In the latest attempt to end the strike that has brought gold operations to a grinding halt and shone a harsh spotlight on his pay, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said the company had asked the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to step in.
About 25,000 gold miners led by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) downed tools on March 9, demanding a pay increase of as much as 9.8% after rejecting Sibanye’s offer for an increase in basic wages of as much as 7.8% for the first year.
The industrial action has halted operations at Sibanye’s gold operations, which make up a small portion of its portfolio, which is dominated by platinum group metals (PGMs). It has also left striking workers R1bn out of pocket and prompted minerals & energy minister Gwede Mantashe to threaten to revoke the company’s mining licence.
Speaking during an annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Froneman said the “majority of our employees” are ready and willing to accept the company’s current proposal, which translates to an R800 basic wage increase.
“We have made seven moves in trying to get a settlement. The unions, unfortunately, remain very rigid. What we are also very clear on is that the majority of our employees are actually ready and willing to accept the proposal on the table,” said Froneman, whose R300m pay package in 2021 drew sharp criticism from union leaders.
“And it’s unfortunate that we have this misalignment between the national leadership of the two unions ... and what employees want.”
Froneman said the world’s largest producer of PGMs made a section 150 application at the CCMA on Monday to “conciliate what the majority of workers want through an independently led process of verification.
“In our view, that is the way to get a responsible outcome instead of resorting to, let’s say, demands that are unsustainable. I believe that and we will certainly honour what comes out of that process, which will start on May 30,” he said.
Sibanye has “conducted our own polls” and the miner is “very sure that our employees want to go back to work”.
However, at Friday’s mass meeting, which was addressed by Amcu and NUM leaders at Sibanye’s Driefontein operations in Carletonville, the majority of workers appeared to support the work stoppage, telling leaders there was no need to put the strike to a vote. At least 10 striking workers that Business Day interviewed said they were determined to continue striking until management acceded to their demands.
Sibanye, whose acquisition-fuelled growth since being spun out to Gold Fields in 2013 has propelled it to the upper echelon of the global mining industry, has long defended its stance, saying acceding to the demands could force the closure of some gold shafts. The shafts are already uncompetitive by global standards, costing Sibanye about $1,700/oz in all-in sustaining costs. That is almost double that of Canada’s Barrick Gold and Newmont Corporation.
“We have to be mindful that a settlement needs to be sustainable,” Froneman told the shareholder meeting. “There’s no point in capitulating to demands that are going to see the loss of jobs in the very near future. We have ... a duty in the national interest to ensure that we retain jobs and create employment as much as we can.”
Amcu and NUM leaders could not be reached immediately for comment.
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