[miningmx.com] – SOUTH Africa’s gold miners were divided over whether to impose a lockout of workers with Sibanye Gold, AngloGold Ashanti and Harmony Gold favouring it while Village Main Reef, Rand Uranium and Gold Fields did not, said BDLive.
Speaking to BDLive, a spokesman for the Chamber of Mines which is representing the gold miners, Charmane Russell, said a lockout was a “last resort” and that the miners would seek a different route, including a wage agreement with the National Union of Mineworkers which is due to launch strike action from Tuesday night.
“The first objective is to avoid a strike completely, which there is still time to do,” Russell told BDLive.
“There might be some differences between employers but they are holding together and there might be some differences in the settlement but these would be negotiated centrally,” she said.
BDLive observed it was no coincidence that the employers backing the lockout were those which also have a strong Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) presence at some mines.
At these operations, all in the Carletonville area — AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine; Harmony’s Kusasalethu and Sibanye’s Driefonteing — AMCU holds a majority. The NUM has the majority at all other gold operations, BDLive said.
Click here to read the full article
