[miningmx.com] – THE Chamber of Mines (CoM) confirmed the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was considering a wage offer of between 7.5% and 8% for gold industry employees, but plans for a profit share had been dropped.
“The gain share concept initially proposed has been dropped given the lack of interest at this stage from the unions,” said the CoM in an announcement on Friday afternoon.
According to the CoM in previous comments, gain share – effectively a profit share system in place at Harmony Gold and Gold Fields’ South Deep mine – had potential to add between 1.5% and 3% to employee’s basic pay.
Elize Strydom, chief negotiation for the CoM, acknowledged the 7.5% to 8% basic wage increase offer was “a little more than employers would have preferred” following its ‘final’ 6.5% position of last week, but they decided to relent in order to prevent “a longer period of damaging industrial action”.
The CoM is representing AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold, Rand Uranium, Sibanye Gold and Village Main Reef where the NUM has 67,000 members representing 63% of all gold employees.
Village Main Reef and Pan African Gold settled a wage increase of 8% earlier this week, a development that was considered a leading indication of what may materialise with the bigger producers.
Commenting on reports that employees were returning to work, the CoM said that the majority of mines would be back at work this evening with the exception of Harmony Gold where “certain matters remain under discussion” without providing details.
There was production at Kusasalethu, a Harmony Gold operation, where the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) was the majority union. The response of AMCU to the NUM’s possible agreement is the next important development and will have employers on tenterhooks.
“The offer made is fair and exactly the same one as the one put to all the other gold mining companies’ operations,” said Graham Briggs, CEO of Harmony Gold in a separate announcement it made to the JSE.
“We trust that whatever is holding up the decision to support the offer will be resolved soon,” he said.
The offer to the NUM, which incorporates a two-year agreement, sets down an 8% increase for category 4 and 5 employees as well as rock drill operators and a further inflation-linked increase in 2014.
Other employees would receive 7.5% which would also be increased a year later. The offer, if accepted, would be effective July 1. In addition, the current monthly living out allowance of R1,640 would increase to R2,000 in two R180 steps, on 1 September 2013 and 2014, the CoM said.
The parties also committed to appointing an expert to “… investigate and report on organisation and job design in the gold mining industry.” Issues relating to working patterns and shift arrangements, as set down in the CoM’s task team – Sindisa – and efforts to find solutions to garnishee orders that financially trouble miners would also be discussed between the CoM and the NUM.
The minimum medical incapacity benefit would increase from R30,000 to R40,000 over the two years, the CoM said.
