The Medupi power project
Photo by: Duane Daws
Murray & Roberts accrued around R350-million in losses in its South African business owing to labour unrest and strikes in the 2013 financial year, CE Henry Laas said on Thursday.
Speaking in Johannesburg, he said the deteriorating labour situation in South Africa was a “big problem”, and that he was concerned about the spate of strikes at the Medupi power station construction project, as well as the current general strike in the local construction industry.
He said it was “very difficult” to build projects in South Africa in the current labour environment “safely, on time and on budget”.
He cited an example where Murray & Roberts staff, working on a construction site in Rivonia on Monday, were attacked by people arriving in three buses, breaking into the site, and harassing the company’s staff.
Several of the company’s people had to be hospitalised.
Murray & Roberts group financial director Cobus Bester added that workers on the Medupi site worked only seven out of the 12 months in the 2013 financial year.
“There is absolutely no way you can make money if you don’t work five out of 12 months.”
Laas said he had the feeling that trade unions in South Africa were assuming more rights than should be the case for labour bodies.
He also believed it was difficult for government to exercise control in the labour environment, as the trade unions formed a big part of its support base, and even more so now that the 2014 elections loomed large.
Laas said there was not justification for demands of 40% pay increases in an environment where inflation reached 6%.
Murray & Roberts on Thursday reported that revenue for the financial year ended June 30 increased by R3-billion to R34.6-billion over the previous year, with the group swinging from a loss of R358-million to an operating profit of R1.7-billion.