The world's richest woman, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, has sparked a political storm by saying that Australian workers should take a wage cut to be more competitive with African workers on $2 a day.
In a rare public appearance, Gina Rinehart said in a video posted on the website of the Sydney Mining Club that Australians should not be complacent about mining investment when African workers were willing to work for $2 a day.
"Business as usual will not do. Not when west African competitors can offer our biggest customers an average capital cost for a tonne of iron ore that is 100 dollars under the price offered by the merging producer in the Pilbara.
"Furthermore, Africans want to work and its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day," said Ms Rinehart, who was worth an estimated $18 billion in February according to Forbes.
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