BUSINESS MAVERICK: Time to deal: NUM demands pay hikes of more than 50% in gold sector

  • 📰 dailymaverick
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 36 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 18%
  • Publisher: 84%

South Africa News News

South Africa South Africa Latest News,South Africa South Africa Headlines

The National Union of Mineworkers will push for salary increases that would take the entry-level wage to R15,000 over the next three years. This year’s wage negotiations include gold mining and that would represent three years’ hence a more than 50% increase on the present entry level or basic wage, which does not include the whole pay package.

The National Union of Mineworkers unveiled its demands, formulated at its recent collective bargaining conference, at a press conference on Wednesday. The demands in gold mining, and Eskom wage talks more broadly, will aim for increases of 15% to 20%, but if agreements are only inked for one year, NUM acting general secretary William Mabapa signalled the union could settle for less., often open wage talks with demands for huge increases for entry-level/category 4 underground workers.

AngloGold Ashanti no longer has operational assets in South Africa, but its wage agreements were also in this range. Gold Fields’ South Deep asset is a mechanised mine and the company has not joined the others in past wage negotiations. So the stage could be set for tough negotiations. Still, relations in South Africa’s mining sector between business and labour have generally — with some exceptions — been improving in recent years.

At the same time, rising unemployment in the wake of the economic meltdown triggered by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns has probably saddled much of the mining workforce with additional dependents. More mouths to feed will eat into a household wage.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 3. in ZA
 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

achievement begins with a decision to try. Ignorance destroy so many opportunities,I’m a victim but I was convinced by the right person wilhelmdennis10 with just some few steps I follow now am winning massively now just follow him up wilhelmdennis10

South Africa South Africa Latest News, South Africa South Africa Headlines