JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A new round of wage talks between platinum producers Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin, and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), facilitated by the Labour Court, started at 10:00 on Wednesday.

AMCU told Mining Weekly Online in a telephonic interview before the mediation was scheduled to start that it was “optimistic” about the potential outcome.

The talks, which would be facilitated by the court for a period of up to three days, were initiated by Labour Court Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker who had been due to hear AMCU’s application to prevent employers from directly communicating with employees on the wage offer, Business Day reported on Wednesday.

According to the publication Rabkin-Naicker had, instead of deliberating on the application, held talks behind closed doors, urging parties to consider the bigger issues at stake in the strike, rather than the lesser issue of the communication between employers and employees.

“Reaching an affordable and sustainable agreement with AMCU would be in all of our interests and that remains our preference. We remain committed to ongoing dialogue with AMCU and other stakeholders to find a way to end the strike. The companies welcome the intervention of the Labour Court,” the platinum producers said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

AMCU spokesperson Jimmy Gama told Mining Weekly Online that it would be difficult to predict the outcome of the three-day mediation, but reiterated that the union was optimistic.

He also said AMCU would be continuing with its direct-communication case after the talks had been concluded.

“That case is still there, we are just putting it aside pending the outcome of these talks,” Gama said.

AMCU had started its strike for an entry-level basic wage of R12 500 over a four-year period on January 23. The platinum producers’ latest offer would see workers earn a minimum cash remuneration – comprising basic wages and holiday, living-out and other allowances – of R12 500 a month by 2017.