BL Premium reports that in the latest attempt to end the strike that has brought Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations to a grinding halt and has shone a harsh spotlight on his pay, CEO Neal Froneman said the company had asked the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to step in.

About 25,000 gold miners led by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) downed tools on 9 March, demanding a pay increase of as much as 9.8% after rejecting Sibanye’s offer for an increase in basic wages of as much as 7.8% for the first year. The industrial action has halted operations at Sibanye’s gold operations, which make up a small portion of its portfolio. It has also left striking workers R1bn out of pocket and prompted Minerals & Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe to threaten to revoke the company’s mining licence. Speaking during an annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, Froneman indicated that Sibanye had conducted its own polls and was “very sure that our employees want to go back to work”, with the majority of the employees ready and willing to accept the company’s current proposal. He said the company made a section 150 application at the CCMA on Monday to “conciliate what the majority of workers want through an independently led process of verification”. Froneman went on to comment: “In our view, that is the way to get a responsible outcome instead of resorting to, let’s say, demands that are unsustainable. I believe that and we will certainly honour what comes out of that process, which will start on 30 May.”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane & Katharine Child at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)

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