Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman's R300m pay package in 2021 is expected to complicate wage negotiations with workers at the company’s Kloof, Driefontein and Beatrix gold mines, whose strike for higher wages is now in its second month.
According to the company’s 2021 annual report, released this week, Froneman's pay included conditional share scheme proceeds of R264m, a R12.42m salary, R825,000 towards his pension, R5.19m accrual of forfeitable share award, a R7.7m cash accrued bonus during the year and R1.064m in other cash payments.
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary William Mabapa said: “How can one person get R300m while his staff get next to nothing? This is capitalist barbarism and cruelty at its best. Mineworkers are further being pushed into poverty because of people of Froneman’s calibre.”
Sibanye-Stillwater's head of investor relations James Wellsted said Froneman’s pay had no bearing on gold operations but reflected the growth of the company due to platinum group metal prices. He said the gold mines need to be viable as components of a standalone business because of the cyclical nature of mining.
Wellsted said the salaries of Froneman and others in the company's management tier had increased 5% over the past five years and the big increase in 2021 was due to the accrual of the share scheme of 2018, aimed at setting targets in terms of profitability and share-price growth relative to peers.
“Our share price at that time was R11.44. There has been a 560% increase in the share price since then. Our market cap went from about R11bn to R180bn, so there has been huge value made for all stakeholders,” said Wellsted.
Shareholder activist Theo Botha said Froneman was entitled to the R300m pay if it was linked to the performance of the share.
He said directors submit a remuneration report which shareholders vote on. “Yes, if you look at it from face value that Froneman got R300m and workers are looking for R1,000 increase you will say that is not right. But if you look at what the R300m comprises, is it his fault that the share price shot the lights out? Not really, but he benefited tremendously.”
Wellsted said workers had benefited from the rising share price through the employee share-ownership schemes at the various operations. In March 46,000 employees who hold shares in Sibanye and Gold Fields received R471m through the Thusano Share Trust.
In June last year the group paid R400m to workers as part of the share-ownership scheme at its platinum operations, with about 11,940 Rustenburg operations employees receiving R4,140 each and 17,544 Marikana employees receiving R22,167 each.
In terms of wage talks, this week Sibanye said NUM and Amcu had rejected its final offer to hike entry-level salaries by R850 a year, including a R50 living-out allowance, from the R700 offer in February. Sibanye said it offered miners, artisans and officials an increase of 5% over the three years.
How can one person get R300m while his staff get next to nothing? This is capitalist barbarism and cruelty
— William Mabapa, NUM
NUM and Amcu want a R1,000-a-month wage increase.
Sibanye said the final settlement offer would increase its wage bill at its gold operations by R1.67bn by July 2023.
Wellsted said: “We have moved for the seventh time, but they [the unions] are stuck on R1,000, which we cannot afford. We have said we will not meet with them, they must come back to us when they are ready to make a rational decision.”
So far employees have lost close to R1bn in wages because of the strike, said Wellsted.
He said support for the strike was waning and a poll conducted by the company showed more than 90% of employees wanted to return to work.
Amcu general secretary Jeff Mphahlele said: “We will have a secondary strike in all operations of this company and that will involve the platinum belt. We are busy with arrangements for the secondary strike in platinum. If Froneman does not want to budge we will intensify our strike further.”
But sources said NUM could not afford to continue the strike, as workers suffering under the “no work, no pay” principle were pushing for the union to sign.
“The marriage between Amcu and NUM will likely end because the strike has gone on for too long. Workers are saying please sign we are hungry, we are in poverty,” said a source, who asked not to be named.
However, Mphahlele said the marriage between NUM and Amcu was solid. “We are still sleeping in one bed,” he said.
A mineworker from the Kloof mine, who declined to be named, said that “even if management increases the offer to R900 or R999, we will reject it. We want R1,000”.
One employee said: “NUM and Amcu are united, we are speaking with one voice and we are now Numcu because it is a united front.”
The workers said Sibanye should follow in the footsteps of Harmony Gold Mining Company, which was able to increase the wages of entry-level workers by R1,000.
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