Gaddafi Mdoda, a leader representing workers at Anglo American Platinum, said the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was struggling to survive in the face of a daily exodus of workers from the union who felt they were better off championing their own interests. Mdoda said unions were getting too big a slice of the workers' income. He said NUM was deducting sums of R68, R90 and R150 a month for different levels of employees. He claimed that union leaders often received incentives from management to avoid strike action. He added that it was unacceptable that there were workers who had been employed for periods of three to nine years yet were still under contract and not employed on a permanent basis. Workers at Angloplat are seeking a basic, all-inclusive salary of R16 070 a month for the lowest level of worker. However, they did indicate they were willing to negotiate but would most likely stop at a minimum level of R13 000.