Motlanthe summit ‘a chance for mines and Amcu to meet’

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe addresses the World TB Day event in Fochville; Gauteng Province. South Africa. 24/03/2014

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe addresses the World TB Day event in Fochville; Gauteng Province. South Africa. 24/03/2014

Published Mar 25, 2014

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Johannesburg - Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will meet the mining industry and unions on Thursday for a regularly scheduled forum aimed at bringing stability to the sector, as the crippling platinum strike approaches its tenth week.

Motlanthe’s spokesman, Thabo Masebe, said the meeting would have taken place even if there was no strike, but it could give the world’s top platinum producers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) a chance to meet for the first time since wage talks collapsed almost three weeks ago.

Asked if issues around the strike would be raised, an industry source said the meeting would “cover all of these critical aspects”.

Motlanthe is the government’s point man on labour tensions in the mining sector but past meetings have done little to ease them.

The biggest mining strike in South Africa since 1987 is hitting economic growth, making it an unwelcome distraction for President Jacob Zuma and the ANC ahead of elections in May.

Thursday’s meeting will be attended by the main mining unions, including Amcu, whose members downed tools more than nine weeks ago at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin, hitting about 40 percent of global output of the precious metal.

Companies are expected to send representatives under the umbrella of the Chamber of Mines, which has been conducting wage talks on behalf of the platinum industry.

Amcu treasurer and chief negotiator Jimmy Gama said yesterday that no official negotiations were scheduled.

The sides remain poles apart on the issue of wages.

Amcu said early this month that it had revised its demand for the first time, saying it wanted staggered increases to bring the basic entry wage to R12 500 a month in four years’ time, more than double current levels, instead of immediately.

The companies have offered to raise pay by up to 9 percent a year, on the grounds they cannot afford any more given rising costs and depressed prices for the precious metal.

Platinum prices are about 37 percent below record highs scaled six years ago, underscoring the industry’s wider woes as costs and lost production eat into razor-thin margins.

Platinum shares were mixed on the JSE yesterday. Lonmin added 30c to close at R50.45 but Amplats shares lost R3.30 to R467.38 and Implats lost 1.59 percent to R116.19. - Reuters

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