Lonmin weighs legal options to end strike

[miningmx.com] – LONMIN is considering various legal options to bring a 17-week strike at its operations in the platinum belt to an end, saying the stoppage has become “dysfunctional’.

“The first price for us is still to reach a negotiated settlement with AMCU (Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union). We are looking at various legal options as a second prize,’ CEO Ben Magara said at a briefing on Monday.

Some legal processes are already underway. The platinum mining companies will tomorrow oppose an urgent application in the Labour Court by AMCU to stop them from communicating directly with their employees about the wage offer. Lonmin is also seeking legal relief as essential services employees are not allowed to partake in strike action, yet are not reporting for work, Magara said.

While Magara declined to elaborate on other options under consideration, the company is likely seeking legal advice on whether there are ways to have the strike declared unprotected. Magara and his executive team made various references to the escalating violence and intimidation in the area, and strongly condemned the murder of four people around its operations in Rustenburg last week.

“The fear and intimidation is touchable and palpable; we need to bring this to an end. We call upon AMCU to allow those who want to work to do so without fear or intimidation,’ Magara said. “This is a socio-economic tragedy on an unprecedented scale.’

Lonmin has lost a third of its annual production, while employees at Lonmin, Impala and Anglo American Platinum have lost an estimated R8.3bn in wages since the strike started on January 23.

The Labour Relations Act (LRA) offers little relief to employers in the case of unfair labour practices from employees or unions, limiting the options available to the mining companies, said Rod Harper, senior partner at Cowen-Harper Attorneys.

“The law lists nine unfair labour practices from employers, but is completely silent on unfair union practices. Both sides have rights and responsibilities, and both sides can make mistakes. Employers should be able to hold unions accountable for unfair practices.’

Harper said there may be two options available to employers, although both would be test cases without legal precedence under the current act. The first is to request evidence from AMCU that the union still has a mandate from its members to continue with the strike, for example through a ballot administered by an independent third party. Without proof of a mandate, an argument can then be made that the strike is unlawful.

Magara urged AMCU on Monday to listen to its members. “AMCU has said repeatedly that it will act within the mandate given by its members. We’re saying to AMCU let’s listen to our employees, and listen to them together. What our employees are telling us in their thousands appears to be very different from what AMCU’s leadership is saying.’

The other option is to ask a court to declare that violence, intimidation and the carrying of weapons constitute an unfair labour practice, Harper said.

Magara said the situation has become “sufficiently desperate’ to look at options other than a negotiated settlement.

“We will do what it takes to ensure workers can return if they want to. We will examine all our legal options in this regard. Nobody can afford for the strike to continue. We seek an end to the strike; we seek a way to get people back to work.’