Johannesburg - The latest wage offer made by platinum companies to end the more than three-month long strike in the platinum sector has been rejected by Amcu, treasurer Jimmy Gama said on Tuesday.
Gama confirmed to Sapa in an sms that the union had turned down the latest wage offer from Anglo American Platinum, Lonmin, and Impala Platinum.
He said it was up to the employers whether they wanted to return to the negotiating table, with it being unknown when the two sides would meet again.
“It is correct 1/8that the latest offer has been rejected. It is up to the employers whether they are prepared to revise their offer and come to the table,” the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union national treasurer said.
On Sunday, it was reported that Amcu was consulting its members on the latest offer.
Amcu members at the three companies' mining operations in Rustenburg, in North West, and Northam, in Limpopo, downed tools on January 23, demanding a basic salary of R12 500 per month.
The platinum producers tabled a wage increase offer of between 7.5 percent and 10 percent.
The proposed offer, which was rejected, would have seen the minimum cash remuneration for entry-level underground workers rise to R12 500 a month or R150 000 per annum by July 2017.
A meeting between the platinum producers and the union deadlocked on Thursday, with Amcu accusing the companies of “complete intransigence and games of smoke and mirrors”.
Sapa