JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Friday that its members would down tools at De Beers' South African operations on Sunday, over a dispute about wages.

The workers are demanding a 15% wage increase, while the diamond company is offering an 8% hike, the union stated.

"Close to 3 000 workers will commence an indefinite industrial action this Sunday to support their demands," said the NUM chief negotiator at De Beers, Peter Bailey.

The NUM claimed that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) had issued it with a certificate of nonresolution. But the world's biggest diamond miner dismissed the statement, saying that negotiations were still under way.

"De Beers confirms that it is currently in negotiation in the CCMA with the NUM. It is therefore a fact that no certificate of nonresolution has been issued to it by the CCMA," it said in a statement.

De Beers said it was confident that it offered its employees fair packages, which were "competitive in the diamond-mining industry and ahead of many other sectors in the economy".

"The company is keen to amicably settle the current wage negotiations without any disruption to the economy, or to the lives of its employees," it said.

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