Pay Strike At AngloGold Mine Halts Production

A strike action declared by workers of the AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU) in a pay dispute has brought production at the company's mine at Obuasi to a standstill Wednesday, union officials said Wednesday.

The Ghana Mine Workers' Union says it will call for a nationwide strike if their demands for an improvement in the pay structure aren't met.

"The National Executive Council has taken a serious view of the wide salary inequalities existing between expatriates and some top Ghanaian management and other staff in the mining industry," General Secretary Prince William Ankrah said in a statement.

"The remuneration of AngloGold Ashanti executives is 289 times as high as the lowest-paid mineworker, who risks his life on the job."

The statement said that while the average expatriate salary is $19,586 a month, Ghanaian senior officers earn $711 a month doing a comparable job.

Officials of the company confirmed the strike action was taking place but refused to give any more details besides saying "we are negotiating with the workers."