Strike looms at Modder East

Johannesburg, South Africa — MININGREVIEW.COM — 17 March 2010 – Talks between Gold One and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) over wages for employees at the company’s newly developed Modder East mine have deadlocked, and workers could be called out on a strike.

The discussions have been underway since October, and CEO Neal Froneman warned in January that the outlook for Modder to achieve production of 15 000 oz of gold in the March quarter was not guaranteed because the wage talks could be a disruptive process affecting face advances and ore production.

The NUM warned that it had been awarded a certificate of non-resolution to the dispute by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), meaning it could give Gold One 48 hours notice of a strike. Gold One spokesman Ilja Graulich responded that such a notice had not yet been received, and that the company had been putting plans in place to ameliorate the effects of a strike.

The disagreement between Gold One and the NUM centres around a living out allowance and a wage hike settlement.

The union wants a single-year wage agreement, while Gold One is pushing for a two-year agreement in line with its peers in the South African gold sector.