JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The three-week dispute by rock drill operators (RDOs) at JSE-listed Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde mine has seen the company lose about 16 000 oz of metal-in-concentrate production and roughly R180-million in revenue.
The company has reported that although the 580 RDOs had been going underground more recently, after first downing tools on April 2 in demand of a 38% increase in their monthly production bonuses, they have not been drilling.
This, despite being served with an interdict by the Labour Court, which ruled the work stoppage unprotected.
Further, Northam also announced that it would follow due process, which could result in the dismissal of the affected employees; however, spokesperson Memory Johnstone told Mining Weekly Online that no dismissals had yet been made and that the consultative forum that was constituted by mine management was continuing engagements with employee representatives to resolve the situation.
Although Northam said last week that it had agreed to review the application of the Zondereinde mine's productivity bonus system, the company insisted that it had not yet been changed and that it would continue to honour the agreement.
The company indicated that the workers’ current production bonuses could make up to 40% of their basic remuneration and warned that an increase thereof would have an adverse affect on Zondereinde’s continued ability to operate at a profit, with the higher costs reducing profitability, which was already strained by weak economic fundamentals.