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JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - South African unions in the coal sector have rejected revised wage offers in pay talks, officials said on Tuesday.
"All the unions have rejected the offer and the commissioners are still trying to mediate," said Peter Bailey, who is representing the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the biggest of the four unions, in the talks.
Workers want pay increases of up to 15 percent and the NUM is seeking a 50 percent rise for its lowest paid workers, who make 6,000 rand ($445) a month in basic pay.
The Chamber of Mines, which represents Glencore GLEN.L , Anglo American Coal AAL.L and Exxaro EXXJ. , raised its offer for lower-paid miners last week to between 6 and 7 percent, depending on the mine and category of worker, from a previous offer of 5.5 to 6.5 percent. ID:nL5N11F3O8
More highly skilled and higher-paid workers were offered raises of 4.5 to 5 percent.
The talks come at a time when producers are closing some shafts in the wake of lower coal prices and, if mediation fails, it could set the stage for potential strikes. ($1 = 13.4995 rand)