Diamond Miners Strike over "Starvation Wages"
August 10, 23
(IDEX Online) - Diamond miners walked out on an indefinite strike at Ekapa, in Kimberley, South Africa, on Monday (7 August) to support their calls for a 17 per cent pay hike.
The National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) says its 700 members at the mine are being paid a "starvation wage".
The union's general secretary Irvin Jim said Ekapa had offered a 6.5 percent increase over the next three years.
"Ekapa has pleaded poverty and claims they cannot afford our demands. However, C band category workers were given 17 per cent increases," he told DFA, a news website for Kimberley and the Northern Cape.
"They have provoked this strike by paying workers low wages."
Ekapa's general manager Howard Marsden told DFA they'd proposed a fair and sustainable solution.
"Unfortunately, despite numerous opportunities and extensions provided, Numsa has failed to meet the deadlines set during the wage negotiation process," he said.
Pic courtesy Ekapa.