New labour threat looms after South Africa's longest strike ends

By Joe Brock
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The end of South Africa's longest strike will provide respite for its troubled platinum sector, but the stranglehold unions have over a flatlining economy has not loosened and more industrial action is looming.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) signed a wage deal on Tuesday with Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum and Impala Platinum to end a five-month stoppage that dragged Africa's most developed economy into contraction. [ID:nL6N0P420A]
Around 70,000 strikers can now return to mines that account for 40 percent of global platinum output. But production could take years to reach pre-strike levels, while some shafts are unlikely to re-open and job losses are inevitable, Lonmin says.
AMCU is also pushing for a strike in the gold sector although a labour court has so far blocked those attempts.
"There is little sense of relief among investors or the public since the propensity for strikes will continue," said labour economist Loane Sharp at Johannesburg consultancy Adcorp. "The long-term prospects for the mining sector are bleak."
The strike has cost platinum producers 24 billion rand ($2.3 billion) in lost revenues and miners 10 billion rand in unpaid salaries, according to the firms.
Standard & Poor's downgraded its credit rating on South Africa last month, partly due to the platinum dispute.