SECONDARY STRIKE NOTICE GIVEN

THE ASSOCIATION of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has given notice of a secondary strike at SibanyeStillwater platinum mines. The strike is scheduled to start next Tuesday, Amcu said yesterday. Amcu expects 12 500 members at Sibanye’s platinum mines to join 15 000 colleagues who have been on a wage strike at the company’s three gold mines since November 21. “It (the strike) will mark one of the biggest examples of mass rolling strike action across different mineral commodities by a single union in South African history,” said the union. Amcu, the biggest union in the platinum belt, said it was aggrieved after the company said last week that it would weather the industrial action at its gold mines. Sibanye chief executive Neal Froneman said last week that the group was benefiting from its diversification strategy. He also said the strength in platinum group metals, particularly palladium, had helped buffer the impact of the protracted strike. |

HUDSON IS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE

TONGAAT Hulett has named John Hudson as its new chief executive, with effect from February 1, replacing Peter Staude, who resigned at the end of October. Tongaat Hulett appointed Sydney Mtsambiwa for three months as an interim chief executive while the search to replace Staude was continuing. The group said Hudson was an accomplished business executive with considerable experience in diverse and challenging markets within the alcoholic beverages industry. “He was previously the Beer Group president and chief executive of Anadolu Efes, a company listed on the Turkish Stock Exchange,” the group said. The board was confident that Hudson would be successful in leading the strategic review and direction of Tongaat Hulett to restore shareholder returns to acceptable levels, improve cash generation and reduce debt levels. Hudson also served as the managing director of Anadolu Efes’ beer businesses in Turkey and Russia.