JOHANNESBURG, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Striking workers in South Africa have accepted a new wage offer by coal producers, paving way to end a crippling strike in the coal sector, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Tuesday.
The strike, which began more than one week agao, would come to end soon once the deal was signed later Tuesday, the union said.
"Naturally, this is the end of the strike. The parties have agreed to a full and final settlement," NUM chief negotiator Peter Bailey said.
The Chamber of Mines, which represent coal producers, said earlier in the day that they put a new offer on the table, under which most category 4-8 employees could receive wage increases, staggered over a period of time, of between 750 rand (about 57 U.S. dollars) and 1,000 rand per month in year one and guaranteed increases of 7.5 percent in year two.
Most employees in the higher categories could receive increases of between five percent and 7.5 percent in both years.
Increases to the living out allowance and housing allowance will vary from company-to-company.
"The offer on the table is significant and at the limit of what is affordable," said Motsamai Motlhamme, head of Employment Relations of the Chamber of Mines.
More than 30,000 workers downed tools on Oct. 4 to press their demand for higher pay in a fresh wave of labour unrest that is hitting the sector hard.
The strike came as the country is facing a severe shortage of electricity, resulting in load shedding for almost one year. South Africa relies heavily on coal for electricity. Power stations have been forking out billions of rand to buy diesel to keep the lights on due to the shortage of coal.
Coal mining in South Africa produces enough coal to account for 94 percent of its energy production, according to the Chamber of Mines.
South Africa is one of the world's biggest coal exporters and the industry directly employs close to 90,000 people.
