Union, De Beers agree on 9% wage hike

South African workers at De Beers, the world’s top diamond producer, have agreed to a pay rise of 9% and dropped a demand for more because the industry has been hit by the global crisis, their union said on Friday.

The National Union of Mineworkers, South Africa’s biggest mining union, had originally wanted 15%. That compared with the most recent inflation figure of 8%.

The deal comes as workers in the gold sector are gearing up for a national strike because discussions have failed to deliver the pay rise they seek.

There have also been a rash of strikes and threats of industrial action in other industries.

Peter Bailey, chief negotiator of the union, said De Beers also agreed to a minimum wage of R5 000 per month.

Bailey said the union had to make a compromise, given that the diamond industry was one of the hardest hit by the global financial crisis.

“We agreed that De Beers should carry at least the inflationary burden ... but we need De Beers to survive because our members need to maintain their jobs and therefore had to make a significant compromise,” he told Reuters.

De Beers is 45 % owned by global miner Anglo American.—Reuters