South African platinum producers could use Sibanye-Stillwater’s pay settlement with gold miners earlier this year as a benchmark in wage talks with labour unions, according to a person familiar with the matter. Following a five-month strike that was eventually declared illegal, Sibanye agreed to increase the pay of workers at its three gold mines by 5.5%. Sibanye’s agreement is viewed as a good proxy for what’s possible in the platinum industry as the cost structures are similar to deep-level gold mining, said the person, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.
