Johannesburg - The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) is unfazed by an independent audit commissioned by the Chamber of Mines that found 95 percent of its membership applications were invalid, Jimmy Gama, the union’s national treasurer said on Thursday.
Amcu is the second-biggest union in the gold sector, after its arch rival the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), according to the Chamber of Mines. Its membership leapt significantly in the platinum sector following the Marikana massacre in mid-August 2012, and it became the biggest union in the platinum belt.
The union led the five-month crippling wage strike in the platinum belt last year.
“It is not the end of the road for Amcu in the gold sector. We are busy with our own verification of membership and we will raise our concerns when we meet the chamber on Tuesday,” Gama said on Thursday.
Amcu’s growth goal achieved
Gama said Amcu had achieved its goal of growth in the gold sector. “There are branches and operations in the gold sector where we have grown. For example at Sibanye, we have 1 200 members waiting to have their subscriptions deducted. At Kloof mine we have about 4 000 members. We are talking about real growth at a shaft level,” said Gama.
According to the audit which was released on Wednesday, of Amcu’s 6 510 membership application submissions at Sibanye Gold, Harmony Gold and AngloGold Ashanti, only 308 were valid.
The union was hit by criticism from the NUM as the rival union’s officials questioned Amcu’s membership figures. The NUM said on Wednesday some of the members had come back to NUM ranks and others were people who were unemployed.
“The other stop orders were duplicates and the NUM view that as fraudulent activities. That is unacceptable,” it said.
In the gold wage talks which began last month, Amcu declared a deadlock and has indicated it would be referring the dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), according to the chamber. Gama said that the CCMA is a final resort.
“Amcu had not walked out of the talks. Declaring a deadlock is not walking out of the talks,” said Gama. Amcu has demanded a R12 500 monthly wage for entry level underground and surface employees.
The demands made by the four unions, Amcu, the NUM, trade union Solidarity and the United Association of South Africa (Uasa), would add R16.5 billion to the five gold companies wage bill, which stands at R23.5bn.
Five-year offer
The unions are negotiating with Pan African Resources’ Evander Mine, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye Gold and Village Main Reef through the Chamber of Mines.
The chamber’s five-year offer includes guaranteed employment provided that the profit margin does not fall below 6 percent.
The offers range from increases of R450 (7.8 percent) for Harmony, R625 (11.1 percent) for Sibanye Gold and R750 (13 percent) for AngloGold Ashanti.
In the case of miners, artisans and officials, the offers range from 4.5 percent for Harmony, 5 percent for Sibanye Gold, and 6 percent for AngloGold Ashanti.
Business Report