Dineo Faku
LONMIN has outlined plans to retrench an undisclosed number of its 28 042 employees early next year after being crippled by a five-week long strike over wages.
Lonmin said it was reviewing its operating model and that the restructuring of its Marikana operations was on the cards as it was focusing on cutting down costs and investigating ways to boost revenue.
The company lost 110 000 ounces in production and is seeking funds through the issuing of shares to raise $800 million (R6.9 billion).
Yesterday, in a notice to unions concerning Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act and signed by Barnard Mokwena, the executive vice-president for human capital and external affairs, Lonmin said that employees in categories F, E, D and C would be affected by the retrenchment. These categories are for senior positions,
It said it was unlikely that retrenched employees would be rehired in the short term.
In September, Lonmin idled its K4 shaft and terminated a contract with Murray & Roberts, affecting 1 200 workers at the height of the strike.
Yesterday, unions vowed to fight against the planned retrenchments.
“Solidarity will do everything in its power to prevent retrenchments from taking place, because it is unfair for employees and management that did not participate or instigate the unprotected strike and unlawful protest action to become the victims of the five weeks of workplace anarchy,” Solidarity secretary general Gideon du Plessis said.
Lesiba Seshoka, the spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), said the union was opposed to any form of retrenchments.
Meanwhile, JSE-listed Gold One International announced that it had signed a wage agreement with the NUM in which salaries were to be increased by between 8 percent and 10 percent from January 1 next year to December 31, 2014.
The agreement followed the dismissal of 1 044 of its workers for an unprotected strike after which it hired the services of Jongingozi Outsourcing, a contract mining company, at Modder East’s mine.
Gold One chief executive Neal Froneman said: “With Modder East’s three-year wage agreement coming to an end in December 2012, I am extremely pleased that we have been able to use this current disruptive period to successfully renegotiate a new two-year wage agreement.”
Lonmin shares closed 0.8 percent higher at R72.50 on the local bourse yesterday.