RBM agrees on a pay deal to stop strike

Richards Bay Minerals, a Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton joint venture, says it has tentatively agreed on a pay deal with workers to end a week-long strike.

RBM spokesman Nthabiseng Motsepe said it was still unclear when the striking workers would return to work.

"The strike has stopped and we are just trying to see when workers will return to work. A meeting is currently on to finalise the nitty-gritty," she said.

National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said RBM improved its pay offer for next year and 2012, but that a decision was yet to be taken whether to accept the offer.

Seshoka said Richards Bay Minerals had stuck to its 8% wage offer for this year, but proposed an average 8.5% pay rise for the next two years, up from its previous 8% offer, depending on the rate of inflation in South Africa. South Africa's inflation rate slowed to a four-year low of 3.7% in July.

Separately, Northam Platinum, which produced 321475 ounces of platinum group metals in the year to June, said a planned strike by NUM members could hurt its production.

"(Northam) is considering its position. The union's demands are rather high," spokesman Marion Brower told Reuters.

"It (strike) will have an impact on production, depending on how long it lasts," she said.

The country has been hit by a wave of strikes and strike threats, which have led to above-inflation settlements.