By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Sibanye Stillwater biggest mining unions voted to strike at the company’s gold operations until their wage demands are met, one of the groups said after a meeting.
The members rejected the latest offer by Sibanye to increase monthly wages R700 annually for three years and are demanding R1 000 for the same period, said NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu. The start of a strike hasn’t been decided, but will occur after notice is served, he said.
The NUM and AMCU, which have had a longstanding rivalry resulting in sometimes violent clashes as they campaigned to win or retain membership, are the biggest unions in the gold sector.
Along with the two other groups they demanded in September an increase of R1 500 a month, which Sibanye described as unaffordable and said that it would result in the early closure of shafts. The labour groups early this year were granted a certificate to strike.
Sibanye previously was prepared to pay miners, artisans and officials represented by Solidarity a 4.1% increase for the first year; a 4.7% increase for the second year; and a 4.7% increase for the third year.
At the February 4 meeting, the offer was revised upwards to a 5% increase for three years running.
The 5% offer is above the average inflation rate for 2021. It is also higher than the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury average inflation forecasts for 2022 and 2023. The revised offer follows a pattern of several years of above-inflation increases.
For category 4 to 8 employees, Sibanye previously offered an increase of R520 for year one; a R610 increase for year two; and a R640 increase for year three. Under the revised offer, this has been amended to an increase of R700 for all three years.
The revised offer was made after the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration issued a certificate of non-resolution.
The certificate permitted the unions to initiate a strike within 12 months. It also permitted Sibanye to implement a lock-out within the same period. Both parties, however, were required to give 48-hour notice to the other before enacting their rights in this regard.
Sibanye’s Beatrix, Driefontein and Kloof mines employ about 31 000 workers in an industry that’s struggling to curb costs amid the geological challenges of the world’s deepest mines.