After the reported outbreak of strikes at the Marikana platinum mine, it has been reported that workers of the Kopanang gold mine, owned by AngloGold Ashanti, followed up as well. The workers were demanding to be paid double the wage they are currently paid, boosting it up to 12,500 rand (C$1470) per month.
As stated in the previous article, the South African minimum wage is reported to be 1067 to 1167 rand a month, accompanied with the 24% unemployment rate, there’s no doubt that Anglogold can do what President Reagan did, issue an ultimatum and force the workers to come back. However, is this really the best strategy?
If the miners were to be called back to work without any change in their wages, the public image Anglogold built, “leaving communities better off”, will certainly contradict to their actions. Therefore, this is a choice between PR, the welfare of the miners, and firm revenue. Although the main goal of a business is profit maximization, it is just as important to sustain the earnings to make a long term profit. The head of Anglogold should communicate with the head of the union, this could be a great chance to reach mutual agreement between management and labour.