Miners beg union to end South Africa’s longest strike

canada goose outlet reviews RUSTENBURG South Africa (Reuters) Workers and shop stewards from South Africa AMCU mining union begged leader Joseph Mathunjwa to sign a wage deal with three major platinum firms on Thursday at a mass rally crowning five months of crippling protest. canada Canada Goose online goose outlet reviews

canada goose outlet online As the longest strike in the 130 year history of South Africa mines showed its first signs of breaking, thousands of stick wielding buy canada goose jacket cheap miners cheered as a senior union official took the canada goose microphone to declare: Mathunjwa, sign. canada goose outlet online

canada goose outlet shop Another leader won a similar response when he bellowed: union has worked. We want this money. We come from hardships. AMCU has worked. We can take kids to school. Sign, Mathunjwa. canada goose outlet shop

canada goose outlet in usa Mathunjwa, a devout Christian and powerful orator who has become one of the fiercest canada goose uk outlet critics of the inequalities that still bedevil South Africa two decades after the end of apartheid, did not declare an official end to the strike but Canada Goose Outlet the reaction from the miners suggests it is near. canada goose outlet in usa

Moments before the canada goose factory sale rally started, the three platinum firms Canada Goose sale Anglo American Platinum, canada goose uk black friday Impala Platinum and Lonmin said they had reached principle undertakings with the leaders of the strike.

canada goose outlet new york city principles that underpin the proposals seek to achieve a sustainable future for the three platinum companies for the benefit of all stakeholders and to afford employees the best possible increase under the current financial circumstances, Lonmin said. canada https://www.canadagoosejacketsoutsale.com goose outlet new york city

canada goose outlet sale They did not disclose details of the offer in statements to the stock exchanges in canada goose coats on sale Johannesburg and London. canada goose outlet sale

canada goose factory outlet At first it looked as though the deal might fall through, with miners at the start of the meeting greeting the offer of uk canada goose outlet a 1,000 rand (55.5 pounds) per month increase with boos and jeers, shouting they mad? canada goose factory outlet

goose outlet canada The offer amounts to a pay hike of nearly 20 percent, but is only a fraction of the roughly 150 percent they were demanding when they first downed tools in January. goose outlet canada

canada goose outlet canada STEP FORWARD However, the workers changed their canada goose clearance tune during the meeting, to the relief of the platinum firms, who said a formal Canada Goose Coats On Sale deal should be signed in the next few days. canada goose outlet canada

canada goose outlet step forward in terms of the ground that was covered today by workers moderating their demands and the parties being close enough to hopefully sign a deal very, very soon, Implats spokesman Johan Theron told SAfm radio. canada goose outlet

canada goose outlet nyc Shares in Lonmin, the smallest of the big three platinum firms and the one under most pressure, jumped 9 percent. canada goose outlet canada goose coats nyc

canada goose jacket outlet Impala stock climbed 1.5 percent but gave up those gains to close flat on the buy canada goose jacket day. Anglo American Platinum ended 1.7 percent lower. canada goose jacket outlet

The rand, which has been hurt by the loss of canada goose clearance sale foreign currency mine revenue, rallied slightly and the spot price of platinum, used in jewellery and catalytic converters in vehicles, fell more than 2 percent.

canada goose outlet online uk South Africa is home to 80 percent of the world known platinum reserves and the strike has halted production at mines that usually account for 40 percent of global output of the precious metal. canada goose outlet online uk

canada goose outlet parka The strike by the 70,000 AMCU members began in January and dragged Africa most advanced economy into contraction in the first quarter as mining output fell at the steepest rate in half a century, and pulled manufacturing down with it. canada goose outlet parka

It also threatened to destabilise labour relations across South Africa as other groups, in particular the NUMSA metalworkers union, sharpened their rhetoric and pushed for strikes in pursuit of wage increases way above inflation.

canada goose canada goose black friday sale outlet canadian goose jacket store uk According to a website run by the three companies, the strike has so cheap canada goose uk far cost them 22 billion rand (1.22 billion pounds) in revenue, while workers have missed out on nearly 10 billion rand in canada goose outlet wages. canada goose outlet store uk

canada goose outlet jackets AMCU burst onto the scene in 2012 when it emerged as the biggest union on the canada goose store platinum belt after a bloody turf war with the established National Union of Mineworkers. canada goose outlet jackets

official canada goose outlet It hit international headlines in August of that year when 34 of its members, on a wildcat strike at Lonmin Marikana mine, were gunned down by police in the most deadly confrontation since the end Canada Goose Parka of apartheid in 1994 official canada goose outlet.