22nd Jun 2005 08:18
Lonmin PLC22 June 2005 Signing of New Era Labour Agreement Lonmin Plc, the National Union of Mineworkers ("NUM"), Solidarity and UASAannounce that they have agreed and signed a New Era Labour Agreement (the"agreement"). This innovative agreement represents a new era in labour relationsat Lonmin and has been drawn up and finalised by the joint union managementproblem solving forum (JUMPS), a committee made up of representatives fromLonmin management and NUM, Solidarity and UASA. The agreement is effective from 1 October 2005 for a 5-year term and covers allemployees at Lonmin's mining operations at Marikana, South Africa. The agreementis a living agreement and the parties have committed to continuous problemsolving through the JUMPS structure. Under the terms of the agreement basic pay will be increased annually by apercentage equal to the South African CPIX inflation measure. Employees willhave the opportunity to earn bonuses over and above CPIX by sharing in theimprovements they achieve in costs and productivity under a gain sharing scheme,called Platinum Plus. The terms of the gain share will allow employees to shareon an equal basis in an annual bonus pool equivalent to 25% of improvements incosts and productivity over an agreed base value. The agreement equalises the pay and conditions of employees across the Lonminproperty and eliminates the historical differences that existed between each ofLonmin's three mines. Lonmin employees will be invited to participate in shaping the future of theLonmin business though the continued existence of JUMPS and will be encouragedto share their ideas for the continuous improvement of the operations. Theseideas will be evaluated and implemented using Lonmin's existing Six Sigmaprogramme. The wage agreement with employees at Lonmin's Western Platinum Refinery ends inSeptember 2006 and will be re-negotiated at that time. Commenting on the new agreement, Brad Mills, Chief Executive Officer said: "The New Era Labour Agreement marks a new chapter in labour relations in SouthAfrica. For the first time labour and management are working together to build ahealthy business and have both given up their adversarial past. I want to thankthe leadership of all of the unions for their bold vision and courage in joiningus in this agreement which for the first time aligns the work force with theenterprise's business case. Our Platinum Plus gain sharing programme representsa real opportunity for our workers to participate in the success of ourimproving business. The long term nature of the agreement and our commitment tocontinuous problem solving will ensure that the interests of management and theunions stay aligned over time." Commenting on the new agreement, Victor Tseka, Lonmin Co-ordinator of NUM said: "The JUMPS process and New Era Labour Agreement has been a totally new challengefor NUM and Lonmin. Having completed the process we believe that this livingagreement represents the best outcome for our members and a new opportunity towork together to benefit both Lonmin and its employees. We believe thisrepresents the new era for the mining industry, South Africa and Africa" Commenting on the new agreement, Gerhard Viljoen, Co-ordinator, Solidarity said: "It took courage from all of Lonmin's employees to enter into this agreementtaking into consideration our past history in the mining industry. Thisdefinitely marks a new chapter for labour relations in South Africa and couldprovide a blue print for other mining companies currently involved innegotiations. " Commenting on the new agreement, Hannes Scholtz, UASA Co-ordinator said: "UASA found the negotiation and completion of the New Era Labour Agreement achallenging event. It is from now on that every Lonmin employee will have toprove we are each willing and able to make the process workable. In making theagreement workable it can only create a harmonious workforce." Enquiries: Alex Shorland-Ball, Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications, Lonmin plc Tel: +44 (0)7917 038 684 or +27 (0)14 571 2032 (22 June only) Nadja Vetter and Anthony Cardew, Cardew GroupTel: +44 (0)20 7930 0777 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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