Johannesburg - Mining companies have been urged to act swiftly to end wildcat strikes that are spreading around the country, says National Union of Mineworkers president Senzeni Zokwana, who had just conducted what he described as a “fruitless meeting” with Gold Fields’ management on Tuesday.
Zokwana said it “seems like we have come to a stage where, unfortunately, we can’t agree”.
This followed reports that tens of thousands of workers who had been on an illegal strike at Gold Fields’ KDC mine in Gauteng were expected to return to work on Tuesday.
“Workers are still not going to work until their demand for a R12 500 salary has been met,” Zokwana added.
Meanwhile, Gold Fields reported that as the majority of its 15 000 employees entered a second week of an unprotected strike at the KDC gold mine, most of its 9 000 employees at the Beatrix mine in the Free State had also downed tools since Friday. “The company has received urgent interdicts for KDC West as well as Beatrix West and is applying for an interdict for the remainder of the Beatrix mine. The company is evaluating all options to deal with the unlawful strikes,” Gold Fields said.
There was also no end in sight to the strike at Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) mines in Rustenburg, where workers are demanding R16 070.
Amplats spokeswoman Mpumi Sithole said workers’ demands included a basic salary of R10 000, a living-out allowance of R2 000, a monthly safety bonus of R1 500, an underground allowance of R500, and daily meal and daily transport allowances of R30 and R60 respectively.
Sithole said that on August 29, 365 employees referred a dispute relating to matters of mutual interest to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. “The employees are not assisted or represented by any recognised union,” she said, adding that the company had a two-year wage agreement which was valid until June next year.
“On September 12, approximately 300 employees marched to the company’s main office and presented the exact same demands which form the basis of the dispute referred to the CCMA to the company’s management.”
The matter was heard on Tuesday at the CCMA, where a ruling was reserved. One of the applicants, Thebe Maswabi, said they were expecting Amplats to bring an offer to the table, but this did not happen. “We went to the CCMA because we were not getting any attention from the employer after giving them our memorandums, and we have seen the same attitude again at the hearing. They’re now talking about consulting with the Chamber of Mines before they can present their offer.
“The strike will, in the meantime, continue… Pressure could soon mount on the company because its mines in Limpopo have also indicated that they were going on strike with similar demands this week.”
The Star