Some 110,000 South African striking gold miners received an improved wage offer from gold producers on Wednesday in a bid to end the sector's first industry-wide strike in 18 years.
The Chamber of Mines, which negotiates wages on behalf of gold mine owners in the world's top bullion producer, had offered a 6 to 7 percent wage raise, Solidariry trade union spokesman Reint Dyekama told Reuters.
"We will take this offer to our members. We are cautiously optimistic the end of the strike is in sight," Dyekama said.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Solidarity trade union, called the strike after rejecting the Chamber of Mines' previous offer of a 4.5 to 5.0 percent wage rise.
They had demanded a rise of between 10 and 12 percent.
The NUM started the strike on Sunday and were joined late on Monday by Solidarity. The unions have since said their point of reference for wages increases was between 7 and 8 percent.
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