[miningmx.com] – JOSEPH Mathunjwa, president of the Associated
Mineworkers & Construction Union (Amcu), said his union’s decision not to join a
peace accord drawn up by Lonmin and other unions late last night was “complex’ and
required a “holistic view” that would be set down in press conference on Friday.
Commenting on a press conference provisionally scheduled for 10:00 in Johannesburg,
Mathunjwa said: “We need to give a holistic view and to give texture as to why we
moved away from it [the peace accord]. There are some big issues here that need
clarity,’ he added.
Earlier on Thursday, Lonmin confirmed that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM),
Solidarity and the United Association of South Africa (UASA), had signed the peace
accord that resolved to negotiate wages that, if agreed, would be contained in an
addendum to last year’s two-year wage deal.
Acting Lonmin CEO, Simon Scott, said: “Lonmin and the other unions who are part of
our bargaining council, have agreed to negotiate to address the wage demands within
a legal framework and have invited Amcu and a delegation of workers’
representatives to take part in the wage discussion.’
However, it’s thought that Amcu is seeking its permanent inclusion in the labour
structure at Lonmin’s operations rather than being a participant in a one-off accord
that operates in a legal environment in which it’s not included.
Miningmx commented last night that even if a peace accord was signed at
Marikana, it was unlikely to form a lasting solution to the labour relationship crisis at
the mine.
Ruli Diseko, investor relations manager for Lonmin, said that another group of worker
representatives, consisting of eight people representing between 3,000 and 4,000
workers at Marikana, had also not signed the agreement.
“Amcu has not signed and the worker delegates have returned to their people to
discuss the accord in principle,’ Diseko said.
In the meantime, it was unlikely that Lonmin could expect increased work attendance
at its Marikana mine, although the peace accord is being billed by the platinum
producer as a start in its efforts to return to full production.
Lonmin is currently assessing whether it needs to issue shares to help shore up the
balance sheet that carries debt of $356m. The ability of Lonmin to service the debt
will be stress tested in terms of covenants with its banking partners at the end of this
month.
“We have good relationships with our banks and we have a sympathetic ear from
them,’ said Diseko of Lonmin’s liquidity worries. In terms of bank covenants, debt
must not exceed a certain multiple of pretax earnings.
The matter is complicated by the fact that Lonmin has rand and dollar-denominated
debt with different covenants. The rights issue is expected to be $400m if the
platinum producer has to go that route.
