[miningmx.com] – THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) failed in its attempt to extend its recognition agreement at Lonmin – a development that analysts welcomed as it would give more validity to NUM rival, the Associated of Mineworkers & Construction Union (AMCU).
“Not only does it provide clarity in terms of the NUM’s (limited) future role at the mine, but it also adds credibility, security and (hopefully) responsibility to AMCU’s new role as majority union,” said Justin Froneman, an analyst for Standard Bank Group Securities.
The NUM’s physical presence at Lonmin’s Marikana mine was expected to “reduce significantly”, said Froneman. “Hopefully, this will also reduce the sporadic tit-for-tat violence and intimidation seen previously,” he said.
Bloomberg News reported earlier today that the Labour Court in Johannesburg judged that the NUM’s interdict to halt its derecognition from Lonmin’s Marikana should be struck off “for lack of urgency”.
The court added that the application was also “… unlikely to succeed on the merits, if urgency had been established’. The NUM’s recognition deal at Lonmin ends tomorrow.
The NUM earlier this month served an interdict claiming that AMCU’s membership at Lonmin had been fraudulently achieved. Temperatures quickly rose with the AMCU president, Joseph Mathunjwa saying that there would be ‘havoc’ at Lonmin if the NUM’s application was successful.
In an attempt to head off more violence at its operations, Lonmin called for a secret ballot to be held in which the ‘true’ membership levels of the two unions could be properly established. There was now no need for the ballot to take place.
The decision also means that AMCU and Lonmin management can reconvene arbitration at the Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), set for July 29, which is principally about the structure of AMCU’s recognition agreement.
It is thought that Lonmin wants to provide access, such as on-mine offices, at its operations for other unions in an attempt to make union representation more democratic whereas the AMCU does not want the NUM to have any presence at all.
