JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Chamber of Mines (CoM) vice president and CEO Mike Teke has welcomed Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu’s “progressive” Budget Vote and said mining executives would work with government to deal with the problems that the industry faced.
He said the leadership of the mining industry was committed to the “Friday Meeting” agreement, which mining bosses and government struck last week.
The parties’ accord on a “programme of action” to deal with the challenges facing South Africa’s beleaguered platinum and gold sectors comes as more than two-thirds of the platinum companies tackle operating losses and gold companies’ profitability was threatened by a declining gold price.
A progress report on the initial tasks set at the meeting would be completed within a month.
“We are committed to working closely with government in finding common solutions to challenges facing the mining industry locally and internationally,” Teke said in a statement on Tuesday.
The chamber further supported Shabangu’s optimism on the mining industry’s future in the medium term, and reiterated its members’ commitment to progress towards a productive and competitive sector exploiting the boom as the global market recovered from the recession.
However, Teke called on all unions and workers to work with management to ensure workplace peace and stability as the industry entered the wage negotiation period.
The chamber’s members, in turn, had signed a Stability Accord, committing to creating safe and secure working conditions for all employees.
Shabangu urged all parties to take “responsibility and accountability” for the success of the negotiations, in order to avoid job loss and further fuelling negative perceptions.