Business Times reports on the wage strike by Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) members at Sibanye-Stillwater’s SA gold operations, which commenced on 21 November 2018.
About 2,000 Amcu members gathered on Thursday afternoon on a hill overlooking Sibanye-Stillwater's operations in Driefontein as leaders updated them on the salary negotiations. In a move echoing Marikana, strikers sat on the koppie armed with spears, sticks and sjamboks. Amcu leaders explained to them that the union was not backing down from its demand for a monthly salary of R12,500. "Mayibuye! Imali!" they chanted, adapting an anti-apartheid slogan from "Bring back Africa" to "Bring the money". Sibanye’s James Wellsted indicated that in some operations, some staff were working and in others, because of intimidation, there was a lower turnout. According to Sibanye, striking entry-level mineworkers have already lost on average R9,000. Among Sibanye's gold-mining workforce, Amcu represents 43% of employees. Sibanye struck a deal with three other unions, namely the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa, for a R700-a-month increase in the first and second years and R825 in the third year of a three-year wage deal.
- Read Penelope Mashego and Mudiwa Gavaza’s full original report in this regard at BL Premium (paywall access only)
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