Sibanye-Stillwater has agreed to a wage deal with unions at its SA gold operations after months of negotiations.
The gold and platinum group metal (PGM) miner agreed to increase its workforce’s average pay, including all benefits, by 5.4% for the three years to end-June 2028, it said on Tuesday.
Category 4-8 employees will receive slightly smaller raises of R850 or 4.5% in the first year, R900 or 4.8% in the second year and R1,000 or 5% in the third, said Sibanye.
Miners, artisans and officials will also receive wage hikes of 4.5%, 4.8% and 5% in the first, second and third years.
The deal was jointly negotiated by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), UASA and Solidarity.
“We would like to acknowledge organised labour for the constructive dialogue and are pleased to have finalised a multi-year wage agreement that is fair for our employees while also providing stability and sustainability at the South African gold operations, aligning all stakeholders’ interests,” said Sibanye CEO Richard Stewart.
Reuters reported that in 2022, Sibanye’s gold output plunged 42% after a three-month wage strike.
Shares in the precious metal heavyweight have climbed more than 260% in the past 11 months fuelled by a record gold price and a surge in PGM prices.
Last month, the miner reported R9.9bn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the September quarter, nearly triple that of the same time last year.
Shares in Sibanye closed nearly 4.2% lower on Tuesday at R54.58 but have rallied almost 18% in the past month.
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