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Johannesburg - Anglo Platinum (Amplats) [JSE:AMS] will meet the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) later on Wednesday as employers and the union sought an end to the ongoing platinum strike.
"Amplats will be meeting with Amcu this afternoon, and in meeting Amcu we remain optimistic that we are working towards a resolution towards ending the strike," spokesperson Mpumi Sithole said.
Impala Platinum (Implats) [JSE:IMP] spokesperson Johan Theron said the company had received a formal response from Amcu on the latest wage offer.
"We received a formal written response late on Monday from Amcu. We have been engaging with Amcu from an Impala perspective," he said.
"It has been reported that Amcu have raised several points in their written response.
"From where we thought we were, which was a principle agreement with minor tweaks, it seems like they are asking for more money. Maybe we are misreading the situation and that needs to be clarified at this stage."
Lonmin [JSE:LON] spokesperson Sue Vey said Lonmin's position mirrored that of Implats.
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa and treasurer Jimmy Gama were not immediately available for comment.
Amcu members at Implats, Amplats, and Lonmin went on strike on January 23 demanding a basic monthly salary of R12 500.
Platinum producers have proposed to increase the salary of the lowest paid workers by R1 000 for two years and R950 in the third year. This excluded other benefits.
The salaries of officials, artisans, and miners would increase by 8% in the first year and by 7.5% for the remaining two years.
The proposed settlement was for three years.
Living-out allowances would not be increased for the duration of the settlement. Pension fund contributions, overtime, holiday leave, and shift allowances would be increased annually based on the consumer price index (CPI).
The companies also promised to pay workers backpay within seven working days of them returning to work. The backpay was for the period prior to the strike.
