https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

AMCU willing to move on wage demands, wants to negotiate directly with CEOs

AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa

AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa

Photo by reuters

20th February 2014

By: Natalie Greve

Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

  

Font size: - +

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) would be willing to move on its wage demand of R12 500 for entry-level miners in the platinum sector, but only if the CEOs of the three platinum majors at which the controversial union was currently striking negotiated directly with AMCU at Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration- (CCMA-) facilitated talks.

Flanked by around 30 AMCU shop stewards and regional coordinators, union president Joseph Mathunjwa told a packed media briefing on Thursday that the CEO’s of Lonmin, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and Impala Platinum (Implats) needed to participate in the negotiation process, as company representatives negotiating on their behalf were “misleading” company heads.

“We believe the current [negotiation] team is conflicted and misrepresenting proceedings to their superiors leading to this impasse. If the CEO’s are not able to intervene, we will escalate our call for settlement engagements to the chairpersons of the different [companies’] boards or the investors directly.

“[We’ll accept] a wage that is accommodative to R12 500. The fact that we are [engaging] in the CCMA talks suggests that we are in the mood [to negotiate],” he commented.

Also present at the event, labour federation National Council of Trade Unions (NACTU) president Joseph Maqhekeni said AMCU – an affiliate of NACTU – should not be seen as inflexible on its long-standing wage demand.

“We are still calling on the CEOs to get involved because we believe that [if they enter the negotiations we] can reach a settlement,” he said, noting that there was nothing to suggest that AMCU was only interested in the R12 500 ‘”finished and klaar”.

These comments came days after Amplats announced it was suing AMCU for R591-million in damages it said resulted from ongoing strike action by AMCU members.

But Mathunjwa dismissed Amplats’ legal campaign, saying it amounted to a personal attack against the union, the leaders of which were cited in the court papers.

He further ventured that Amplats had been advised to pursue legal action by Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, interpreting this as an attack by the State and the private sector on “progressive” trade unions.

According to a report by Business Day Live on February 17, Shabangu was rumoured to have “exhorted [Amplats, Lonmin and Implats] to take a tougher line with AMCU and to explore legal options to end the strike”.

“We are aware that these companies are receiving advice to take this route from those we hold in high esteem as custodians of the interests of the poor. [Big] capital and the State are ganging up against AMCU . . . [from] where do they think we’ll get R591-million?” Mathunjwa held.

The union said it would consult with the CCMA on Thursday around the potential resumption of wage talks with the platinum industry.

Mathunjwa added, however, that it had no plans to end the now more than three-week strike and would, in the coming weeks, march to mining houses and government departments to deliver petitions and demands.

Meanwhile, the three platinum majors said at a press briefing on Wednesday that South Africa’s platinum industry had lost R4.4-billion in revenue as result of the ongoing strike and pleaded for AMCU members to return to work.

The three companies’ most recent counter-offer, made on January 29, proposed a three-year agreement with increases of 9% for the lowest paid employees, 8.5% for the second-lowest paid and 7.5% for C-level employees.

Mining Weekly Online reported on Wednesday that the proposed increase would take the current monthly minimum wage of between R5 000 and R5 700 to between R6 300 and R7 200 by 2015, excluding benefits and bonuses.

The proposed increases would also take the minimum guaranteed pay of entry-level underground employees to between R9 390 and R10 250 in the first year to between R10 900 and R11 900 in the third year.

AMCU rejected the offer.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

Comments

Showroom

Flameblock
Flameblock

FlameBlock is a proudly South African company that engineers, manufactures and supplies fire intumescent and retardant products to the fire...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Yale Lifting Solutions
Yale Lifting Solutions

Yale Lifting Solutions is a leading supplier of lifting and material handling equipment in Southern Africa. Yale offers a wide range of quality...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Photo of Martin Creamer
On-The-Air (15/03/2024)
15th March 2024 By: Martin Creamer

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.085 0.133s - 158pq - 4rq
Subscribe Now