South African Strike Spreads to Diamond Sector

Reuters reports that workers at diamond giant De Beers in South Africa said on Wednesday they would go on strike this week, and negotiations in the coal-mining sector have reached a deadlock:

Unions and employers across South Africa are locked in mid-year wage bargaining, known as "strike season", and many labour groups are seeking increases well above the country's 4.6 percent inflation rate.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) wants a 15 percent rise in wages, while De Beers, 45 percent owned by mining firm Anglo American, has offered 7.5 percent and a one-off payment of 2,500 rand.

Unions said they would strike from Friday.

"The offers are totally unacceptable to us. We totally reject these," said Peter Bailey, NUM's chief negotiator at De Beers.

Source: Reuters.

The strikes just might be effective. Since 2008, miners, factory workers and steelworkers have used them to win pay rises averaging more than 10 percent a year.

Read more at Reuters.

In other news: Meet Michele Bachmann's 'Ex-Lesbian' Friend.