Solidarity rejects coal wage offer

Cape Town - The trade union Solidarity rejected an offer of a 4.6% salary increase made by the Chamber of Mines at coal wage negotiations on Friday.

“We request the chamber to revise the offer so that the negotiations can continue in a constructive way,” Deon Reyneke, head of Solidarity’s energy industry, said in a statement.

“The chamber must focus on a combined offer which includes all the mine houses, because it is necessary to promote collective bargaining in the industry”, said Reyneke.

Solidarity expressed its discontent with the chamber’s low initial offer as it would prolong the negotiation process unnecessarily after the negotiations had already been delayed several times.

According to Reyneke, the union hopes that the Chamber of Mines will consider Solidarity’s demand to raise the retirement age of above-ground workers from 63 to 65 and that of underground workers from 60 to 63.

“The chamber already conditionally approved the raise of the retirement age of workers in the gold sector. We demand that this positive step will also be taken in the coal sector”, said Reyneke.