its members would likely accept the latest wage increase offer from gold producers.
Gideon du Plessis, the general secretary for Solidarity - which represents high-skilled workers - said its members wanted a “few tweaks” to the offer, but that overall they would “most likely accept” it.
REUTERS