AMCU says wage talks at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold division have deadlocked
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) is in dispute with Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold division, noting in a statement that wage talks have deadlocked.
“Despite gold selling at record highs of more than $3 900/oz and management paying themselves salary hikes of up to 39% and multimillion-rand bonuses, Sibanye-Stillwater offers workers a meagre R650 increase,” the union asserts.
AMCU, along with three sister unions who have organisational rights at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations concentrated on the West Rand and in the Free State of South Africa, started wage negotiations on July 14.
“This happened as an unusually short wage agreement for a single year had already lapsed on June 30, AMCU points out.
The union explains that after a total of five wage negotiation meetings, the parties reached a deadlock and embarked on the company’s internal dispute resolution process.
“We have seen this approach before. Sibanye-Stillwater sends a junior negotiating team with almost no mandate to negotiate – their only mandate is to stay where their bosses told them to. This then leads to a very frustrating and drawn-out process, which inevitably leads to some sort of dispute,” AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa posits.
The union also highlights the discrepancy between record high gold prices and the wages of mineworkers in the sector.
At an internal dispute resolution meeting held on October 2, the four unions consolidated their demands to a unified position of a monthly increase of R1 300 for the lowest-earning mineworkers, and 6.5% for miners, artisans and officials.
However, AMCU informs that Sibanye-Stillwater’s management team refused to move and thus a stalemate was reached.
Mining Weekly has reached out to Sibanye-Stillwater for further information.
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