[miningmx.com] – THE Chamber of Mines supplemented its 1.5% increase in wage and living out allowances for gold industry workers by offering the unions with whom it was in dispute a mechanism for profit share.
Dubbed ‘gain share’, the proposal effectively enables employers to individually negotiate means of linking productivity with increased salaries to employers, said the Chamber of Mines in an announcement on Tuesday evening.
“It is envisaged that each of the companies will develop a “gain share’ proposal in line with the company’s objectives and maturity, which may be gold price, profit, revenue, gold produced or cost-related,” said Elize Strydom, chief negotiator for the gold companies.
“The underlying principle is that the metric could result in an additional 1% increase on basic wages across basic wages,” she said.
The exceptions to the ‘gain share’ proposal are Harmony Gold, which is proposing a continuation of its existing 1% profit share agreement, and Rand Uranium, which has offered a 0.5% “gain share’.
In terms of its basic wage offer, entry level workers will now be guaranteed pay of R9,095 per month which compares to the R12,000 per month minimum demanded by the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU).
Given the current state of the financial health of the industry, this move towards an inflation-related increase in basic wages and living-out allowance is a bold step, Strydom said.
Taking into consideration the unbudgeted increase granted in October 2012, the increase – at an entry level – for the year is edging towards 8.5%, she said.
The chamber is representing AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Rand Uranium, Harmony Gold, Evander Gold, Sibanye Gold, and Village Main Reef).
A wage dispute was declared by unions the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity and UASA, while the chamber declared a dispute with AMCU. The Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration is presiding over the negotiations.
