Share

Amcu quits gold wage talks - industry body

Johannesburg - South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) walked out of gold wage talks on Wednesday, an industry body said.

"They declared a dispute and the next step is mediation," a spokesperson for the Chamber of Mines told Reuters, without providing a reason. Three other unions remain committed to the talks.

On Tuesday  the gold producing companies responded to mining unions saying that their wage demands were unaffordable.

“The demands made by the four unions are unaffordable, as high as an additional R16.5bn across the five companies when one of the union’s demands is extrapolated,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The gold companies include AngloGold Ashanti [JSE:ANG], Evander Gold Mines, Harmony [JSE:HAR], Sibanye Gold [JSE:SGL] and Village Main Reef.

According to the companies the industry’s total wage bill was R23.5bn in 2014.

“Acceding to these demands would threaten the sustainability of our industry, and would jeopardise almost all current jobs,” the companies said.

Offer not acceptable

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), and UASA (United Association of SA) have all indicated that the initial offer by the producers were not acceptable.

The producers proposed a five-year wage deal with annual wage increases between 7.8% and 13%, plus a share of profits.

According to UASA (representing 7% of gold employees) the gold producers tabled a “good opening offer”, but added that it still needs work.

NUM (representing 52% of gold employees) has rejected the offer outright, asking for an increase to basic pay for underground workers to R10 500 per month from R5 700.

Amcu (representing 30% of gold employees) said gold producing companies need to improve their pay offers and have threatened to declare a deadlock if the union is not happy with the offer.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.85
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders