Gideon du Plessis, trade union Solidarity’s general secretary, writes that in its recent ruling on the 2018 Mining Charter, the High Court concluded that the charter should not be seen as legislation but as policy.
The court also endorsed the “once empowered, always empowered” principle. Accordingly, the Minerals Council SA’s (MCSA’s) application that previous black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions be recognised was a success. Furthermore, the court automatically set aside the 2018 charter’s demand for an increase in empowerment shareholding from 26% to 30%, which would have benefited employees and mining communities. It is Du Plessis’ understanding that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) wants to appeal the ruling, which means the legal process could drag on and eventually end up in the Constitutional Court. One outcome of the ruling is that mining communities, which were already disaffected in that the 2018 Mining Charter only offered them a 5% shareholding, will now get nothing. Yet, the 2018 Charter was a victory for miners because it stipulated that, regardless of race, employees not receiving shares as part of their remuneration package would qualify for joint shareholding of 5%. But following the court ruling, workers will now end up getting nothing. Du Plessis says that miners were looking forward to the Charter’s shareholding scheme as it would have replaced the current “worthless employee share ownership plans”. He encapsulates the altered dynamics as follows: “Miners and mining communities are resentful about the mining past, but emotions were kept in check by the financial benefits the Charter’s shareholding scheme would offer. With that restraint now gone, the Minerals Council will have to promptly take the initiative on behalf of mining houses to financially empower employees and mining communities by means of an alternative shareholding scheme outside the charter framework.”
- Read the full original of Gideon du Plessis’ analysis at Miningmx
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