Johannesburg - A two-year settlement has been reached between DRDGold and 600 National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members who were on a wage strike earlier this week at the company's Ergo operations in Brakpan, Gauteng.
“The higher increases at the lower end could be accommodated within budget parameters by tapering increases for middle and senior management for the 2014 calendar year,” DRDGold CEO Niël Pretorius said on Thursday.
The company's annual wage bill would increase by 8.84 percent amounting to about R21 million per annum.
Entry-level employees in job categories four and five would receive a 10 percent basic wage increase in year one and eight percent in year two.
Employees in job categories six and seven would receive nine percent in year one and 7.5 percent in year two, and employees in job categories eight to 15 would receive eight percent in year one and 7.5 percent in year two.
On Wednesday, NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the union wanted the company to give workers an offer similar to that which the Chamber of Mines had offered.
“We are saying we want them to offer the same (deal) that the Chamber of Mines did - which included living out benefits.”
In September, the chamber signed a wage agreement with unions offering to increase living out allowances to R2000.
Seshoka said workers' living out allowance was currently R1800 and they wanted DRDGold to raise it to R2000.
“Is that so much to ask for?” Seshoka asked at the time.
He said percentages did not matter if they did not make a significant difference to workers' salaries.
The strike took place over two days. - Sapa