SA gold unions reject insulting wage increase proposals

Workers march in the city. Photo: Twitter/AMCU

Published: 25 July 2018

Gold wage negotiations between producers, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony, Sibanye-Stillwater and Village Main Reef, and representative unions, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and UASA, continued today.

Disappointingly, all four unions rejected the offers made by the companies on Wednesday, 18 July 2018. The industry believes that these were credible offers – which ranged from 5.5% to 6.5% for Category 4 underground employees, and 3% to 4.5% for miners and artisans, and officials - especially when taking the current inflation rate (4.6%) and the state of the sector into consideration.

Chief Negotiator on behalf of the gold producers, Motsamai Motlhamme noted that the companies appreciated that "union leaders representing employees at these negotiations have been mandated by their members to engage on their behalf, and that they bear the weight of enormous expectations on their shoulders."

But, he added: "By definition, negotiation is a process of give and take - a two-way street. The companies urge the unions to narrow their demands, particularly non-wage demands, so that the companies in turn can focus on improving wages within the context of affordability. They ask the unions to consider the gold industry's precarious position and economic realities. The ball is back in the unions' court, and we hope that we will engage constructively when we meet again, so that we can move forward."

The parties will meet again on Wednesday, 1 August 2018.
- Agencies