Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman
Photo by: Creamer Media
In response to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s (AMCU’s) secondary strike action announcement, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman on Tuesday said the company had been preparing its local platinum operations for this outcome and had contingency plans in place.
AMCU on Monday confirmed that it would embark on secondary strike action at Sibanye’s platinum group metals (PGM) operations, in South Africa, from January 22, in support of the ongoing strike at the miner’s gold operations that started on November 22.
“We reiterate that the wage agreement we reached with the unions representing the majority of our employees employed at our gold operations is fair and final and will not be amended by AMCU’s demands or threats,” Froneman stated on Tuesday, adding that employees would still be subject to the no-work, no-pay principle.
Sibanye currently employs about 17 400 people at its South African PGM operations, with AMCU representing about 56% of employees at the Kroondal operations and 71% of employees at the Rustenburg operations.
Froneman further pointed out that the company’s PGMs operations in the US provide diversification and support through the strike, especially with those operations’ exposure to a rampant palladium price.