Amcu, miners dispute membership figures

THE Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union is to challenge membership figures of unions in the gold sector as wage talks kicked off yesterday in Boksburg, Gauteng.

Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said on Sunday that the union’s representation in the gold sector had been understated as there were about 4 000 stop orders that were yet to be processed‚ which would swell numbers to more than 40 000.

However, the Chamber of Mines has tallied Amcu’s membership at 27 662.

Mathunjwa disputed this and insisted that membership in the sector was at 36 000.

The wage talks are expected to be difficult as they take place in a depressed economic climate amid a worrying outlook for gold miners.

The National Union of Mineworkers and Amcu have tabled wage demands ranging from R9 500 to R12 500 per month for entry-level workers‚ who now earn slightly more than R5 000.

Mathunjwa said Amcu would register its opposition to the official numbers. As they stand, NUM is the majority union.

“NUM cannot possibly have the 50[%] plus one required for a majority‚” he said.

As at the end of March, NUM had 50 695 members‚ down by about 10% since the last round of talks; the United Association of South Africa 6 209 and Solidarity 2 286‚ while about 7 581 gold industry workers did not belong to any union.

Newly elected NUM general secretary David Sipunzi‚ who is negotiating with the chamber for the first time‚ said on Sunday that he did not believe his union had slipped below the majority threshold. He said Amcu may be in the majority in individual mines but not in the sector as a whole. While addressing workers at a rally at Westonia, Sipunzi urged workers to unite and told them NUM had to swell its membership numbers by 50% come December.

NUM’s membership has been in decline since 2012, with Amcu and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa the main beneficiaries.

Another sticking point in the gold talks is a proposal by the chamber for an economic and social pact to form part of the process‚ which both NUM and Amcu view with scepticism.

Gold producers and the chamber said yesterday that the first round of talks would last three days and the second round would commence next Monday – a day before the likely release of the Farlam Commission’s report into the Marikana tragedy.

Harmony chief executive Graham Briggs said: “We want to start a conversation . . . that will lead to the sustainability of the gold industry for decades to come.

“We have the opportunity to collectively shape the . . . future through a process of transparent information-sharing, working together to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.”