JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The striking workers at Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine in the Northern Cape are demanding a monthly salary of R15 000, the JSE-listed company reported on Friday.

Representatives of a group of 300 striking employees met with mine management for the first time late on Thursday to deliver their demand for a salary increase.

Kumba concluded a two-year wage agreement with organised labour two months ago, which made provision for an above-inflation increase of between 9% and 12%.

Permanent staff below management level also benefited from Envision, an employee share scheme, that paid out R2.7-billion to 6 209 members at its first maturity date in December 2011.

“Each Envision scheme member who had been employed by the company since its market listing in 2006 received a pretax cash payout of almost R570 000 at the time,” the company stated.

Envision scheme members also receive dividends twice a year, which amounted to R33 675 a member in 2012.

Kumba suspended production at Sishen mine on Thursday as the strikers blocked access to the pit, creating an unsafe environment for mining operations. Sishen employs about 12 700 workers.

Kumba said it had sufficient production from its other mines and stockpiles of finished product to continue supplying its customers for some time.