BusinessLive reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) lost a critically important court case on Wednesday in opposing the rights of Sibanye–Stillwater to extend the wage deal signed with three other unions at its gold mines.
Amcu called some 14,000 of its members out on strike on 21 November to demand a better wage deal than the three-year agreement Sibanye signed last year with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and Uasa. In the latest ruling in a long series of court battles, Judge Connie Prinsloo ruled that Sibanye and the three unions were entitled to extend the agreement to Amcu members. Amcu had approached the court to prevent an extension of the agreement, arguing that its members could not have the wage deal imposed on them after having been on strike for so long. “Amcu’s arguments that members have sacrificed wages from November 21 2018 to date and they cannot be deprived of the fruits of their sacrifice without their consent is not sustainable in law. Amcu members benefit to the extent that they become entitled to the improved conditions of employment embodied in the wage agreement, with retrospective effect to the normal implementation date,” Prinsloo said. In a technical judgment, her decision in favour of Sibanye drew on past cases and an interpretation of the Labour Relations Act relating to extending wage agreements to other parties. Sibanye immediately claimed victory, saying it could now proceed with a union membership verification process by an independent party and bring the strike to an end. It was not immediately clear if the strike remained protected.
- Read the full original of Allan Seccombe’s report on the court ruling at BusinessLive
- Read too, Labour Court declares Sibanye wage extension valid, at Mining Weekly
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page