Mining Weekly reports that Sibanye-Stillwater will restart its South African gold operations in a phased manner over the next two to three months, in order to ensure the safety of the operations and employees.
The company said its lockout, which had been in place since 10 March, had been lifted. This followed after the precious metals producer and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) finally signed a three-year wage agreement at the weekend, ending a three-month strike at the gold operations. The agreement will also be extended to employees who are members of trade unions Solidarity and Uasa, who had previously accepted the miner’s wage offer. The strike was initiated by the NUM and AMCU on 8 March following eight months of negotiations. The final wage agreement involves a R1,000 or 7.7%, increase in year one, a R900 or 6.5% increase in year two, and a R750 or 5.2% increase in year three, for category four to eight employees. So-called ‘miners, artisans and officials’ will receive a 5% increase in year one, between a 5% and 5.5% increase in year two and a 5% increase in year three. The agreement is effective from 1 July 2021. Sibanye also agreed to pay a one-off hardship allowance of R3,000 to category four to eight employees as well as ‘miners, artisans and officials’. The hardship allowance comprises a R1,200 cash payment, and R1,800 in debt or loan reductions owing to the company.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Mining Weekly
- Read too, Sibanye signs multi-term pay hike deal and lifts lockout at gold operations, at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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