De Beers, which had offered to increase the wages of the South African-based National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) by 8.5 � 10 percent, appears to have backed from its word, leading to a possible strike at its marine-mining unit.

The Commisssion for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) will be addressing the issue and Peter Bailey, the NUM's Chief Negotiator mentioned that "We declared a dispute with the CCMA and our members are ready to take them on."