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The Congress of South African Trade Unions supports the striking workers at Sibanye led by our affiliated union, the NUM, and AMCU. The workers are demanding a salary increase of R1 000 per year for three years and are against Sibanye’s final offer of an increase of R700 each year for employees under categories 4 to 8. Miners, artisans, and officials were offered an increase of 5% in each of the three years against a worker's demand of 6%.  

 The current economic trends have unleashed very harsh conditions, especially for the working class and the poor, on top of the already severe COVID-19 crisis. We call on Sibanye to accede to the fair and reasonable demands of workers. The mining sector has benefited from the reopening of the economy from the COVID-19 lockdown. The commodity price hikes have boosted the sector and it’s only fair that some of that money should go to workers.   

More so after healthy dividends have been paid to shareholders in the mining sector and the CEOs of Sibanye and many other mining companies make more in one month than a mine worker will make in their entire career. 

Issued by COSATU