Coal sector wage talks off to a rocky start
Unions declare a dispute with Chamber of Mines after talks to decentralise negotiations end acrimoniously and the NUM threatened a national strike
Wage talks in the coal sector got off to the worst possible start after unions declared a dispute with the Chamber of Mines after months of talks to decentralise negotiations ended acrimoniously and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) threatened a national strike. The companies represented by the chamber include the largest suppliers of coal to Eskom, the state-owned power utility. A protracted strike in the coal sector could have negative consequences for Eskom. Centralised wage talks have been a feature of the coal industry for years, but the chamber’s coal members, including Anglo American Coal, Exxaro and Glencore, have said they would prefer to negotiate salary increases and working conditions separately with unions this year. The unions involved in months of talks comprise the NUM, Solidarity and United Association of SA (Uasa). They accused the chamber of negotiating in "bad faith" around how wage talks would be conducted this year and declared a dispute with the intentio...
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