Bloomberg reports that SA’s long-divided mining unions are forging a united front against the industry’s largest employer with a dispute over wage negotiations with Sibanye-Stillwater.
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) , Solidarity and Uasa will hold an unprecedented joint press conference over their issues with the company on 1 October, the trade unions said Wednesday in a statement. Collectively, they are asking for a monthly pay increase of R1,500 for workers in Sibanye’s gold mines. The deal would run over each of the next three years. A united labor force will present a different dynamic for South African mining companies. Three years ago, Amcu embarked on a five-month strike at Sibanye’s gold mines after it initially rejected a wage deal that had been agreed upon by the other unions. “We are all fighting for the common cause. What’s the use of allowing companies like Sibanye-Stillwater to divide us,” said NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu. The unions signed a wage deal earlier this month with Harmony Gold, which Sibanye should reference for its own offer, they said. Harmony workers will receive a monthly pay increase of R1,000 for each year of the agreement. Sibanye spokesman James Wellsted said that as the unions had declared a dispute, the talks were now taking place under the auspices of the CCMA.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly
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