Lonmin wage deal frustrated by unknown force

[miningmx.com] – MEMBERS of the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) were being prevented from ending a ten-week strike at the premises of Lonmin having told the platinum firm they overwhelmingly preferred to return to work.

Responding to questions in a press briefing at Lonmin’s head office today, only hours before AMCU representatives were due to hand over a memorandum, the firm’s CEO, Ben Magara, said he thought striking workers were being intimidated.

“They are telling us they are being intimidated. Is it AMCU or not? We don’t know,” he said. Magara added that company surveys indicated strike fatigue was high. Employees at Lonmin, as well as Impala Platinum (Implats) and Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) had sacrificed about R5bn in salaries so far.

Some R11bn had been lost in total company revenues with Lonmin likely facing scaling back its $210m in capital plans which it announced earlier this year. “Clearly, we have lost 10 weeks and that number [planned capital] will most likely have to come down,” said Magara.

In response to a programme of automated voice messaging (AVM), in which Lonmin polled about 20,000 employees, some 67% of those contacted said they wanted to return to work, according to Lerato Molebatsi, executive vice president of communications for Lonmin.

An additional 6,500 Lonmin employees indicated in response to a short message service (SMS) poll that they wanted to restart work, said Molebatsi.

Lonmin employs about 27,000 people of which 23,000 are out on strike since AMCU called it on January 23. AMCU is demanding a basic salary of R12,500 per month and has only once adapted its demand by saying the increase could be imposed over a three to four year period.

Magara said the demand remained unaffordable. AMCU’s single alteration to its demand had shifted the increase from a one-off 150% increase in salaries to 30% compounded over several years, he said. “This 30% is not affordable and is not going to happen.”

However, there may be signs of possible acceptance of Lonmin’s 9% salary offer at branch level, according to Lonmin vice-president of human resources, Abey Kgotle.

“The common thread of engagements is that there appears to be appreciation at AMCU branch level that R12,500 over 4 years is not achieveable. They are willing to look at settlement around 9% zone, but there’s no change in the formal AMCU position,” he said.

This supports the view of Amplats CEO, Chris Griffith, who last week said that a movement towards “the settlement zone” was possible.

It feels to me like we’re entering the settlement zone,’ he said at a press briefing at the group’s offices in Johannesburg. “The indication is that there’s pressure on everyone which is the right time to get a settlement,’ Griffith said.