Johannesburg - The three largest platinum companies and the main union at their local mines will today sign a deal to end a crippling five-month strike after the labour group’s members accepted pay proposals from producers.
Thousands of strikers shouted out their approval for the offer from Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin at a mass rally held by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union yesterday.
“Today the members of Amcu officially terminated the strike,” union President Joseph Mathunjwa told reporters after the rally at the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg, 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of Johannesburg.
“They have to sign the agreement tomorrow and workers, our members, will start reporting back to work on Wednesday.”
The stoppage by at least 70,000 miners cost the companies 23.9 billion rand in revenue and workers 10.6 billion rand in wages since January 23, according to the producers.
The deadlock in the nation that accounts for about 70 percent of platinum mined globally pushed its economy into contraction in the first three months of 2014.
“Basic salaries have gone up and even your working over time has improved,” Mathunjwa said.
Workers in the stadium answered “yes” when the union leader asked three times whether they accepted the companies’ proposal.
Palladium, Platinum
Lonmin gained after rally outcome, rising 4.5 percent higher to 259.6 pence in London yesterday.
Impala climbed 1.1 to 114.25 rand by the close in Johannesburg while Amplats, as Anglo Platinum is known, gained 1.6 percent to 498 rand, the highest since May 6.
Palladium for immediate delivery advanced 0.5 percent to $826.33 by 7:12 a.m. in London, while platinum, used to make jewellry and devices that reduce harmful emissions from vehicles, gained 0.3 percent to $1,459.59 an ounce.
There may be three separate signings and times for these have yet to be arranged, Charmane Russell, a spokeswoman for the three producers at Russell & Associates, said in an e-mailed response to questions.
South Africa’s credit rating was cut on June 13 to one level above junk by Standard & Poor’s, which cited the country’s longest and costliest mining strike as among reasons for the assessment.
The rand strengthened 0.7 percent against the dollar after the union’s meeting.
Most of the union’s demands were met, Mathunjwa told reporters after the meeting.
“Others are process issues,” he said. “It was not an easy ride this.”
Agreement Detail
The deal includes annual increases of 1,000 rand a month for the lowest-paid underground workers for the first two years of the agreement and 950 rand in the third year, Mathunjwa said at the stadium.
The raises are on current pay of about 5,000 rand to 6,000 rand a month. South Africa’s inflation rate was 6.6 percent in May.
The companies agreed to implement the wage gains over three years, and the deal will be applied from July last year at Amplats and Impala and from October at Lonmin.
Workers won’t receive back-dated payments for the period they’ve been on strike, Mathunjwa said.
Accommodation allowances will increase to 2,000 rand a month and stay there for the duration of the agreement, from 1,950 rand now at Lonmin and 1,850 rand at Impala.
At Amplats, it will rise by 6 percent annually.
Lonmin has agreed to reinstate 236 workers who lost their jobs, he told members.
Amplats employees will get food parcels and vitamins in their first month back at work, he said.
Original Demand
The Amcu’s original demand was that basic monthly wages of the lowest-paid workers be more than doubled to 12,500 rand.
The union then relaxed the date by which this could be reached.
Some workers will be earning this figure within three years, Mathunjwa said at today’s rally.
Possible job cuts will remain “a challenge” for the union, he said.
The deal will end on June 30, 2016.
“If we get peace for two years, that’s a good outcome, it gives things time to settle,” Albert Minassian, an analyst at Investec Ltd. in Cape Town, said in a text message.
Before the union leader addressed the crowd, Amcu members marched around the stadium’s track, singing as they went.
A man in the group held up a sign reading “rest in peace NUM,” referring to the National Union of Mineworkers, which the Amcu displaced as the biggest representative of platinum employees.
The miners also held up a coffin painted red and bearing a NUM sticker.
Mines Minister
Mines Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi said he was glad the parties had reached an agreement.
“We obviously, together with the country, breath a sigh of relief,” Ramatlhodi said on Johannesburg-based radio station SAfm.
Chamber of Mines chief negotiator Elize Strydom said the industry group was pleased at the outcome, for producers and miners.
“The hard work starts now,” Strydom said on Johannesburg- based Talk Radio 702.
“It’s going to take time for production to get to levels prior to the strike. I think we are still going to have to do a lot of work to convince the world and investors that platinum is a good commodity to invest in.” - Bloomberg News