Some South African gold miners have ended their strike and are heading back to work after 3 days of industrial action in pursuit higher wages, a union and major gold producer have confirmed.
"The strike is partially over," Lesiba Seshoka, a spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said. He did not indicate how many workers had returned.
Sibanye Gold said workers at its Kloof mine near Johannesburg ended a strike last night and that it hoped workers at its Beatrix mine in the Free State province would return today. "With our Driefontein operation running smoothly throughout the strike, the return of workers to Kloof will bring our production up to about 80%," Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said.
The NUM workers launched the strike on Tuesday night over wages. A day later, 2 junior producers signed agreements for lower-than-expected wage hikes, bolstering confidence the strike could soon be over. Reuters