[miningmx.com] – ANGLO American CEO, Mark Cutifani, said the UK-listed group was duty bound to stand its ground against the Association of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU) becomes its wage demands were unsustainable.
The AMCU is asking for basic wages of R12,500 per month for miners working at Anglo American Platinum, its Johannesburg-listed subsidiary, as well as Impala Platinum and Lonmin. This has resulted in a strike now into its 20th week. Attempts to negotiate an agreement have failed as AMCU has declined to modify its demands.
Bloomberg News reported comments in a speech delivered by Cutifani to the Melbourne Mining Club in which he said: “It’s the fight we had to have. What’s being asked, for us is unsustainable.
“And at the same time, the productivity in the platinum sector is one tenth the productivity in the Australian mining sector and we are paying one fifth of the wages.’
“This is one of those challenges we have to take on as an industry, as a company and as a country,’’ Cutifani said. “I’m comfortable we’ll get there but it does need us to stand our ground and be constructive and find a solution to work in the long term.’
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