Northam Platinum: Settlement ‘will set the bar for others’

The outcome of the wage dispute at Northam Platinum would set a precedent for the industry’s largest producers, Investec and Stanlib Asset Management said yesterday. Northam has raised its offer to as much as 9 percent and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said it would meet members yesterday to discuss a “fresh mandate”. “If Northam settles at 9 percent, it lowers the chance of other miners getting single-digit settlements,” said Albert Minassian, an analyst at Investec. “Unions need to be seen to be strong and fighting for their members.” Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), Impala Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin are also in talks with unions. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has demanded a larger wage increase than NUM. “Amcu definitely would want to show at least a percentage point or so more than what NUM bargained for,” said Kobus Nell, an analyst at Stanlib. “I just don’t think the companies have room” to give more. On November 13, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) gave Amcu the right to call a strike at Amplats. The union has yet to decide whether it will strike. At Lonmin, the CCMA would facilitate talks with Amcu after pay negotiations broke down on November 14, the union’s national treasurer, Jimmy Gama, said on Monday. At Implats, Amcu decided on October 28 to strike, without setting a date. – Bloomberg