[miningmx.com] — THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the
Chamber of Mines (CoM) meet on Wednesday for probably their most important talks
since the start of central bargaining in the mining industry in 1987.
The purpose of the meeting in 1987 was to put an end to the general strike called by
NUM. At the time, NUM set the conditions for ending the strike, even though
thousands of its members had already been dismissed at that stage.
Today, the tables are turned. This time the parties have to end a strike that NUM tried
its best to prevent, but failed to do so. That NUM held a news conference on Tuesday
to which it invited Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and its president, S’dumo
Dlamini, as speakers, and even leading figures from the SACP leadership, show how
serious the issue has become for NUM.
Vavi was the chief spokesperson at the news conference and read the statement. The
trade union movement made this demand of the Chamber: negotiations on an
agreement reached last year for the period to end-June 2013 have to be reopened, or
alternatively, negotiations for a new agreement that will come into effect after June
2013 must be brought forward.
In other words, NUM wants to start negotiations now about wages that will come into
force in the second half of next year. NUM won’t admit it, but it is clear that it wants
something from the CoM’s members that it can take back to its workers to end the
strike at gold mines. It also wants concessions from employers with which it can
recover some lost prestige.
The proven method of enjoying respect among workers is militancy, but, especially in
the gold sector, this is a bad time to be militant. The country’s gold mines are all in
old-age homes. In fact, quite a few, like Blyvoor and Ezulwini, are in intensive care.
The fact is that mines constantly require new investments to uncover new ore. And
those ore bodies are very small in South Africa’s gold mines – so small, in fact, that
strikes at this stage can hit future profits so badly it would no longer be worth
investing new capital in the mines.
Vavi pointed out that employers always raise the spectre of job cuts when wage
demands are made, but the union also admitted that many gold mines could close if a
strike continues for two or three weeks.
“We agree with the Chamber on the climate in which we find ourselves,’ Vavi said.
The comments of AngloGold Ashanti CEO, Mark Cutifani, on Monday that investors
could withdraw their support from gold mines therefore did not go unheeded.
Platinum mines are quite another matter. Though the short-term outlook for platinum
mines may even be worse than for gold mines, the world would need more platinum
in future.
Unprotected strikes may make it possible to carry out job cuts that cost nothing as
well as large-scale dismissals. Later the mine has to appoint workers again, but it
only appoints as many as it needs for lower production.
The risk that this course of action imposes on employers like Anglo Platinum, Impala
Platinum (Implats) and Lonmin is that such tactics can quickly lead to violence.
NUM general secretary, Frans Baleni, lashed out at Implats because the group had
granted increases of 18% to selected employee categories without consulting the
union. What he didn’t say, but is well aware of, is that Implats did so because NUM
had torpedoed such discretionary increases a few months earlier.
There is nothing to stop an employer giving discretionary increases to certain
categories of workers, or even to individuals.
This is usually done for very good reasons: because the wages in these job categories
have fallen behind the wages paid by competitors and such competitors are therefore
enticing workers away.
The wage settlements at Implats in April and at Lonmin last month show very clearly
that NUM is no longer able to obtain mandates at platinum mines for wage
negotiations.
This is not something anyone should be happy about. It is an extremely disturbing
development, but trying to wish it away won’t help.
NUM became the official voice of the country’s mineworkers in 1987, and this
distinction was borne with distinction and great responsibility for nearly a quarter of a
century. But it no longer fills this role – or, at least, not by itself. And trying to deny
that, as Baleni is now doing, could be the spark to ignite the powder keg leading the
country into a new and devastating revolution.
– Sake24
