By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Services at Sibanye-Stillwater’s Kroondal and K6 platinum group metal (PGM) mines have been disrupted after hundreds of employees staged illegal protest action, the group said on Tuesday.
The group said the sit-in started on the morning of June 3, with morning shift employees, including contractors, at the Kwezi shaft.
Later, the night shift at the K6 shaft was also disrupted, with more than 250 people gathering in a central waiting place on surface.
The protests follow annual payments made to beneficiaries of the Rustenburg and Marikana employee share option schemes (ESOPs) on June 1. The striking Kroondal employees are aggrieved to be excluded from ESOP payments, despite Kroondal employees not yet qualifying for the payments, the company said.
“This unfortunate turn of events transpired following the annual payments made to beneficiaries of the Rustenburg and Marikana employee share option schemes (ESOPs) on Friday.
“The striking Kroondal employees are reportedly aggrieved to not have received ESOP payments, despite Kroondal employees not yet qualifying for any ESOP payments,” Sibanye pointed out.
A provision of the 2023 Kroondal wage agreement signed between the company and union representatives from the National Union of Mineworkers and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union was for management and the unions to engage on the feasibility of introducing the Rustenburg ESOP for Kroondal employees once the acquisition of the Kroondal pool and share agreement (PSA) by Sibanye Rustenburg Platinum Mines (SRPM) was finalised.
Sibanye said several engagements have taken place between the company, organised labour and employees regarding the proposed ESOP as per the provision, with the parties agreeing that Kroondal employees would be included as beneficiaries of the Rustenburg ESOP, following the conclusion of the PSA transaction, which is expected before the 2024 year-end.
“The striking employees and their union representatives were well informed about the future date of inclusion into the Rustenburg ESOP,” the group noted.
“We fully respect employees’ rights to raise their grievances as set out in agreed policies and procedures. The current illegal and unprotected strike, however, is disappointing and we appeal to all stakeholders, including employees, to follow the established grievance procedures and to refrain from illegal acts.”
Sibanye-Stillwater announced R6.5bn worth of restructuring last year of which about half were at its US palladium and platinum mine Stillwater. The group called time on a proposed expansion of Stillwater to 700,000 ounces a year of palladium and platinum. Production for 2024 is expected to be between 440,000 to 460,000 oz.