The wage strike led by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association for Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold mines was called off on Friday, ending the high-profile impasse that began three months ago.
Members of Amcu and NUM mandated union leaders to accept a three-year wage proposal by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration (CCMA) to both management and the unions during a mass meeting held at the company’s Driefontein mine.
For underground employees, the CCMA proposed that salaries be hiked by R1,000 a month in year one, R900 in year two, and R750 in year three.
It proposed that miners, artisans and officials receive a 5% increase in year one, and a 5.5% increase in year two if the Consumer Price Index is greater than 5.5%. In the third year, miners, artisans and officials will receive 5%, according to the proposal.
The proposal includes a one-off “hardship allowance” of R3,000, of which R1,200 will be paid in cash and R1,800 will be allocated to the reduction of loans owing to the company.
In April, Sibanye made a “final” offer for entry-level employees of a three-year agreement that included a R50 living-out allowance and an R800 salary hike, taking the total monthly increase to R850.
Amcu and NUM had demanded monthly salary increases of R1,000 over the three year agreement.
We now look forward to returning our South African gold operations to stability and profitability for the benefit of all stakeholders
— Richard Stewart, chief regional officer for Southern Africa at Sibanye
Sibanye said the proposed mandate is in line with inflation over a three-year period at an average annual increase of 6.3% and will contribute to the sustainability of the Sibanye gold operations. It said the final agreement would be extended to all employees in the bargaining unit, including members of UASA and Solidarity.
Richard Stewart, chief regional officer for Southern Africa at Sibanye, said: “We welcome this positive step towards ending the industrial action at our gold operations and thank our employees for making their voices heard.
“We also acknowledge the integral mediation role played by the CCMA in facilitating constructive engagements between the parties."
Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted said the company had not changed its offer, and neither had the unions changed their demands.
“What we went through is a process where the CCMA mediated between us and came up with an offer which the unions have a mandate to accept and we are already committed to honouring the outcome of that process.
Even though we did not achieve R1,000 in all years, we achieved unity especially between NUM and Amcu
— NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu
Commenting on the proposal, NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said the presidents of both NUM and Amcu had helped to break the deadlock and the unions appreciated the interventions of the CCMA.
“The two presidents pushed hard to get to where we are ... it was the most difficult of negotiations, and no party can say it has won. We are happy that at the end of the day members gave us a mandate to sign the agreement.
Mammburu said the strike had solidified not only Amcu and NUM but unity for workers on the shop floor. “The employers must be scared of that. Even though we did not achieve R1,000 in all years, we achieved unity especially between NUM and Amcu. We managed to work together and we will still work together.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.