[miningmx.com] – TENSIONS in South Africa’s gold industry were raised a notch after the Chamber of Mines of SA (CoM) said today it would apply for an interdict to have a planned strike over wages by the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) declared illegal.
“Any strike action by AMCU against the gold producers covered in the wage agreement will be opposed and a court interdict will be sought to prevent AMCU from embarking upon strike action,” the CoM said in an announcement.
“The Chamber of Mines will request that the court rule that the union should be held responsible for any and all damages suffered as a result of strike action,” it said. The CoM’s chief negotiator, Elize Strydom, called on AMCU to help “save the industry”.
“The industry remains in a fragile position, with many mines and shafts making a loss,” she said. “A strike will further undermine the industry and threaten even more job losses and even some mine closures.”
It confirmed it had been served with a notice to strike by AMCU at Sibanye Gold’s Driefontein mine, Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu and Masimong mines, and at AngloGold Ashanti’s operations.
AMCU president, Joseph Mathunjwa, said in Rustenburg yesterday that members had agreed to strike at Anglo American Platinum, Lonmin and Impala Platinum, but also at gold mines where it had members. He is seeking a R12,500 per month wage for entry-level miners.
The CoM’s position is that AMCU members were obliged to accept the wage deal agreed in September because they were part of the bargaining unit that included the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), UASA and Solidarity. In addition, the wage increase which was set at 8%, was backdated to July 1 which had since been paid to AMCU members.
The NUM, UASA and Solidarity represented, at that time, about 72% of all employees in the gold sector, whilst the AMCU represented about 17% of gold industry. However, Mathunjwa, indicated that the union’s membership in the gold sector had been increasing since then.
The CoM said that in terms of a ‘peace clause’ contained in the wage agreement, there could be no strike action about terms or conditions of employment.
“Accordingly, any strike action about terms and conditions of employment during the existence of the agreement will be in contravention of the “peace clause’ and thus unprotected,” it said.
Asked about this last week, Mathunjwa said that the law was a “capitalist forum to protect the interests of those companies”. He added that: “We do have the right to strike in labour law. Will go on strike at mines where we have members”.
Said Strydom: “We appeal to AMCU to act in the best interests of its members, the industry and the country. We further appeal to AMCU and employees – stay at work and save our industry.”
Gold mining shares were buoyant, however. Shares in AngloGold Ashanti were 4.8% higher on the JSE, whilst Harmony Gold was 3.4% higher. Shares in Sibanye Gold and Gold Fields were also higher.
