Coal sector wage talks come to a head today

TRADE unions Solidarity, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Uasa will today meet coal miners, represented by the Chamber of Mines, to provide feedback from their members on a revised wage offer tabled by the companies.

SA’s coal mining industry is the latest to face potential strikes that threaten to derail production plans at some of the country’s biggest collieries. Coal is among SA’s top mining exports.

Last month, mine workers rejected the second such offer since the start of the wage negotiations earlier last month. This took the wage negotiations to mediation by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

To date coal miners have not suffered any work stoppages.

The chamber acts on behalf of SA’s biggest coal miners — Anglo American Thermal Coal, Exxaro, Sasol Mining, BHP Billiton Energy Coal SA and Xstrata Coal — and for several junior and mid-tier mining houses. Last week, the mining houses tabled their revised offers, considered to be their last, that vary from 7%-11% based on the size and scale of operations.

Apart from improvements on salary, mining companies also made an offer related to housing, medical aid and medical incapacitation.

Motsamai Motlhamme, the chief negotiator for the chamber, said mining houses were confident that a resolution to the impasse with labour would be found.

“The chamber is confident that mineworkers will accept the offer.”

NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the situation remained at a cross roads. He did not rule out the possibility of going on strike.

Unlike in the platinum mining sector, where the NUM has lost ground, it remains the dominant trade union in the coal industry.

“If our members reject the offer tomorrow (today), a certificate would have to be issued, which would then mean that workers will embark on a strike,” Mr Seshoka said.

Franz Stehring, a divisional manager at Uasa, said yesterday that the trade union was considering its stance on the revised offer: “We have worked through the agreement and today we will have an answer.”

But Uasa, whose membership mostly held supervisory positions, was not fully satisfied with the 7% offer from Delmas coal mine, which contrasted with the 11% Xstrata Coal put forward.

The latter offer also entailed the roll-over of low employment level category four into category five.

Eskom consumes most of SA’s domestic coal, at 124.7-million tonnes, and official figures indicated that the state electricity utility was sitting on more than 46-days’ worth of stockpiles.