Numsa Media Monitor
Tuesday 6 September 2016
A daily compilation of local, national and international articles dealing with labour related issues
South African workers
Amcu declares dispute with mines
Karl Gernetzky, Business Day, 5 September 2016
THE Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) said on Monday it had declared disputes with all three platinum houses over its demands for a R12,500 basic salary, precipitating an internal dispute resolution processes that could precede further external mediation.
Amcu would meet Anglo American Platinum on Tuesday and Impala Platinum on Wednesday, with no meeting yet scheduled with Lonmin, Amcu chief negotiator Jimmy Gama said in a statement.
This could lead to about four weeks of meetings before the union declared another dispute and referred the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
"We remain positive and optimistic progress will be made for the sake of the industry, our members and the country. We are looking forward to a progressive engagement that will lead to a settlement being reached," Gama said.
In July Amcu again tabled a demand for a basic underground salary of R12,500 in the sector – representing about a 50% increase in this category. The union also put forward a demand of a 15% wage hike in higher categories
Amcu and the companies have been tightlipped over the negotiations. Lonmin and Amplats did not immediately comment on Monday.
"We remain optimistic that we can close the gap between the union and company with targeted internal mediation and hopefully still find a sustainable win-win solution soon," Implats spokesman Johan Theron said.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/mining/2016/09/05/amcu-declares-dispute-with-mines
Platinum sector wage talks stall
Dineo Faku, Business Report, 6 September 2016
Johannesburg - The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s (Amcu) national treasurer, Jimmy Gama, yesterday said wage talks with the world’s three top platinum producers had deadlocked.
The biggest organised labour union in the platinum belt planned met with Anglo American Platinum, the world’s biggest platinum maker, today and planned to meet with Impala Platinum tomorrow in a dispute resolution meeting to try and reach an agreement.
It said it had yet to confirm a meeting with Lonmin, the world’s third biggest producer. “If during the above planned meetings no settlement is reached the union will have a right to refer a mutual interest dispute with the Commission of Conciliation Mediation, and Arbitration for conciliation purposes,” Gama said.
“We remain positive and optimistic that progress will be made for the sake of the industry, our members and the country. We are looking forward to a progressive engagement that will lead to a settlement being reached.”
http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/platinum-sector-wage-talks-stall-2064823
NUM to march at Sibanye shaft on Tuesday over retrenchments
Karl Gernetzky, Business Day, 5 September 2016
THE National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday it would march on Sibanye Gold’s Cooke 4 shaft on Tuesday, demanding the Department of Mineral Resources intervene to prevent imminent retrenchments at the operation.
The NUM is a calling for Sibanye Gold to "surrender the mining licence to any responsible company that will be willing to continue operations" at Cooke 4, accusing Sibanye of failing to follow due process in retrenchment talks.
Sibanye Gold announced in July that about 1,700 jobs were at risk at its Cooke 4 gold and uranium mine near Westonaria, which had consistently been incurring losses. The shaft also employs about 850 contractors, the NUM said on Tuesday.
Sibanye Gold spokesperson James Wellsted said on Monday the Department of Mineral Resources had been consistently informed about developments at the shaft. The 60-day consultation period was now nearing an end, and it was expected that about a 1,000 jobs could be accommodated at other operations, Wellsted said.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/mining/2016/09/05/num-to-march-at-sibanye-shaft-on-tuesday-over-retrenchments
NUM planning Sibanye Gold march
Heidi Giokos, Independent Media, 5 September 2016
Johannesburg - More than 1 500 members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) together with 850 contract workers from Sibanye Gold on the West Rand will march against retrenchments and the closure of a shaft on Tuesday.
The union said on Monday that it was deeply worried that Sibanye Gold was planning on closing down the operation “by not following proper process”.
NUM branch secretary Bonginkosi Mrasi said in a statement that members were demanding the gold producer call on the Department of Mineral Resources to intervene.
“The NUM calls for Sibanye Gold to implement Section 189 of the Labour Relations Act of 1995 in alignment with the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development (MPRDA) Act of 2002 Section 52, which states that if the company anticipates retrenching 10% or more employees, it has to inform the Minister of Mineral Resources. This drastic action by the company will leave hundreds of mineworkers in a dire situation,” said Mrasi.
The NUM said it would fight tooth and nail to make sure that its members were not retrenched “cheaply”.
http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/num-planning-sibanye-gold-march-2064519
Union asks Sibanye to give up licence
Dineo Faku, Business Report, 6 September 2016
Johannesburg - The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for Sibanye Gold to surrender its mining licence to any company that can operate its underperforming Cooke 4 operation, the future of which is under review.
The NUM yesterday said 2 350 employees, including 1 500 members and 850 contract workers, planned to stage a protest today against the retrenchments and the closure of the mine. In a statement, the union said it was deeply worried that Sibanye wanted to close the shaft without following proper process.
“The NUM members demand that Sibanye Gold must allow the Department of Mineral Resources to intervene on retrenchments and closure of the mine through section 52 of the Mineral Petroleum and Resource Development Act (MPRDA),” the statement read.
Sibanye was consulting with labour unions on the future of the Cooke 4 underground mine. The mine is bleeding cash despite the record increase in the gold price, which has risen 21 percent since the beginning of the year, as investors sought a safe haven, helping gold companies make record profits.
The NUM called for Sibanye to implement section 189 of the Labour Relations Act of 1995 in alignment with the MPRDA of 2002, section 52, which stated that if a company anticipated retrenching 10 percent or more of its employees, it has to inform the Mineral Resources Minister, who at the moment is Mosebenzi Zwane.
Dire situation
“This drastic action by the company will leave hundreds of mineworkers in a dire situation and the surrounding communities on the West Rand,” the NUM said.
“The NUM is calling for Sibanye Gold to surrender the mining licence to any responsible company that will be willing to mine Cooke 4 operation. Sibanye does not care about the lives of mineworkers. It cares about profits of its shareholders.”
Cooke 4 is an old shaft that has become difficult to operate. It has had many underground fires over the years and is a high-cost operation. The company impaired R817 million at Cooke 4 operations in the six months to June.
The write-down was based on negative cash flow projections for the remainder of the life of the mine.
Sibanye indicated that despite efforts of all stakeholders, the Cooke 4 operation had been unable to meet production and cost targets, and had continued to operate at a loss.
Its spokesman, James Wellsted, said Cooke 4 had been through a prior consultation period in terms of section 189 of the Labour Act and section 52 of the MPRDA in 2014 and subsequently issued further section 189 and section 52 notices.
http://www.iol.co.za/business/companies/union-asks-sibanye-to-give-up-licence-2064817
Cosatu echoes calls for Jacob Zuma to discipline Mosebenzi Zwane
Natasha Marrian, Business Day, 5 September 2016
TRADE union federation Cosatu has changed tack on the politically linked Gupta family, and thrown its weight behind its tripartite allies the ANC and the SACP in calling for action to be taken against Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane.
This follows the fiasco caused by Zwane after he said that the Cabinet had decided to ask President Jacob Zuma to institute a commission of inquiry into why banks had dumped the Gupta family.
Cosatu had initially defended the Guptas when the banks shut their accounts, saying the move was “politically motivated”.
However, it has done an about-turn and on Monday said the Gupta family should have approached the Competition Commission or the courts if they felt hard done by the conduct of the banks.
Zwane, who is also the ANC’s provincial treasurer in the Free State and does not sit on the party’s national executive committee, is looking increasingly isolated after being roundly criticised by the ANC, the SACP and the Presidency.
The debacle adds to the growing view that the ANC is no longer central to government policy and decision-making because ministers are running rampant without official sanction.
Cosatu spokesman Sizwe Pamla said the federation’s stance was that any decision taken by the banks would affect their workers negatively. At the same time, the federation felt that the Guptas were “also responsible for what had happened”, he said.
“They created an environment that allowed the banks to treat them with the level of suspicion that they did,” Pamla said.
Zwane’s conduct was problematic as it had proven that he was doing the bidding of the politically connected family, he said.
“It can’t be that it was a mistake or overexuberance. Why overexuberance over this issue when we have not seen him pay the Lilly mineworkers the money that he promised them?
“To us, everything that he has done has tended to give credence to suspicions that he is doing the Guptas’ bidding,” he said.
The ANC in the Free State appealed for calm.
The party’s provincial structure said the minister had been deployed by the president and it trusted that Zuma would deal with the matter appropriately.
ANC Free State spokesman Thabo Meeko said Zwane was among the “strongest ministers in Zuma’s Cabinet” and that he had the full confidence of the party in the province. Zwane and his spokesman could not be reached for comment.
The national ANC and the SACP have also called on Zuma to act against Zwane.
In interviews last week, ANC national spokesman Zizi Kodwa described Zwane’s actions as “appalling and outrageous”.
The SACP said Zwane’s comments contradicted its own call for a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture by business, including the Guptas.
The party said his conduct showed how an individual Cabinet minister could use his/her position in the executive to serve private business interests, break policy coherence and cause confusion.
The party called on Zuma to act against Zwane, who was appointed in September 2015 and controversially accompanied the Gupta family to visit Glencore offices in Switzerland to negotiate the purchase of the Optimum Colliery.
http://www.bdlive.co.za/national/2016/09/05/cosatu-echoes-calls-for-jacob-zuma-to-discipline-mosebenzi-zwane
Join Forces Rather Than Stone Us, Vavi Tells Unions
News24, 5 Sept 2016
The National Trade Union Congress (NTUC) of South Africa claims that a new labour federation, under the leadership of Zwelinzima Vavi is simply a "copy and paste" of its position.
The NTUC in a statement criticised Vavi, former general secretary of Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), and other leaders from the new labour federation for "copying" its stance of being politically independent.
This follows media reports last week, that Vavi and others would be starting a new labour federation, which is non-politically aligned.
However, Vavi told Fin24 on Monday that if the NTUC feels that they share the same ideals, then the union should join the federation. "All those that identify with our principles should join forces with us, instead of throwing stones at us."
The new labour federation will be based on the principle that workers' movements are independent of their bosses or political stances, said Vavi. There will be a focus on meeting workers' needs which includes the protection of their rights, the demand for a minimum wage and jobs.
Unions must be democratic, and controlled by workers in practice and not just written in their declarations, he said. Vavi added that he wanted unions that fight inequality and poverty and those that are opposed to imperialism and are "socialist oriented", and who want to build an "egalitarian society".
But the NTUC spokesperson Maston Phiri said that the federation was not "unique" in its approach. "They just reintroduced our position," he said.
The most "pressing" issues NTUC has with the new federation is that it is using "political independence" as a tool to promote itself. "The federation says it is welcoming workers regardless of the political parties they are coming from," said Phiri.
The NTUC, founded in 2014, represents over 2 500 workers, across different sectors. So far Vavi said the federation represents over 2 million workers under 57 different unions. "It's just a drop in the ocean, but we are happy," said Vavi.
"We must stop the fragmentation of unions, South Africa has a record number of trade unions," he said.
The numbers of workers within unions are declining, indicating that unions are not doing what they should to inspire workers to join, he added. About 76% of workers do not belong to unions.
City Press reported that Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) would be joining the federation, which also includes The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).
http://allafrica.com/stories/201609051437.html
South Africa
#OccupyLuthuliHouse: 'The ANC is a house divided'
Luyolo Mkentane, The Star, 6 September 2016
Johannesburg - What could have been a bloodbath at the ANC’s headquarters in the Joburg CBD was averted on Monday when the police separated two warring factions that almost came to blows.
This followed a tense stand-off over the #OccupyLuthuliHouse campaign, which lasted about four hours, between a small group of disgruntled ANC members and those who invaded the inner city to defend the offices from “hooligans”.
This was as the tensions within the governing party over President Jacob Zuma’s leadership style, which has seen his administration veering from one scandal to another, spilt into the open.
The #OccupyLuthuliHouse organisers were resolute in their demand that Zuma and the entire ANC national executive committee must resign.