News that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has surpassed the membership of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at Lonmin, the third-biggest platinum firm, may not be that surprising after all.
At least not since the beginning of last year’s ill-fated wage bargaining season.
Amcu’s attainment of 70 percent representation for the unskilled workforce comprising categories four to nine – which is the bulk of workers –
is another nail in the coffin for NUM, whose decline has widely been blamed on its involvement in politics.
Amcu has also scalped NUM at Impala Platinum (Implats), the second-biggest platinum producer.
Implats has confirmed that Amcu membership was in excess of 50 percent at its Rustenburg operation. NUM now has less than 10 percent representation among unionised members at Implats.
NUM represented 70 percent of unionised workers at Implats before the six-week strike at the Rustenburg operations in January last year. The violent strike resulted in some deaths and 17 000 people being fired and rehired.
At Aquarius Platinum’s Kroondal mine, the NUM and trade union Solidarity are the majority unions. But Amcu has also started making inroads there.
The growth of Amcu is an indication that the labour relations space has taken on a new shape.
The union is more militant, and prides itself on being independent of political affiliation, unlike the NUM which is a member of the ruling tripartite alliance.
Whether Amcu will organise in other sectors of the economy is yet to be seen. As is the kind of fight NUM puts up. If any.
Hospitality
Group chief executive of Protea Hotels Arthur Gillis received a lukewarm response from hotel industry players at the Hospitality Investment Conference Africa yesterday when he said: “The fact that there are not enough black people in the industry” kept him awake at night.
He said the industry remained predominately white. His statement did not sit well with the managing director of Tsogo Sun, Graham Wood, who was quick to say that his company had black ownership and shared details of how the company was actually helping small unbranded guest houses and bed and breakfasts to grow.
Later on Gillis explained that his statement was based on the fact that financiers were reluctant to give black business people funding to buy hotels.
“The problem is that there was no finance available for a black, skilled hotelier who is prepared to run his or her hotel.”
Gillis further explained that banks or investors were looking into financing only newly built hotels. “The reality is that we have a number of already existing 80- to 90-room hotels which could be sold to skilled black families or young hoteliers.”
He said he was not talking about wealthy black businesses, but ordinary people who were looking for opportunities.
Other panellists, including Helder Pereira, the chief executive of Redefine International Hotels, told delegates that youth unemployment in South Africa kept him awake at night.
He said the unemployment problem affected all sectors and created instability in the tourism industry.
Jones Lang LaSalle managing director Gabriel Matar added that having a young unemployed population triggered wars.
Aviation
The complacency apple cart in the aviation industry is likely to be upset by upstart airline Fastjet, which has proved unable to take either a hint or no for an answer.
When its initial approach with politically connected individuals, including Edward Zuma, President Jacob Zuma’s son, did not seem to open all the doors, Fastjet did not pause to take a breath.
It came charging in again.
This time it worked the loopholes until it could announce the final stage of negotiations with aircraft leasing company Star Air Cargo to launch a service between Johannesburg and Cape Town, with the aim of starting by the end of this month.
Its headlong rush will see it trade blows with kulula.com, the low-cost division of British Airways/Comair, and Mango, the low-cost division of SAA.
Peter Annear, the chief executive of Star Air Cargo, confirmed yesterday that it was in the process of signing an agreement to fly the route, providing a 144-seat Boeing 737-300 with crew and insurance, on behalf of Federal Air, whose licence will be used and which will be responsible for operating the flight on behalf of Fastjet Holdings.
London-registered Fastjet will own 25 percent of the operation and Fastjet Holdings, formerly Blockbuster, the other 75 percent. This arrangement is aimed at overcoming the regulation that a South African airline must be 75 percent South African-owned.
Deidre Davids, the chief communications officer for Airports Company South Africa at Cape Town International Airport, confirmed that Fastjet Holdings and Federal Air had applied for slots, a check-in desk and other arrangements to start the new service.
Kyle Hayward, a former British Airways executive who is now the chief executive of Fastjet Holdings, said the leasing arrangements were another definitive step towards commencing services “and we remain on track for an end-of-May launch”.
But Brad Dickson, the commercial manager of Federal Air, and Annear commented that it would be difficult to complete all the arrangements, including the first ticket sales, by the end of this month.
Dickson said a website and call centre had still to be set up. In view of this, he thought that, initially at least, most sales would be at the airports.
Prices still had to be announced but they would be “value for money”.
Somebody else has the unenviable task of telling Fastjet to slow down, question is who? Not the consumer, certainly!
Edited by Banele Ginindza. With contributions from Dineo Faku, Nompumelelo Magwaza and Audrey D’Angelo.