Northam concludes three-year wage agreement at Zondereinde

Northam's Zondereinde mine

NORTHAM Platinum said it had concluded a new wage agreement with employees represented by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at its Zondereinde mine – which the firm’s CEO, Paul Dunne, acknowledged had been a “constructive” process.

“We recognise the mature and constructive manner in which the engagement has been undertaken,” said Dunne in a statement. “The agreement provides for continuity, certainty and allows all stakeholders to focus on the sustainability of the business going forward.”

In terms of the agreement, which is for three-years, basic wages for entry level underground employees will be increased by R1,000 in the first year, followed by increases of R1,100 and R1,200 in the second and third years respectively. There will also be a R200 annual increase in the housing or living out allowance over the agreement period.

For supervisory employees at Zondereinde, Northam will pay a basic increase of 7% per year for each of the three years and a 6% annual increase for housing/living out allowances over the same period, it said.

The agreement is another signal that wage negotiations across the precious metals sector involving both the NUM and AMCU have moved in the right direction.

On September 24, the NUM joined AMCU, as well as UASA and Solidarity, in signing a three-year wage deal with AngloGold Ashanti which allowed for increases to the basic wage of Category 4-8 employees of R700 in year one, R800 in year two and R900 in year three. Miners, artisans and officials will receive increases of 5.5% for each year of the agreement.

That leaves Harmony Gold, Village Main Reef and Sibanye-Stillwater to find a conclusion. It emerged on September 28 that AMCU and the NUM had been granted certificates of non-resolution by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in respect of Sibanye-Stillwater and Harmony, although the Minerals Council said that discussions with the unions were progressing nonetheless.

According to Minerals Council data published recently, total employee earnings across the South African mining sector increased to a total of R29.5bn in 2017 compared to some R14.7bn in 2007. This was despite total employee numbers falling during the 10 years from 166,000 people in 2007 to 112,000 employees today.

Auditor PwC published similar date today. Commenting in its Mine: 2018 publication, which examines production and return metrics for the South African mining sector, it calculated that the sector’s employees took 47% of total value generated by it last year compared to 37% of the total value ten years ago.