Showdown with mining unions looms

A jumbo drill rig works under ground at Anglo Gold Ashanti's Mponeng gold mine near Carltonville, South Africa. Photographer: Henner Frankenfeld / Bloomberg News HOLD FOR A FEATURE BY STEWART BAILEY

A jumbo drill rig works under ground at Anglo Gold Ashanti's Mponeng gold mine near Carltonville, South Africa. Photographer: Henner Frankenfeld / Bloomberg News HOLD FOR A FEATURE BY STEWART BAILEY

Published May 25, 2015

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Dineo Faku

THE mining industry faces a showdown this week as employers and labour meet the two biggest unions in the sector for wage negotiations.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which represents 54 percent of workers in the gold sector, and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which represents 29 percent of gold mining employees, are both demanding double digit increases.

Wage talks are expected to start next month against the backdrop of looming retrenchments as Harmony Gold plans to cut 400 jobs at its Masimong mine amid weak metal prices.

Charmane Russell, a Chamber of Mines spokeswoman, said: “An initial meeting on gold is scheduled for early next week between unions and the chamber.”

Trade union Solidarity’s general secretary, Gideon Du Plessis, said the informal meeting was scheduled for tomorrow and had an “open agenda and would tie up lose ends. At the moment we are being sidelined by the looming retrenchments. The retrenchments are creating an uncomfortable environment. The sooner we start negotiations, the sooner we can address the issue of retrenchments,” he said.

The NUM is demanding a R10 500 monthly salary for underground entry-level employees and a R9 500 salary for entry-level surface workers, according to reports.

Amcu, the NUM’s bitter rival, has demanded a R12 500 monthly wage for entry-level employees.

Solidarity, the smallest union in the gold sector, represents most skilled employees or 2 percent of the gold sector, and has demanded a 12 percent rise from chamber members in the gold and coal sectors.

Uasa, which represents 7 percent of gold mining employees, wants historic wage discrepancies to be addressed and resists the notion of percentage pay increases.

The basic wage for entry-level employees is R5 787 excluding benefits.

The chamber represents Harmony Gold, Sibanye Gold and AngloGold Ashanti.

The gold sector is the second-biggest resources exporter after platinum and employs more than 130 000 people with R23.4 billion in wages paid in 2013.

The NUM has been playing its cards close to its chest, and acting spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said on Friday that the union would make its wage demands public once negotiations had begun.

The NUM is demanding a 15 percent increase across the board for categories between 4 and 8 including miners, artisans and officials in the coal sector. This comes as the prices for the fuel have plummeted.

The NUM has submitted demands through the chamber member companies, including Anglo American Thermal Coal, Glencore and Exxaro Resources.

Unions in 2013 had signed a two-year deal with the companies for increases of as much as 11 percent in the first year.

The chamber on Friday confirmed that it had received demands from the NUM, Solidarity and Uasa. The NUM also wants the minimum housing allowance raised to R8 000 a month, the document shows.

The coal mining industry employs about 90 000 people and paid out almost R19bn in wages last year, according to the Chamber of Mines. – With reporting by Reuters

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