TimesLive reports that talks between unions representing striking Sibanye-Stillwater gold sector mineworkers and the company continued to hang in the balance on Tuesday.

Following a stalemate on Monday evening at a meeting facilitated by the CCMA when the mining company rejected a counter-offer tabled by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the parties convened on Tuesday morning. The unions stuck to their guns on Monday’s counter offer while company representatives took a lengthy caucus break to discuss their position. Amcu general secretary Jeffrey Mphahlele said they were waiting to hear what Sibanye’s position was as the unions' position had not changed. NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mammburu said: "It's up to Sibanye-Stillwater. If they want the strike to end, they have a counter-offer we have put on the table to consider." The counter-offer would see workers receive a R800 increase in the first year, a R3,000 one-off payment and 5% increase for officials and artisans. Sibanye’s proposal, which was rejected by the unions on Monday, amounted to a R700 increase, a R3,000 one-off payment and a 5% increase for officials and artisans. For the second and third years of the suggested multiyear deal, Sibanye had offered R1,000 and R900 increases respectively and a 5% increase for the other employee categories, while the unions’ counter-offer was for a 5.5% increase for the other categories in both the second and third years. The difference between what Sibanye is offering and what the unions are demanding is R100 per month and a 0.5% increase for other job categories in the second and third years.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Isaac Mahlangu at TimesLive

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