[miningmx] — NEGOTIATIONS on the establishment of a central bargaining platform
for the platinum mining industry is losing momentum as labour relations at most of
the
sector’s operators have started to normalise.
In addition, trade union Amcu said it wouldn’t return to negotiations as the recent
events of labour unrest in the gold sector – where conditions of employment are
negotiated through a centralised forum – have shown the shortcomings of such a
system.
Talks on the formation of a central bargaining platform started in earnest at the
beginning of October following the violent strike that brought Lonmin, the world’s
third biggest platinum miner, to a standstill for more than a month. When the strikes
started to spread to the operations of other platinum producers, the formation of
such a scheme – resisted by the industry’s employers for years – was regarded as a
priority.
The parties had set out to have a framework in place by the end of the month.
Amcu, which is thought to have won thousands of new members disaffected with the
National Union of Mineworkers, withdrew from the process mid-October with a
demand that NUM publicly retract accusations that Amcu was behind the
assassination of NUM members.
The Chamber of Mines’ chief negotiator, Elize Strydom, said on Thursday the deadline
for end-October was still in place, with the qualification that the “pressure was on
the stakeholders and facilitators to have something concrete over centralised
bargaining soon’.
She said the facilitators of the talks have been in contact with Amcu over the
union’s participation.
“They [Amcu] are a factor in platinum, they are a factor at some of the companies
and it would be better to involve all the stakeholders and make them all part of the
process,’ Strydom said.
A senior official of another union, however, said he doubted whether an agreement
would be in place by the end of the month, blaming employers for losing interest in
the process. The only platinum producer that continues to be affected by strikes is
Anglo American Platinum.
“A lot of the momentum has gone,’ he said. “On gets the sense they [employers] are
having second thoughts on whether they think it wise to co-operate on such
matters.’
Amcu, on Friday, said the establishment of a central bargaining forum for the
platinum sector was “not a bad idea at all’. However, it said, there was a danger to
focus solely on the creation of a centralised bargaining system without dealing with
the underlying causes of labour unrest.
“The current problems in the platinum industry were caused by the negligence and
mistakes by leadership of certain unions who signed wage agreements without the
mandate from members,’ said Amcu President Joseph Mathunjwa.
“It is our strongest opinion that no structure formed in one or two months can be
able to address the problems of the mining industry that have existed for decades.’
Mathunjwa said talks should not focus on the platinum industry only, but on the
mining industry as a whole.
“We support the establishment of a mining industry bargaining council that will have
powers to determine the conditions of employment, substantive matter (sic) and
social aspects of the workers.’
