Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, writes that in the wake of the Marikana incident in 2012 labour relations in the mining sector were characterised by rivalry between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu).
Solidarity and Uasa, the other two recognised unions primarily focusing on skilled miners, have also been luring members between each other, which added to the competitive trade union environment. During the mining wage negotiations of 2015 and 2018, Amcu did not caucus with the other three trade unions. In 2017 Amcu became a member of the Mine Health & Safety Council, where the protocol is that the four trade unions formally consult and speak with one voice. Du Plessis notes that since the onset of Covid-19, this has contributed to the four mining unions being able to formulate a joint position on burning pandemic-related issues in discussions with the Minerals Council SA, which has further reinforced a culture of unity. The occupational health & safety practice of union alignment resulted in the mining trade unions forming an alliance during this year’s wage negotiations in the gold sector, consolidating wage demands and negotiating under one banner. Du Plessis notes that this development was in stark contrast to the 2018 negotiations, when Amcu went on strike by itself, with the other three unions using their majority to extend wage agreements to Amcu members. He also reports that that the improvement in inter-union and union-employer relations that developed on the occupational health & safety platforms created the spirit for another event of historic importance when the mining unions recently concluded an agreement with the Mandela Mining Precinct. He says that other sectors can learn from mining about how a noncompetitive field such as occupational health & safety can pave the way for less conflict in the competitive labour relations field.
- Read the full original of Gideon du Plessis’ article at BusinessLive
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