Cape Town (miningweekly.com) – Calls have been made to change legislation and dramatically improve communication channels in a bid to stem labour tensions in the mining industry. The call was made at a roundtable event dovetailing with the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
John Brand, a specialist in dispute resolution mediation at law firm, Bowman Gilfillan, said the current system was fundamentally undemocratic, as it favoured the National Union of Mineworkers.
“To enter an industrial democracy, you don’t need to be a majority. We have become highly confused about that. Unions have to compete democratically.”
He said there was a need to change the Labour Relations Act to mirror political democracy, such that you do not need to have a 50% majority to have organisational rights on a mine. Freedom of association and collective bargaining were enshrined in the Constitution.
“The fact that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) had to recruit thousands of members from outside the mine to get basic organisational rights was fundamentally undemocratic. AMCU wasn’t allow to step foot on any mines because of Section 18. The winner has comfortable offices and all the perks. The loser gets nothing.”
The situation had increased union militancy, Brand argued.
He also called for an independently monitored ballot so that workers had a say in whether they wanted to strike.
Commentator and former Xstrata communications manager, Songezo Zibi, said convenient collusion between management companies and established unions in the sector was untenable.
He said mining companies needed to consider the immense pressure workers were under to support extended families. Many mineworkers were supporting up to ten people and this triggered desperation and violence. “There is not a responsibility for companies to pay workers more than they can afford. But they do need to try and understand this. “
He said companies also needed to communicate with workers on an ongoing basis, instead of waiting until boiling point.
Restructuring executive pay to reflect an acknowledgement of tough economic realities for workers and their families would go some way to ease tensions.
“There needs to be a shared prosperity model,” suggested Zibi.
The panel called for urgent changes and more understanding, despite the huge challenges facing mining companies operating in a difficult economic climate.
AMCU is currently demanding a minimum wage of R12 500 a month for miners on the platinum belt.