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Num holds out for above-inflation hikes

Johannesburg - South Africa’s coal producers have offered the National Union of Mineworkers (Num) a wage offer of 4.2% to 4.5%, well below labour demands of 14%, the Chamber of Mines (COM) said on Tuesday.

Labour relations are strained in the mining sector and food and fuel price pressures are stoking wage demands at a time when miners say they can ill afford to offer increases far above inflation as they grapple with their own cost pressures.

A spokesperson for the Num, which had demanded 14%, said the union was rejecting the offer.

“If you look at what they have put forward for the higher categories of 4.2% that is exactly what headline inflation is, so there is no real increment on that offer,” spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said.

“We are calling on the chamber to revisit the offer. We have already made our point clear that it is 14% or nothing,” he said.

Headline inflation in April was 4.2% and despite sky high commodity prices, mining houses say they cannot continue to dish out the above-inflation raises they have conceded in recent years.

But unions argue that headline inflation does not capture the full impact of rising prices on the incomes of low-wage workers, who often have several dependents.

The two sides are to meet again on July 7, chamber spokesperson Jabu Maphalala said.

The COM is negotiating on behalf of several coal miners. On Monday the Num also rejected a 4% pay offer from the country’s gold companies, which include Africa’s three biggest gold producers - AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG], Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] and Harmony Gold Mining Company [JSE:HAR].

Platinum talks ahead

Num also said on Tuesday it was demanding 20% from Anglo Platinum [JSE:AMS], the world’s largest platinum producer.

Earlier, it turned down a 5.5% wage offer from Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP).

The union said on Tuesday that it had demanded a 14% wage increase for lower categories and a 13.5% wage increment for higher categories.

"The union further demands all these on a one-year deal whilst Impala argues for a three-year deal with inflation plus 1% on year two and year three," Num said.

"We are extremely disappointed with such proposals and 5.5% is a no-no for us while a three-year deal is not even a consideration for us," said Eddie Majadibodu, the Num's chief negotiator at Impala Platinum.

 
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