[miningmx.com] – GOLD Fields has signed a three-year wage agreement with unions at its South Deep mine in which it will lift salaries an average 10% per year – a development that will inevitably pile pressure on South Africa’s other gold producers.
Gold Fields was at pains to point out that the mechanised nature of South Deep called for skilled labour and that the operation only employed 3,500 souls. This contrasts with the labour intensive nature of other gold mines in the country.
However, intense rivalry among unions is likely to mean that any double-digit increase will be noted, especially by the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) which is growing its representation in the gold sector. The wage deal at South Deep was signed with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and UASA.
“We hope that the game-changer agreement is seen in the light of the material conditions prevailing at the mine, maturity of the negotiators, and the trust that workers still have in their trade union,” said the NUM.
“South Deep is the only fully mechanised gold mining operation in South Africa and it employs a small, skilled complement of approximately 3,500 employees,” Gold Fields said in an announcement.
“As such, Gold Fields has had to give due consideration to the scarcity of mechanised mining skills in South Africa and has taken a holistic approach in its negotiations with labour,” it said.
“The negotiations took place at a company-level in recognition of South Deep’s significantly different operating model and labour profile to that of the other gold mining companies in South Africa,” said Gold Fields.
The salary increase in the first year for the lowest category worker was 21.46% followed by subsequent increases of 14.76% and 12.97%. The increases for miners, artisans and officials, which account for a major part of South Deep was 8% for the first two years, and 9% in the final year.
The first increase will take effect on 1 April, it said.
The NUM said on April 7 that it would submit its wage demands to the gold and coal sector companies before the end of April.
“The NUM has delayed submitting its wage demands to the Chamber of Mines because of internal consultations with its members,” it said. “We expect the opening wage negotiations round to start towards the last week of May,” it added.
In terms of the 2013 gold industry wage agreement, category four and five employees and rock drill operators received an 8% increase and other employees a 7.5% increase, effective from July 1.
AngloGold Ashanti, Evander Gold Mines, Harmony, Sibanye Gold and Village Main Reef said in announcement today they had been informed Gold Fields would not participate in centralised collective bargaining for the upcoming wage negotiations.
“The five companies represented in centralised collective bargaining account for the majority of employees in the gold sector, with centralised collective bargaining applicable to around 94,000 employees,” the companies said in a joint announcement.
“Discussions between unions representing significant numbers of employees and the gold companies represented by the Chamber of Mines will commence in May/June, in advance of the current wage agreement expiring at the end of June 2015,” they said.
