South Africa gold producers offer single-digit hikes
JOHANNESBURG – South African gold producers have offered annual wage increases of around 5% to 6% over three years to most rank and file miners and up to 4.5% for more skilled workers, according to a document seen by Reuters.
Gold producers have been giving above-inflation wage hikes for years, adding to the cost burden of an industry that has been battling in the face of depressed prices, labour unrest and soaring power bills. Inflation is currently 4.6%.
Demands by the four unions involved range widely but are over 30% in some cases. One union source told Reuters that the gold producers' offers were "very low".
The four companies involved are Sibanye-Stillwater, Harmony Gold, AngloGold Ashanti and a smaller producer.
The four unions are the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), Solidarity and UASA.
The NUM wants the basic monthly pay for entry-level underground workers to rise to R10 500 ($785) over the next two years, which translates into annual increases of between 15% and 18.5%, depending on the company.
AMCU has put in demands of over 30%.
In a presentation to the unions on Wednesday, the companies said 75% of gold mines in South Africa, once the world's top gold producer, are currently loss-making or marginal.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation