BL Premium reports that on Thursday diamond producer De Beers signed a five-year wage deal with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) that has been hailed as bringing stability in the diamond sector.

With the agreement, the company, which is part of the Anglo American group, joined Impala Platinum (Implats) and Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), which signed five-year wage agreements with unions in 2022. The wage deal will see employees in the bargaining unit at Venetia Mine and De Beers Sightholder Sales SA receiving an increase of 7% in 2023 and 6% in the subsequent years until 30 April 2028. The historic deal takes the minimum basic wage at entry level, excluding allowances for shifts and housing, to R17,630 per month. “The agreement also allows for participation in the Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and will see De Beers’ employees in SA taking part in Anglo American’s current South African ESOP from 2023 to 2025,” the company, which has mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and SA, advised in a statement. The wage talks began in March, with NUM demanding a pay hike of 9% while De Beers offered 6%. The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration facilitated the talks when negotiations deadlocked.

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

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