South Africa Coal Strike Ends; Biggest Union Signs Pay Deal
Tshepiso Mokhema Paul Burkhardt
October 13, 2015 — 10:10 AM EDT
The biggest union at South African coal producers including Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc signed a pay deal with operators Tuesday, ending a one-week strike.
“The parties will now bury the hatchet,” Peter Bailey, chief negotiator for the National Union of Mineworkers, told reporters at the Johannesburg signing of the agreement at the Chamber of Mines, a lobby group for the companies. “This process will bring us to a relationship of equal footing.”
Producers including Anglo, Glencore and Exxaro Resources Ltd. presented a revised two-year deal on Oct. 9. Further adjustments to the deal were made Oct. 12. The agreement is for an extra 750 rand ($56) to 1,000 rand monthly, and will be backdated to June, Bailey said. All employees are expected to return to work by no later than Wednesday.
The NUM, which represents 72 percent of the 17,000 employees covered by the wage deal, had been demanding increases of as much as 14 percent for its members. The producers and unions began conciliation talks after reaching a deadlock in negotiations in August. The strike was the first related to wage negotiations in coal since 2011.
The industry directly employs almost 90,000 people, including contractors, and paid about 19 billion rand in wages in 2014, according to the chamber’s website. Labor relations in coal are regarded as more stable than gold or platinum because there are fewer workers and more machinery. The fuel powers most of South Africa’s electricity generation.
The labor action was a threat to state-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which supplies about 95 percent of the nation’s power, primarily from coal.
Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, a smaller union in the industry, continue to strike at the Delmas coal mine owned by Kuyasa Mining (Pty) Ltd., Motsamai Motlhamme, head of employment relations at the chamber, told reporters Tuesday.
October 13, 2015 — 10:10 AM EDT
The biggest union at South African coal producers including Anglo American Plc and Glencore Plc signed a pay deal with operators Tuesday, ending a one-week strike.
“The parties will now bury the hatchet,” Peter Bailey, chief negotiator for the National Union of Mineworkers, told reporters at the Johannesburg signing of the agreement at the Chamber of Mines, a lobby group for the companies. “This process will bring us to a relationship of equal footing.”
Producers including Anglo, Glencore and Exxaro Resources Ltd. presented a revised two-year deal on Oct. 9. Further adjustments to the deal were made Oct. 12. The agreement is for an extra 750 rand ($56) to 1,000 rand monthly, and will be backdated to June, Bailey said. All employees are expected to return to work by no later than Wednesday.
The NUM, which represents 72 percent of the 17,000 employees covered by the wage deal, had been demanding increases of as much as 14 percent for its members. The producers and unions began conciliation talks after reaching a deadlock in negotiations in August. The strike was the first related to wage negotiations in coal since 2011.
The industry directly employs almost 90,000 people, including contractors, and paid about 19 billion rand in wages in 2014, according to the chamber’s website. Labor relations in coal are regarded as more stable than gold or platinum because there are fewer workers and more machinery. The fuel powers most of South Africa’s electricity generation.
The labor action was a threat to state-owned utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which supplies about 95 percent of the nation’s power, primarily from coal.
Members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, a smaller union in the industry, continue to strike at the Delmas coal mine owned by Kuyasa Mining (Pty) Ltd., Motsamai Motlhamme, head of employment relations at the chamber, told reporters Tuesday.
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