Some mine unions cut deal on pay

THE Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said yesterday its members had accepted the latest pay offer from gold producers covering the next three years.

“Our members have accepted the offer‚” NUM general secretary David Sipunzi said.

The NUM is the biggest union in the sector‚ representing more than 50% of the industry’s workers.

Two smaller unions representing mostly skilled workers have also accepted the offer.

But the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, which represents close to 30% of workers in the sector‚ has not accepted the offer and it remained unclear whether it would.

The offers vary from company to company but will lead to pay increases on the basic wage for the lowestpaid‚ entry-level members of up to about 14% in the first year.

With allowances‚ the deal ensures that entryunderground employees will receive guaranteed pay of between R13 728 and R14 611 a month in the third year.

This would equate to increases for the entire package by the third year of between 26.5% and 32%.

The four companies are AngloGold Ashanti‚ Harmony Gold‚ Sibanye Gold and Evander Gold‚ a unit of Pan African Resources.

They made it clear that they could not afford big hikes as they grapple with depressed gold prices and soaring costs. — Reuters