9th Jun 2014 11:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Lonmin PLC, Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd and Anglo American Platinum Ltd, a subsidiary of Anglo American PLC, were Monday meeting with representatives of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, on the last day for discussions set up by Minister of Mineral Resources Ngoako Ramatlhodi to solve the ongoing strikes in the country.
The strikes over wage disputes have now gone on for almost five months in South Africa, and have cost mining companies over ZAR21 billion as well as causing the South African economy to contract in the first quarter.
The Department of Mineral Resources stepped in after Ramatlhodi became Minister of Mineral Resources on May 26. Since then it has established a technical team to work as intermediary between the companies and the union to try and find solutions to the problem.
Meetings were continuing on a daily basis until Friday, and a proposal was offered to both groups last week. However, the Department said that talks on Monday would be the last which take part with all groups if a deal is not agreed.
"Monday 9th June will be our last meeting with all parties. I am making a humble appeal to all the parties involved to assist us to move this process forward," Ramatlhodi said in a statement on Saturday. "We cannot continue to meet indefinitely. At some point, we must find an implementable solution."
"It is in the interests of the workers, the companies, and the South African economy that we find a lasting solution to this challenge, and I am confident that all the parties involved will not fail our country," Ramatlhodi added.
Mining Ministry spokesman Mahlodi Muofhe is confident the discussions will lead to a deal between the parties. "The parties themselves are at a point where they feel that they have to get to some kind of resolution," he told the SABC South African state broadcaster on Monday.
The news comes after Business Day reported on Thursday that the AMCU had rejected a government-brokered proposal for an ZAR800 monthly wage increase in order to end strikes. AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa told the Department for Mineral Resources on Tuesday that the proposal was the same as an offer which it rejected three months ago, according to Business Day.
On Wednesday, the Mineral Resources Minister met with the platinum miners to discuss a further proposal from the AMCU, which the producers are currently mulling. At the time, It did not provide any details of the new proposal from the AMCU.
In late May, the parties all sat down for three-day talks on the crisis amid reports of thousands of people queueing for food aid in South Africa after foregoing their wages, but an agreement was not reached. Miners are believed to have missed out on over ZAR9 billion in wages.
In April, the companies put on the table a revised settlement, stating that entry-level underground employees would be paid ZAR12,500 per month from July 2017, through a pay rise of 7.5% to 9.5% per year. However, the revised offer was rejected by the AMCU.
The companies then decided to offer employees the new deal directly prior to the latest union talks.
Lonmin shares were down 0.6% to 250.10 pence, while Anglo American shares were up 0.7% to 1,474.50 pence on Monday.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/labour/2014/06/05/amcu-rejects-new-pay-increase-offer
By Tom McIvor; [email protected]; @TomMcIvor1
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