[miningmx.com] — STRIKING mineworkers and their employers in the
gold sector are seemingly further apart than ever with the collapse of formal wage
discussions on Monday. This leaves restructuring and job losses as the only viable
alternative for mining companies to stem their losses.
The breakdown in negotiations coincided with the strike spreading to another asset of
producer Gold Fields.
The Chamber of Mines – representing AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony
Gold – said its wage hike proposals tabled last week were not accepted by the
members of the dominant unions, adding that employers were not prepared to adjust
their offers further.
“The unions have indicated there have been mixed reactions by their members to the
Chamber’s proposals and that they are unable to confirm a return to work,’ the CoM
said in a statement.
According to Franz Stehring, a divisional manager at trade union UASA, the CoM has
indicated its members would directly pursue further negotiations with workers at
affected mines.
“The Chamber’s stance is that it did all it could through a collective forum,’ Stehring
said. Last week’s offer was based on workers’ grade changes within the existing two-
year industry agreement.
Both Stehring and Lesiba Seshoka, spokesperson for the National Union of
Mineworkers, said they feared mining companies would now pursue the downscaling
of operations.
“This is the end of the road for formal discussions,’ Seshoka said. “We’ll still negotiate
with workers on mine level but, of course, it (collapse of talks) is now likely to be
followed by restructuring.’
Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland last week said some of the damage caused by the strike
was already permanent, warning that job losses were inevitable even if the current
impasse with labour was brought to an end soon.
Holland is expected to provide guidance on the company’s strategy to deal with the
strikes on Tuesday. The group’s KDC East operations – where a two-week strike was
resolved end-August – was again brought to a standstill on Sunday night when 8,500
of the 12,400-strong workforce embarked on a new strike. The group lost around
65,00oz in lost production during the third quarter, with operations at KDC West and
Beatrix remaining suspended.
AngloGold’s entire South African workforce have been on strike since late September,
while Harmony’s Kusasalethu mine has been standing idle since October 2.
