JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – While the salaries of the lowest paid employees have not substantially increased over the past 21 years, the salaries of those who are occupying managerial positions have been “skyrocketing”, which has only widened the gap between workers’ salaries and those of management, Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) president Joseph Mathunjwa said in a media briefing on Wednesday.

He informed the media that the union was seeking a monthly wage of R12 500 for workers currently earning about R6 000 a month and that it had already submitted its demands to the gold mining houses and was awaiting their responses.

Mathunjwa then set about lambasting South Africa’s bullion producers for not significantly improving the lives of workers and instead seeking to optimise their operations by retrenching workers, while increasing payouts to their management teams.

“For example, AngloGold Ashanti increased payments to its executive management team, including gains on share schemes, by 155% from R83.7-million in 2008, to R213-million in 2014.

“This came at the same time as the company’s gold production declined by 20.8% during the same period,” he stated.

Mathunjwa further asserted that nonexecutive directors at AngloGold Ashanti were also “richly rewarded” with their remuneration increasing from R5.8-million in 2008, to R18.5-million in 2014.

At Harmony Gold, which he pointed out had the majority of its operations in South Africa, Mathunjwa said the total pay package for its executive management and nonexecutive directors, excluding gains from share options, increased from R12.7-million in 2008, to R21.8-million in 2014.

“However, during the same period Harmony Gold’s output declined by 18% to 1.2-million ounces a year,” he stated.

Mathunjwa said Harmony Gold nonexecutive chairperson Patrice Motsepe received a pay increase of 40% over the past five years to R883 000.

Further, the union leader noted that, while inflation-based salary increases, ranging from 7.5% to 8%, had been granted to the lower level employees every year, the increases had been insufficient to bridge the gap between the workers and management.

“Hence, we aim to abolish the apartheid system of paying low wages to workers,” he emphasised.

Moreover, Mathunjwa highlighted that South Africa had experienced many gold market price booms but these had never translated into improved pay packages for low paid mineworkers.

“We are perturbed by the fact that even though South Africa experienced the 2012 mining uprising, which resulted in the massacre on August 16, 2012, no lessons were learnt by the mine bosses to change their hearts and minds. Mining companies have not shown that they are willing to endeavour to address these challenges.”

He said all mining bosses were still in denial and pretended that all was well and shifted the blame to labour, claiming that workers were unrealistic and unreasonable.

“However, nobody is prepared to answer the question of, for how long should workers remain realistic and reasonable while living in abject poverty,” Mathunjwa lamented.

“We urge all stakeholders participating in these gold sector negotiations to join hands with us in this journey to bring about real change in the lives of workers.

“Ignoring and shying away from the challenges that face our industry, hoping that tomorrow they will just vanish, will not sustain the mining industry and country at large,” Mathunjwa warned.

AMCU DEMANDS

AMCU was demanding that all employees in categories 4 to 8 receive an increase of R7 000 a month in addition to their current basic salaries, while all employees in categories under miners and artisans should receive an increase of R6 500 a month in addition to their current basic salaries.

It further demanded that all employees in categories of officials B1 to B7 receive an increase of R7 000 a month in addition to their current basic salaries, while those in the categories of officials C1 to C5 should receive an increase of R6 500 a month in addition to their current basic salaries.

The entry-level minimum salary for all underground and surface level workers had to be increased to R12 500 a month across all mining houses, stated the union.

AMCU further called for the abolishment of several job grading categories in the mining sector, namely categories 4 and 5, B1 and B2 for officials and for winding engineering drivers to be upgraded to category C4 workers.

“The job grading system currently in use has been in existence for many years and is the product of an oppressive apartheid regime and, hence, it has to be reviewed,” Mathunjwa stated.

AMCU also called for an overall review of the job grading system, which it said would address the closing of the wage gap between workers and management in accordance with the Employment Equity Act.

AMCU demanded that all employees be paid a living out allowance of R4 000 a month and a home ownership allowance of R6 000 a month. 

AMCU demanded that companies pay a transport allowance of R2 000 a month to all employees who did not have access to company provided transport.

The union wanted all employees to be paid cage risk and underground allowances of R5 000 a month and companies to increase the meal interval allowance for all workers to R300 a day.

It also wanted rock drill operators to be granted a drilling allowance of R2 000 a month and a R1 500-a-month allowance for all other machine operators.

AMCU demanded that all applicable shift allowances be increased by 5% and that employees work only five days a week and a maximum of 45 hours per week in accordance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.