South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is planning to submit demands to the gold sector next week calling for a 75-percent hike in the basic pay for entry-level workers, according to union sources familiar with the matter.

"For the basic wage at the entry level, we are planning to demand a raise to 10,000 rand ($823) a month in the first year from 5,700 rand at present," said one NUM source, who asked not to be named. This was confirmed by a second source in the union.