TWO MONTHS of wildcat strikes had cost Gold Fields an estimated $150 million (R1.3 billion), chief executive Nick Holland said.
The company had given workers a deadline to return because the disruption had lasted too long, was hurting foreign investor sentiment and increasing the risk of violence, Holland said in an interview in Johannesburg yesterday.
“We called their bluff and they’ve come back,” he said.
Gold Fields issued a final warning on October 16 for workers to return or face dismissal after 23 540 of its 35 700 South African employees walked out.
Production has resumed at its Beatrix and KDC West mines, while 7 600 workers of 8 100 fired at KDC East have appealed against losing their jobs.
The wave of unauthorised strikes had shaved 50 basis points from economic growth, Treasury director-general Lungisa Fuzile said last week.
The disruptions had reduced mining output by R10.1 billion this year, costing tax revenue, exports and jobs, the Treasury said.
“We’re looking at around $100m to $150m extra debt, which is not entirely fatal for the company as a whole,” Holland said of the strikes.
“For the South African business it’s obviously a big concern,” he added.
Gold Fields also has mines in Australia, Ghana and Peru.
Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti could have their debt ratings cut to junk in the wake of the strikes, Standard & Poor’s have said.
Referring to the deadline, Holland said: “It had gone on too long and the one thing that you’ll find with these kinds of strikes is the longer it goes on, the higher the risk of violence, damage to property [and] people getting hurt.”
Shares slipped by 0.29 percent to close at R102.70 on the JSE yesterday. – Bloomberg