[miningmx.com] – THE Labour Court (Gauteng) found in favour of gold companies after awarding an interim interdict against strike action proposed earlier this month by the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU).
The order interdicts the unions from proceeding with the strike or encouraging its members from embarking on the strike, the Chamber of Mines of SA said in a statement this morning.
The AMCU can on March 14 argue why the interim interdict should not be made final, but it’s likely the courts had drawn the sting from the union which was planning to wage national strikes across the platinum and gold sectors simultaneously.
The judgement is significant in that it supports the notion of majoritarianism and is seen as a pragmatic decision as a reverse would undermine central bargaining and open the door to multiple wage negotiations between unions and management.
The gold producers – AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, and Sibanye Gold – argued that
AMCU was compelled to accept the 8% wage agreement signed with the National Union of Mineworkers, UASA and Solidarity as these unions represented the majority view in a central bargaining system.
The agreed increases and improved benefits were backdated to 1 July 2013 and all employees, irrespective of union affiliation, have been in receipt of these since September 2013, the chamber said.
“The court also prescribes to AMCU leadership and the companies various measures they should take to inform AMCU members of the terms of the order,” it said.
Graham Briggs, CEO of Harmony Gold, said the wage agreement was “fair and valid”, ading that AMCU should encourage its members to adhere to the court ruling. “Our message to all unions is this: together we can get this industry working,’ he said.
The decision provides South Africa’s gold producers with some respite from further strike action, although ironically the companies are better placed to award higher wages than in the last 12 months owing to the weakness in the rand against the dollar.
The rand gold price is about R450,000/kg which is about R50,000/kg off the record high, but is still providing gold companies such as Sibanye Gold with a decent margin.
