(Reuters) – Anglo American Plc’s De Beers is confident ongoing talks with South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will avert a wage strike at Venetia, the country’s largest diamond mine, the company said on Friday.
On Tuesday, NUM, South Africa’s biggest mineworkers’ union, said it was planning a strike at Venetia, as De Beers could only offer a 6% pay increase against demands for a 9% hike.
The strike by NUM’s 1,500 workers would impact operations at Venetia’s new $2.3 billion underground operations, which started production in July. De Beers stopped its 30-year open pit operations at Venetia in December 2022.
In a statement, De Beers said it held a meeting with NUM representatives on Sept.6, facilitated by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), a statutory body that mediates labour disputes.
“We are confident that through continued engagement with the union and our employees we will reach a sustainable settlement with the NUM,” De Beers said.
The miner said the diamond industry is facing “challenging market conditions” impacting its business.
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NUM was not immediately available for comment.
De Beers said it was pursuing a five-year wage deal with workers to provide operational certainty amid the transition to underground mining which targets annual production of 4 million carats, the equivalent of 12% of the group’s forecast output for 2023.
(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Sharon Singleton)