South African miners agree 22% pay rise to end strike

Representatives of three unions, strikers not represented by any union and the company signed the deal late on Tuesday night.

Lonmin agreed to pay 11,078 rand (£830) a month to rock drill operators and to make a one-off payment of 2,000 rand (£150) to all miners.

The company said the agreement included a previously agreed upon 9-10 per cent raise for certain employees in October and addressed the issue of promotions for some workers.

Lonmin executive manager for human capital Abey Kgotle said the workers had agreed to return to work on Thursday and production would resume in a matter of weeks.

"Mission accomplished" was the message inscribed in black ink on the hand of one striker in a crowd of thousands addressed by mediator Bishop Seoka on Tuesday.

"You have won as workers!" he told them as they cheered, sang and danced.

The strike had spread to gold and chrome mines and cost the country at least £300 million according to President Jacob Zuma.

Media coverage of miners living in tin shacks without electricity or running water has highlighted government failure to force the mining companies to live up to the provisions of laws which link mining licences to social conditions.

The country's 2002 Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act laid out duties for mining companies operating in the country regarding the rights and living conditions of their workers which they have uniformly failed to meet.

On Monday, trade union federation Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini warned that government failures could bring down the ruling party.

He said that 30 million of South Africa's 48 million people still survived on less than 10 rand (75p) a day.

"Workers are simply saying that 'we produce the wealth and we want our reasonable share' and they expect to be given a fair share," he said.

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