Sibanye-Stillwater miners get permission to strike over wages
The NUM and AMCU are deadlocked with negotiations referred to the Minerals Council SA
The two biggest unions at Sibanye-Stillwater’s mines have been given permission to strike over pay after a deadlock in wage talks. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) received strike certificates at Sibanye after negotiations were referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), the Minerals Council SA said on Thursday. AMCU was also granted permission to strike at Harmony Gold. The approval ensures that the work stoppage is legal, which means employees can’t lose their jobs for participating. The country’s biggest gold companies began wage negotiations with unions in July. Mining industry jobs sunk to the lowest since at least 2009 following thousands of job cuts, while elevated levels of inequality and poverty mean that talks are highly charged and can result in strike action. “It is disappointing that all the parties have not been able to find each other yet,” Motsamai Motlhamme, ch...
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