Mineworkers have rejected a wage proposal by Sibanye-Stillwater that would have increased the gold miner’s wage bill at its gold operations by R1.4bn in 2023 and are contemplating embarking on a wage strike should the parties fail to reach an agreement.
This follows a coalition of mining unions, including the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), Solidarity and Uasa, holding a joint mass meeting in Carletonville on Tuesday afternoon to get a mandate from workers on the wage proposal.
NUM national spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu told Business Day after the meeting that workers rejected the wage offer.
“They have instructed the four unions to report their rejection of the offer to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and to request a certificate of non-resolution should the parties fail to reach common ground,” Mammburu said.
A strike certificate could result in workers downing tools in support of their demand for higher wages.
“Workers are demanding an increase of R1,000 each year for three years,” said Mammburu.
According to the wage hike proposal Sibanye-Stillwater made last week, lowest-paid (category 4) workers would get increases of R570, R640 and R670 over three years.
In terms of the proposal miners, artisans and officials would receive increases of 4.5%, 4.9% and 4.9% during the three-year term, below the inflation rate of 5% recorded in October.
Sibanye-Stillwater has said in a statement that in rand terms, “this offer would mean that over the next three years, the average guaranteed income for entry-level category 4 underground production employees who make up 29% of the total workforce would increase to R16,730 in year one; R17,510 in year two and R18,326 in year three”.
This excludes employee earnings through performance bonuses that make up a significant proportion of employee remuneration, the company said, adding that upon reaching an agreement the increase will be backdated to July. Should the offer be accepted by end-November, the backdated payment will be made before the Christmas break, the company said.
Mining is one of the key sectors of the economy, employing about 455,000 people and contributing about 9% to GDP.
Richard Cox, Sibanye-Stillwater executive vice-president for SA gold operations, said that after five years of solid operations, “our gold operations suffered severe disruptions in 2018 during the five-month strike, which ended in April 2019, and most recently due to Covid-19”.
“Our gold operations have only recently stabilised and [are] returning to normalised and planned operating levels,” he said.
“At the same time, we have had to manage significant cost pressures. Over the past eight years, electricity tariffs have increased by 132% — that is, 79% above inflation — while total guaranteed income for entry-level underground employees has more than doubled.”
Cox said above-inflation wage increases or any operational disruptions will “jeopardise the sustainability of our gold operations and will negatively impact the many stakeholders that depend on them”.
He said the company will continue to engage with unions in an effort to reach a fair agreement that will benefit employees and “ensure the long-term sustainability of its gold operations in the interest of supporting the livelihoods of gold employees and communities, contributing to the national fiscus and supporting the many stakeholders that depend on these operations”.
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