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10 September, 2005
The first industry-wide industrial strike in the South African gold sector in 18 years ended on 10 August when an improved wage offer was accepted by the members of ICEM affiliate National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and two other smaller unions. Taking part in a strike for which the support was so overwhelming that there was no need for a picket line, around 110,000 workers had stayed of work, affecting all large enterprises in the sector, such as Goldfields, Harmony and AngloGold Ashanti. The compromise was reached between the South African Chamber of Mines, negotiating on behalf of the gold companies, and the trade unions, agreeing on a pay rise between 6 and 7%.