Johannesburg - Further doubt was cast on the government’s ability to rein in the mining industry yesterday with the increasingly errant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s (Amcu) refusal to sign the framework agreement for a sustainable mining industry.
The framework agreement is to be entered into by the government, organised labour and business.
The latest initiative by the state, which was delegated to Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, is an effort to help the industry battle increasing cost pressures, softening commodity prices and slow demand among other problems.
This attempt follows a peace agreement brokered by Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu in February, which failed spectacularly, even though it had the endorsement of all the parties involved, including Amcu.
Even as all other stakeholders made the commitment yesterday, Amcu delayed and said that it would consult its membership first.
A meeting prior to the signing of the agreement reportedly dragged on for more than three hours as Amcu had introduced preconditions to its commitment.
These are understood to include the reinstatement of 1 000 workers axed at Glencore Xstrata’s South African chrome mines and the jobs lost at the Vaal River operations of AngloGold Ashanti last year.
The union also required a retraction by Minister for Higher Education Blade Nzimande of his comments that Amcu was a vigilante union and were liars.
“The pact is really meaningless without Amcu,” Nomura International emerging markets economist Peter Attard Montalto said yesterday.
Motlanthe said Amcu’s refusal to sign the agreement was not a setback, as it was required to go back and consult its members.
“They are not going to contest the content of the document, but they want a mandate from their members before they sign,” Motlanthe said.
Asked how soon Amcu would sign, Motlanthe said: “We are expecting Amcu to revert back to us sooner than yesterday.”
The pact committed parties to the improvement of the social conditions of areas that provided labour.
It also bound parties to the transformation of the mining value chain, including the local beneficiation of minerals and broad-based ownership.
It sets out processes that will see all parties working together to ensure the stability of the mines, according to a statement.
The “government will act decisively to enforce the rule of law, maintain peace during strikes and other protests relating to labour disputes, ensure protection of life, property and the advancement of the rights of all”, it said.
To ensure that the terms of the pact are implemented, Motlanthe will convene quarterly meetings and parties will meet should the need arise.
Falling precious metal prices and higher costs have squeezed gold and platinum producers, which also face demands from labour unions to double wages for entry-level workers.
Bheki Sibiya, the chief executive of the South African Chamber of Mines, said more than half of the country’s gold and platinum operations were in loss-making positions. - Additional reporting by Bloomberg