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Union puts chamber on spot over alleged Lonmin breach

26th August 2013

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

  

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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Chamber of Mines was put on the spot on Monday over member-company Lonmin’s alleged breach of Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe’s framework agreement.

The chamber signed the framework agreement for a sustainable mining industry last month on behalf of all of its members.

When mining stakeholders meet Motlanthe today, Solidarity said it would lodge an official complaint against Lonmin for the breach.

Lonmin is accused of breaching clause 5.3 of the agreement by giving sole bargaining recognition to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).

This recognition means that, although there are four unions represented at Lonmin – AMCU, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and the United Association of South Africa (Uasa) – only AMCU will be represented in the bargaining forum, which has prompted Solidarity to refer the dispute to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration with a view to seeking a protected strike with NUM’s support.

Clause 5.3 of the framework agreement deals with the majoritarian winner-takes-all principle and its perceived violation of the right to freedom of association, which is enshrined in the Constitution.

On the eve of South Africa’s Mining Lekgotla, which runs from Tuesday to Thursday, Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis asked chamber VP Mike Teke what his organisation intended doing about Lonmin becoming the first party to breach the agreement, which was signed by all key government, business and labour stakeholders except AMCU.

Du Plessis put the question at a Mining Lekgotla briefing organised by the New Age newspaper and broadcast live on the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s SABC 2 channel.

He wanted to know how the chamber intended dealing with an action that had the potential to reignite mining unrest and whether it approved of Lonmin signing AMCU’s winner-take-all union recognition agreement.

Solidarity said in a subsequent media release that it would wholeheartedly support any takeover bid for Lonmin by another credible mining company.

Teke responded that he was in discussion with several chamber parties in an attempt to address the issues.

He said the chamber was committed to understanding the issues around the recognition agreement signed by Lonmin and AMCU.

“We would like an amicable solution,” he said, adding that the chamber was committed to ensuring stability.

Solidarity on Monday also announced a six-point action plan against Lonmin, aimed at forcing Lonmin to reinstate its recognition status.

New Lonmin CEO Ben Magara announced the recognition agreement with AMCU two days before the first anniversary of the Marikana killings.

Motlanthe, himself a former mineworker and union leader, brought South African mining’s who’s who together from June 14 to July 3 to collectively thrash out the framework agreement.

The CEOs of mining majors and mining juniors, the general secretaries of majority mining unions and minority mining unions and a wall-to-wall line-up of Cabinet Ministers met at the Presidential Guest House and came through in less than three weeks with a virtual roadmap for what they acknowledge is the dynamo of the South African economy – the mining sector.

But the leading lights of the sector signed the framework without AMCU, which asked for more time to consult with its members before signing, which it has still not done.

AMCU, which claims more than 70% Lonmin membership, will now be afforded full wage negotiation control on behalf of all Lonmin mineworkers – including those who are members of other unions.

NUM president Senzeni Zokwana, who was meant to address Monday’s business briefing, did not arrive.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) on Monday expressed grave concern over the state of organised labour in the country.

The federation called, in a media release, for an urgent meeting between the three labour federations in the country, to discuss the work of organised labour in South Africa.

In the letter to Cosatu president S’dumo Dlamini and National Council of Trade Unions president Joseph Maqhekeni, Fedusa general secretary Dennis George said it was imperative that the union federations met if they wanted to continue to represent the interests of their constituencies, especially in the National Economic Development and Labour Council and the Millennium Labour Council.

“Organised labour at the moment is disorganised,” Du Plessis told the business briefing, adding that those that would pay the highest price if unions continued on their current path would be entry-level workers.

In the case of the gold negotiations, the employers were holding back a few per cent because they were anticipating a strike and wanted room to manoeuvre, which complicated the talks.

Uasa’s Franz Stehring has expressed the “utmost of displeasure” at the deadlock with the chamber in the gold sector wage negotiations, which left his union with no option but to request a certificate of non-resolution.

Uasa was now seeking a mandate from its members to accept the low offer or to embark on protected strike action.

STRIKE CLAUSE

Lonmin is not prepared to make a copy of the revised agreement available to Solidarity.

Lonmin had, furthermore, also argued that there was nothing unusual about agreements being revised.

Solidarity believed, however, that a strike clause was removed because of the unease it created for both Lonmin and AMCU.

Lonmin, Solidarity said, had created a culture of rewarding disruption and punishing responsibility.

Solidarity warned that its members had critical skills and it would cause major disruption to Lonmin’s mining activities should they go on strike.

The support of NUM as a partner in the strike could lose Lonmin at least R60-million a day in production losses.

Solidarity said it intended applying international pressure through the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the London-listed Lonmin and the ILO would be requested to offer advice on international law and practice.

A campaign would be conducted in terms of which Lonmin shareholders would be asked to intervene regarding Lonmin’s poor judgment as far as the management of labour relations was concerned and the risk it posed for South Africa.

An investigation would be launched into Lonmin’s possible noncompliance with its social and labour plan, which served to support the conditions of its mining licence.

As the implementation of the majority principle involved constitutional elements, a legal process would be embarked upon to test the constitutionality of Lonmin’s actions with regard to the majority principle in Section 18 of the Labour Relations Act and to test the constitutionality of Lonmin’s violation of the right to freedom of association.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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