Dineo Faku
Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) was conducting an independent verification process to determine the support of unions at its operations as it rejected the perception that it was responsible for triggering the wave of labour unrest that crippled the local mining industry, chairman Khotso Mokhele said yesterday.
Mokhele said there would be a lot of soul searching in the company’s boardroom on ways to improve labour relations. Implats lost 120 000 ounces of production and R2.9 billion when 17 000 employees when on an unprotected six-week long strike between January and February.
Mokhele said operations were back to 80 percent production, but because of unrest at neighbouring mines it was difficult for any operation to remain 100 percent settled.
The strikes in the platinum sector had changed the dynamics in the labour relations of the company and the mining sector.
“You deal with it by acknowledging when you are confronted with a new problem, there must be a willingness to have new solutions.”
Implats lost 510 000 tons of mined ore in the first half of the year as a result of safety stoppages and there had been 71 notices issued, which resulted in a loss of 292 days up from 173 last year.
Mokhele said Implats was positive that under the leadership of new chief executive Terence Goodlace it would weather the challenges in the sector.
Five people were killed and 86 others were injured during the strike in which its cash position was reduced to R600 million from R4.5bn.
The unrest spread to Lonmin’s Marikana mine where more than 50 people were killed.
Implats awarded a 4.8 percent wage increase in September following an 18 percent hike in February.
Mokhele said the company was distressed to hear claims that it was responsible for the strikes in the mining sector, which prompted South Africa’s credit downgrades. He said Implats was satisfied “that we responded to the situation appropriately”.
Implats was criticised by the National Union of Mineworkers for unanimously awarding salary hikes outside of an existing two-year agreement earlier this year. Shares advanced 1.06 percent to close at R149 yesterday.