Gideon du Plessis

Wage agreement that Solidarity, Amcu and Uasa reached with AngoGold Ashanti is now being overshadowed by a misleading packaging of the agreement.

Solidarity changed its salary demand to an increase of the CPI plus 4% in response to the Mineral Council’s offer which ranges from between 3,5% and 4,5%.

Trade union Solidarity has announced that approximately 300 of the 5 300 former employees of Aurora Empowerment Systems will begin to receive partial payments this week.

The latest and second move by the Mineral Council of South Africa to increase salaries of skilled employees is lower than expected.

All employees below senior management level in the mining sector should receive equal benefits from the Mining Charter’s proposed shareholding scheme.

Gold sector negotiations have resumed and mining houses have given presentations on the state of affairs at their various companies.

Trade union Solidarity has noted concerns the Minerals Council of South Africa has regarding certain sections of the revised Mining Charter, specifically those sections dealing with new cost items that have been built into the new charter.

Trade union Solidarity is grateful that four of its five demands have been included in the new draft charter. The demand that new cost items be limited in the charter given that such items can hamper growth, which could result in retrenchments and smaller increases was, however, not accommodated.

Negotiations on the draft Mining Charter started this weekend under the direction of Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe,  and his deputy Godfrey Oliphant. Apart from AMCU, all interested parties, including mining trade unions...