South Africa gold miners on strike at Anglo

 

The strike comes a day after workers at the Marikana mine returned to work

Workers at a South African gold mine have begun a wildcat strike - the latest labour unrest in the country's vital mining industry.

The strikers at the Kopanang mine, which employs 5,000 staff, reportedly want their pay to more than double to 12,500 rand ($1,513; £935) a month.
The strike comes a day after miners at the Marikana platinum complex returned to work after reaching a pay deal.
South Africa is one of the world's biggest producer of precious metals.
It holds 80% of the world's known platinum reserves and is the fourth largest gold exporter.
Some 15,000 workers employed by Gold Fields are already on strike.
A South African mining analyst from Mineweb told the BBC that about 7% of South Africa's gold production is affected by the industrial unrest.
'Setting precedent' The latest industrial action began overnight at the Kopanang mine, south-west of Johannesburg.
"The night shift embarked on an unprotected strike... and the morning shift didn't go down either," said Alan Fine, a spokesman for the AngloGold Ashanti-owned mine.
It is believed that the mine accounts for about 20% of the company's production in South Africa.
The strikers' demands mirror those of the Marikana employees, who in the end settled for a much lower pay rise of 11-22% with their Lonmin owner.
South African Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus has expressed concern that the Marikana agreement could set a precedent for future wage demands in the mining sector, leading the inflation rate to rise from its current 5%.
The Marikana was the scene of violent protests in which 46 people died.
An investigation is under way into the deaths of the miners, 34 of whom were shot by police.