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Sibanye-Stillwater [JSE:SGL] will be extending a special cash advance of up to 50% of basic pay to employees in its bargaining unit that require it, the company said in a statement.
The company said it was offering this to mitigate the negative financial impact of the strike on its employees ahead of the Christmas holidays and the beginning of the school year next month.
This followed the company’s announcement on Thursday to extend its wage agreement to workers not represented by the National Union of Mineworkers, Solidarity and UASA before the beginning of a recent strike.
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union – the union which embarked on the strike – has rejected the extension of a wage deal that Sibanye struck with the other unions.
Sibanye’s statement said the cash advance would be repaid to the company over a five-month period "via payroll deduction", from the end of February 2019.
"The cash advance will be available to all category 4-8 employees, miners, artisans and officials in the bargaining unit who are at work and specifically request to receive the cash advance before 4pm on Tuesday, 17 December 2018," the statement said.
Regarding the strike, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman said the safety and wellbeing of all Sibanye–Stillwater employees and their families was the first priority for the company.
"Management has been concerned about the timing of the strike and the financial hardships that employees who have been on strike, or not at work, will suffer due to the no work, no pay principle, which still applies," said Froneman.
He urged workers to report for duty.
