The adversarial relationship between stakeholders in the mining sector was doing little to calm the tensions currently being experienced. Looming strikes and the slide in commodity prices only aggravated the problem, said black-owned investment holding company Shanduka Group chairperson and former trade unionist Dr James Motlatsi at secure social enterprise platform Wyzetalk’s Workforce Insights Series mining event, which took place in Johannesburg earlier this month.

He highlighted that mining companies should be engaging their workforce frequently and directly on issues facing the industry.

Motlatsi compared the mining industry to a three-legged pot, where the three legs – the general workforce, the management team and the shareholders and investors – are equally important for the pot to stand.

“The question that begs an answer today is whether these legs understand not only their own responsibility, but one another’s. My answer is ‘No’ – I don’t think they do – which is why we find ourselves in the position we do. And, after every long strike, what follows is detrimental to all stakeholders – retrenchments and closures of shafts, not to be opened again, even if the commodity price goes up.

“This is an untenable situation that we risk having and is leading to the destruction of the entire industry – largely because of the lack of workforce engagement,” said Motlatsi.

He added that mining companies needed to commit to greater transparency and engagement, along with an understanding of the shifts in society and government’s agenda to achieve the operational stability required to satisfy all stakeholders.

“Mining companies must find ways to enhance stakeholder engagement and better manage constituencies. This is no easy task, especially if we consider the diverse Living Standards Measure groups of the stakeholders involved and, in many cases, the lack of formalised communication to reach each group,” said Wyzetalk CEO Gys Kappers.

He added that, if workers understood the economics of the industry and why they were required to do the work they did, and managers were more empathetic to their needs – viewing workers as people with families rather than just the ‘hands’ – the industry would likely see more engagement, collaboration and organised activities that would translate into more inclusive teams with a shared vision and a better relationship based on transparency and improved productivity.

Motlatsi pointed out that the mining industry in South Africa was facing more challenges than ever before – political and social challenges, the uncertainty around the price of commodities, as well as the ageing mines in South Africa.

However, there were also challenges beyond the factory gate, which management and workers needed to face together.

The UCT Graduate School of Business’s Professor Tom Ryan highlighted the unwritten set of expectations of the employment relationship that existed in the heads of employees and employers and which, together with the codified employment contract, defined the employment relationship as the psychological contract.

“Currently, this is not in sync – and a new management system is needed in the mining sector – one that includes empathy and mindfulness of employee situations. At the same time, employees need to understand how important they are for the broader industry and between the two find a fair deal that builds trust,” he said.

Designer and coimplementor of leading change strategies Teamship cofounders Steve Carver and David Germond highlighted the need for the industry strive to have a transformative purpose in order to build a winning culture.

“The question is how we re- humanise the industry. We can look at all the processes and policies – but the heart of any business is its people and, if you feel it, you can lead it,” Germond said.

Carver noted that communication was critical, as were authentic storytelling and recognising the importance of engaging with all stakeholders, including communities and families, not just the employee.

“When we are facing so many challenges, we need to sit down and look at the industry needs from the shop floor to the top floor. We cannot talk about transformation of a declining industry – we need to solve the current challenges first and the first step is transparency and communication,” concluded Motlatsi.