BL Premium reports that Sibanye-Stillwater has revised its wage offer in an attempt to end a seven-week long strike at its gold operations that has cost workers nearly R1bn in wages.
Describing it as a final settlement offer, the producer said on Friday that entry-level workers would now receive an increase of 7.8% in basic wages in year one, 7.2% in year two and 6.8% in year three. In addition, workers would get a R50 increase in the living-out allowance each year. The revised offer still falls short of demands tabled by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), which collectively represent about 25,000 of the 31,000 employees at the gold operations. The two unions are demanding an increase of R1,000, which amounts to a 9.8% rise in year one, 8.8% in year two and 8.2% in year three for entry-level surface and underground workers. “Our offer is fair, takes into account inflationary living costs, considers the sustainability of the SA gold operations and is in the interests of all stakeholders,” Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted stated.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andries Mahlangu at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
- Read too, Strikers at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations have so far lost nearly R950m in wages, at The Citizen
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page