AMCU demands 15% wage hike

270116 AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa briefing the media on the death of 4 miners in fire undergroung Impala platinum in Sandton North of Johannesburg.photo Simphiwe Mbokazi

270116 AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa briefing the media on the death of 4 miners in fire undergroung Impala platinum in Sandton North of Johannesburg.photo Simphiwe Mbokazi

Published Jul 7, 2016

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Johannesburg - The biggest union at the South African operations of the world’s three largest platinum producers is seeking pay increases that are more than double the country’s inflation rate.

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union wants salaries of higher-skilled employees at Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin raised by 15 percent, union President Joseph Mathunjwa told reporters Thursday. The annual inflation rate was 6.1 percent in May. It also wants a minimum monthly wage of R12 500 rand ($852) for the lowest-paid, it said.

The union led a walkout by at least 70 000 miners in 2014 that cost the companies R23.9 billion in revenue and workers R10.6 billion in wages. Amplats, as the largest of the three miners is known, has embarked on at least a third round of job cuts in as many years in an effort to weather a slump in prices that is weighing on producers’ margins.

The price of the metal has declined 42 percent since reaching a record in August 2011, which, together with the effects of the stoppage, prompted Impala and Lonmin to raise funds from shareholders last year.

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“The companies have retrenched so I think they’re geared for a better wage,” Mathunjwa said.

Unemployment rate

The talks come at a time when Africa‘s most industrialised economy is projected to grow at the slowest rate since a 2009 recession and has an unemployment rate of about 27 percent.

“The failure of the South African economy to industrialise, diversify and beneficiate mining commodities has postponed opportunities for employment creation,” Mathunjwa said, referring to local processing of mineral ores. “The AMCU struggle is for a living wage in the mining sector that addresses the cost of living.” The organisation estimates a “living wage” at R10 000 rand to R20 000 rand monthly.

AMCU wants a one-year wage agreement, but is flexible. The previous pact was a three-year arrangement that ended in June. Talks with Impala start on July 12, while negotiations at Lonmin start a day later. At Anglo American, they commence on July 14.

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