Coal mine workers in South Africa will delay a strike that was planned to start Sunday, November 19, after bilateral offers were made on wage increases, the National Union of Mine Workers (NUM) told S&P Global Platts Thursday.
The NUM, which is representing the mine workers, had previously announced its intention to serve the Chamber of Mines with a 48-hour strike notice Thursday, to be followed by a nationwide strike beginning November 19 and lasting indefinitely until the higher wages demanded by the NUM were met.
However, a spokesman for the NUM told Platts that some coal producers in South Africa have made bilateral offers to the workers.
Negotiations will reconvene Monday as the NUM will not accept any offers on a mine-by-mine basis and is demanding a centralized agreement.
The Chamber of Mines collectively represents coal producers Anglo American Coal, Delmas Coal, Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga, Glencore, Kangra Coal, Koornfontein Mines and Msobo Coal.
The NUM is currently demanding a one-off Rand 1,100 ($78) payment for workers for 2017, an 8% pay rise for 2018 and 9% for 2019.
A spokesman from the Chamber of Mines confirmed that it has yet to receive any strike notice.