Trouble simmers as gold pay talks begin

A POTENTIALLY volatile situation is brewing in wage talks that begun in Johannesburg yesterday between gold producers and unions.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which represents the majority of workers in the sector, yesterday tabled an 80 percent wage demand for entry-level underground mineworkers in what its newly-elected general secretary David Sipunzi called the means to close the apartheid wage gap.

Trade union Solidarity and the Association of Unions of South Africa also want 12 percent and 6 percent, respectively, while the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the second- largest union with 29 percent membership, is expected to make its representation today.

The NUM’s and Amcu’s demands range between 80 percent and more than 100 percent. It has demanded a R10 500 basic monthly wage while Amcu will motivate for a R12 500 basic monthly pay across all mining houses from R5 700. The Chamber of Mines is leading the gold sector’s central collective bargaining.

Its members include Harmony Gold Mining Company, Sibanye Gold, AngloGold Ashanti, Village Main Reef and Evander Gold Mines.

Jointly the companies employ 94 000 people in three bargaining units including category 4 to 8 employees, miners and artisans, and officials.

The chamber has changed its strategy in this year’s negotiations, moving away from the traditional positional bargaining process to a proposal for an Economic and Social Sustainability Compact for the longterm benefit of the gold sector.

Unions were not familiar with the social and sustainability compact, Gideon Du Plessis, trade union Solidarity’s general secretary, said. “If the compact makes provision of retire- ment date to 63, our members will in principle agree to engage on the proposed compact,” Du Plessis said.

The talks come as the sector has been hit by hard times, including higher input costs and weakening gold commodity prices weighing heavily on profitability.

New approach

The chamber’s new approach is aimed at cushioning marginal shafts from hefty increases and preventing a protracted strike similar to last year’s crippling five-month platinum-belt wage strike. The talks will be chaired by an independent chairman, Mo Ali, the acting director for the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, who will act as a facilitator to the talks.

The gold sector planned to speak to the sustainability of the gold industry for decades to come, Graham Briggs, the chief executive at Harmony, said.

The talks were initially bogged down with concerns for accommodation for the negotiators until the companies agreed to contribute 50 percent of accommodation costs.

“The unions can choose to accommodate their members anywhere, but will need to pay the difference where there is one. Unions may of course choose to travel to and from negotiations every day.

“In the past, this accommodation has been paid for in its entirety by the unions,” Charmane Russell, a Chamber spokeswoman, said.