Patrice Motsepe
Photo by: Duane Daws
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and three unions this week settled drawn-out negotiations over an employee participation fund (EPF).
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Solidarity and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa inked a five-year collective EPF that would benefit employees in the A and C bands across all participating operations.
The deal had been backdated to March 1, 2010, for those employed at the Modikwa platinum operation, and July 1, 2011, for those at all other operations, with the agreement expiring on February 28, 2015, and June 30, 2016, respectively.
Permanent employees across Modikwa platinum, Two Rivers platinum, Dwarsrivier chrome mine, Nkomati nickel and chrome mine, Khumani iron-ore mine, Beeshoek iron-ore mine, Black Rock manganese and Machadodorp ferromanganese and ferrochrome works and Cato Ridge ferromanganese works, would receive R50 000 each, as long as they have been employed at the respective operations since the backdated agreement date.
Those who left under certain circumstances, such as medical incapacity, would be paid pro rata according to the year of departure.
“The agreement brings to an end months of deliberations between the two parties and also paves the way for the second phase discussions for [a] share-ownership scheme post maturity of the fund,” said NUM head of transformation Luthando Brukwe.
NUM believed the deal would “go a long way” in ensuring union members benefitted from the mineral wealth of the operation they worked for.
NUM and ARM would embark on signing ceremonies across all operations from October 27 to November 4.